This white paper, produced by CDAIT’s IoT Thought Leadership Working Group, examines ways the Internet of Things is markedly reshaping user engagement, including stakeholder response to some type of offering, such as, but not limited to, a product or a service. IoT should not only be thought of as a collection of technologies, but also include societal impacts and benefits as well as social outcomes that can be advanced, enhanced and simplified by the use of “smart” technologies. Through data capturing, sharing and processing, both the private and public sectors can devise specific, data-driven solutions integrating social, economic, policy and contextual inputs. User feedback will ensure that the solutions are meeting citizen needs.
From a policy perspective, it is imperative that cities also address a variety of stakeholder needs and concerns as projects are being justified and developed. Citizens must receive sufficient information to enable them to develop a clear understanding of how the data is being used, and who has ownership and control of this data. Hence, two key areas that are becoming increasingly important as we move toward connected “things” that utilize smart technologies are security and privacy, two interrelated but separate issues.