To support the council’s Corporate Plan, Ambitious for Hounslow, these are the key areas we are working on in 2022-2023 – the third year of our digital strategy.
A Greener Hounslow
The Digital Strategy will enable a Greener Hounslow through:
- using smart sensors, applying data science techniques such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, and harnessing technologies such as Smart Place and Internet of Things technologies, to help monitor, create new insights and decision-making opportunities, and ultimately improve the environment and sustainability.
- adopting sustainable and energy efficient IT for services and technical infrastructure and reduce carbon footprint by migrating to the cloud wherever possible.
- developing a circular-economy based user-device strategy ensuring that any equipment is repaired where possible, made available for re-use when no longer required, and correctly recycled to ensure that re-usable components and materials are recovered for re-use.
- supporting the creation of Coalo’s Green Fleet and Green Academy ambitions, helping to build on and develop green skills, and harnessing enabling green technologies.
- investigating electric vehicle charging points as part of the work to improve connectivity within the borough.
- continuing to improve remote working and digital collaboration options, reducing travel-related pollution for unnecessary journeys.
- developing smart device skills to improve residents’ access to information such as their waste and recycling collection days, and advice about what can be recycled.
A Healthier Hounslow
The Digital Strategy will enable a Healthier Hounslow through:
- providing sensors and devices such as wearable technology to enable residents to stay remain safe, independent, active, and in their own homes. Examples include:
- smart home hub devices, tablets, mobiles and laptops to reduce social isolation and digital exclusion.
- wearable technologies such as smart watches to monitor, analyse and control activity, sleep, water intake, and medical conditions, etc.
- virtual and augmented reality devices to improve dementia care, physical and mental health, and reduce social isolation and digital exclusion.
- motion detectors, sensors and wearable technology to detect falls, immobility or unusual activity, and automatically alert emergency contacts.
- smart heating controls and artificial intelligence which control heating remotely and automatically manage energy usage.
- supporting and promoting initiatives such as BetterPoints and technology such as smart watches, to nudge residents toward active and healthier lifestyles.
- in collaboration with the Integrated Care Partnership, continue to improve access to healthcare through innovative use of technology and transformation service provision.
- creating an holistic, joined-up view of our residents, enabling us to support them more effectively through their life events and gain insights from a more complete picture of our communities’ needs.
- supporting and promoting initiatives to improve mental and physical health for internal colleagues and our communities.
A Cleaner Hounslow
The Digital Strategy will enable a Cleaner Hounslow through:
- using data science techniques such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyse CCTV data along with related datasets to help:
- detect and ultimately prevent fly-tipping incidents.
- monitor air quality and pollutants to help inform policy on traffic and climate management, leading to the creation of low carbon neighbourhoods and improvements to environment well-being.
- develop greater insight, detect or predict issues and automatically generate alerts, and ultimately reduce youth offending and anti-social behaviour.
- improving online reporting and commissioning of services for residents.
- ensuring staff have the right systems to be able to deliver waste services, including automated systems for grounds maintenance, and can capture data to enable better insights and drive efficiency.
- replacing our end-of-life fleet management system with a modern solution that will enable more effective and efficient management of our fleet of vehicles.
- ensuring BT honour their commitment to clean and maintain their phone boxes and street furniture within the borough and holding them to account.
- supporting and promoting initiatives to improve the overall cleanliness of and pride in the borough.
A Thriving Hounslow
The Digital Strategy will enable a Thriving Hounslow through:
- providing opportunities for access to digital technologies, new digital skills, and better paid employment in the borough by supporting programmes such as:
- Re/start from Amazon which prepares unemployed and underemployed individuals for cloud careers and connects them to potential employers.
- Re-Klaim, in partnership with Ealing and Hounslow Community and Voluntary Service, which delivers recycled laptops to residents, and provides opportunities for volunteers and lifelong learners to learn new skills and gain valuable hands-on experience.
- deploying state of the art connectivity throughout the borough by improving the provision of 5G and fibre networks, with fibre connectivity coverage to increase from 34% to over 50% by the middle of 2023.
- developing digital skills and confidence through our Digital Ambassadors’ and Digital Champions’ initiatives.
- transforming how our communities access our services and interact with us.
- empowering our staff and partners to help all parts of our diverse community interact with us using digital technologies and develop vital life skills.
- working with and supporting residents, voluntary organisations and businesses to help them benefit from the digital age.
- developing a greater awareness and understanding of data through a range of initiatives, the launch of a Data Commitment, and the establishment of a community of Data Champions which is passionate about using data for good.
A Safer Hounslow
The Digital Strategy will enable a Safer Hounslow through:
- using data science techniques such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyse CCTV data along with related datasets to help:
- develop greater insight, detect or predict issues and automatically generate alerts, and ultimately reduce youth offending and anti-social behaviour.
- understand and predict traffic patterns, and ultimately reduce traffic around schools.
- join disparate datasets, develop deeper insight, identify patterns, predict and ultimately prevent potential safety issues and criminal activity.
- using virtual and augmented reality to educate and raise awareness of domestic violence, placing individuals virtually in the shoes of the victims, ultimately leading to a reduction in incidents.
- using technologies such as Robotic Process Automation to drive efficiency, consistency, accuracy, and responsiveness of service provision.
- enhancing safeguarding provision enabling the resident to see and communicate with visitors to help them decide if it is safe to open the door, with recordings of activity at the door available for review.
- continuing to migrate data and services to the cloud and enforce robust management and governance of our systems, data, and information, to ensure that our systems are safe from malicious activity and our communities’ personal data is safe from exploitation.
A Liveable Hounslow
The Digital Strategy will enable a Liveable Hounslow through:
- using Internet of Things smart sensors and developing Smart Place and technologies to help monitor and ultimately improve the environment.
- supporting the cost-of-living crisis by providing information and advice, and raising awareness of options available, to enable residents to achieve better value services, such as broadband and mobile data provision.
- creating a borough which is digitally fit for the future, where our communities have high quality internet connectively and have the skills and confidence to benefit from the opportunities and benefits digital brings.
- ensuring that replacement systems, such as for housing, planning and building control, early years and school admissions, deliver efficient and effective processes for officers together with an excellent online offer for our communities.
- making 5G and fast internet access ubiquitous throughout the borough.
- supporting asylum seekers by providing accessible information and access to opportunities to further develop skills.
- ensuring data and decisions are open, accessible and transparent.
- delivering a new online engagement platform to improve the council’s ability to effectively consult and involve our communities.
- ensuring that all our buildings can provide secure public wifi.