ADD2482 London Datastore Product Definition

1.1. The London Datastore is the GLA’s data-sharing platform. It has approximately 150,000 users each month and is home to more than 6,000 datasets.

1.2. The Datastore was originally launched in 2010 as a tool to improve civic transparency and accountability by publishing information on what the GLA spends and data that underpins mayoral strategies, allowing the public to scrutinise the decisions and activity of the Mayor and the GLA.

1.3. Since then, the platform has evolved and now also provides data that is essential to planning and decision making across the city – especially for our partners such as the London Boroughs and Transport for London. In other words, the London Datastore is the platform through which the GLA delivers a growing number of critical data services. Moreover, the Datastore is now also being used to privately share data between partners. In short, the Datastore has outgrown its original scope and is in need of redevelopment if it is to remain fit for purpose.

1.4. The GLA commissioned the Open Data Institute (ODI) to undertake a discovery project in 2019 (see ADD2358). The ODI reviewed the current Datastore, its users and the wider data ecosystem in London and produced a series of recommendations for ensuring that the Datastore meets the needs of its users and supports the GLA’s wider ambitions for city data.

1.5. Recommendations that relate to platform functionality and therefore require redevelopment of the Datastore in order to deliver on them include:
• improving search and navigation to aid discovery of data;
• building on the current functionality for private data sharing, including a more scalable permissions management system; and
• enabling more technical means of access, such as via an API, to support automation and allow users to build their own services off of the London Datastore.

1.6. The GLA now need to undertake a product definition exercise which will turn the high-level needs identified by the ODI into functional requirements and translate them into a development backlog and delivery roadmap.

2.1. Procurement of services will take place via the Government’s Digital Marketplace. Applicants will enter a competitive tender process where they will be scored on their written proposals and a follow up interview.

2.2. We have three objectives for the product definition:
• to identify the functional requirements of a new data sharing platform for London;
• to make recommendations on technology options for the functional requirements identified; and
• to identify the skills and resources needed to build the new platform.

2.3. We expect the following deliverables from the discovery:
• a document setting out the functional requirements for the next iteration of the London Datastore;
• documentation of recommended technology solutions;
• delivery roadmap with backlog of user needs; and
• a breakdown of resourcing requirements.

2.4. These outputs will be used by the GLA to build a new version of the London Datastore that better meets user needs. The documentation of technology solutions and resource requirements will be used to inform procurement for the new platform while the functional requirements and delivery roadmap will inform the development work.

3.1. The purpose of the London Datastore is to allow people to more easily access or share data relating to London. Thus, the Datastore allows its users to make better informed decisions, mostly in a public planning and policy making context but also for use by businesses, civil society, academia and residents.

3.2. The London Datastore is accessed via a web browser that is free of charge and designed to be intuitive to use so there are very few barriers to entry. However, people with disabilities – in particular people with visual or physical disabilities – may struggle to interact with the website meaning they will not be able to experience the benefits stated above. To mitigate this, the new website will be designed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. These are a set of internationally recognised standards for making web content more accessible and have been adopted by the UK Government. This should minimise the risk. However, the Datastore team at the GLA will also invite and follow up on feedback from users on an ongoing basis to ensure that there are no features of the website that are inaccessible to specific groups of people because of their protected characteristics.

Risks and issues (scored 1 to 4 on likelihood and impact; total score between 1 and 16):

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities:

4.1. This programme of work will meet the ambition in the Smarter London Together roadmap to support an open ecosystem and drive better decision-making by opening up the capital’s data.

4.2. The Datastore plays a critical role across all policy areas at the GLA and will be an important piece of digital infrastructure in supporting London’s collaboration efforts as part the work of the Recovery Taskforce by hosting data that is essential to planning and decision making across the city and enabling the GLA’s partners to share datasets with each other.

4.3. This project has been reviewed and approved by the GLA’s Digital Project Review Group on behalf of the GLA’s Digital, Data and Technology Board. 4.4. There are no conflicts of interest to declare for anyone involved in the preparation of this form.

5.1. Approval is sought for expenditure of up to £50,000 for the redevelopment of the London Datastore.

5.2. Expenditure of £30,000 will be funded from City Intelligence 2020-21 London Datastore budget and £20,000 will be funded from the External Relations 2020-21 Events budget. As delivery will be in 2021-22 the budget will need to be carried forward to match the expenditure profile. A request will be made at Q3 to carry this sum forward.

6.1. This project will be managed by the GLA’s London Datastore Product Manager with sponsorship from the Assistant Director for Strategy, Intelligence & Analysis and London’s Chief Digital Officer.

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