Smart city deal to run council services

Council bosses in Sunderland has done a deal to provide a hi-tech information platform to help run the city.

Sunderland City Council has signed a contract with Connexin, which will see the ‘smartcities’providerimplement its ConnexinOS platform in the area.

The system will pool datafromadultsocial care,counciltax,anti-socialbehaviour, environmental incidents and health and child services with the aim of providing a coordinated responsetoarangeofissueswhetherthat’sremovinggraffitiorhelpingpeoplewhoare at risk or need support.

Council bosses say the IntegratedSmartCityPlatform (ISCP) will enhance services andcementthecity’sposition as a leader in the field.

ConnexinOS uses artificialintelligenceandmachine learning to identify trends in data sets and suggests the best course of action.

Council bosses say the platform presents a range of opportunities for communities across Sunderland – including supporting a range of issues being tackled by the Southwick Altogether Raising Aspirations partnership, such as crime and disorder, mentalhealthandunemployment,andhelpto shapeprioritiesand support needed in the area.

Liz St Louis, assistant director of smart cities at the city c ouncil, said: “Our new contract with Connexin marks another significant milestone as we strive to make Sunderland a leading global smart city of the future. Working together, we will be able to put in place a platform that will further revolutionise our services, continuously improving the smart management of our city to create better futures for our communities.”