For this episode of 'the week in data' we invited Dr Vanessa Savage-Douglas from GWI onto the Chronicles. We start the conversation by going back, and reflecting a little on data back in the 90's. We then cover a range of data topics including the 'why' of data, how we move beyond the 'cool' of data, scrutiny of government data management practices and misuse of data, as well as political decisions and the role of data insights.

In this second episode of 'the week in data' we sit down with Priscilla Short from Deloitte to discuss what we heard, saw and read on everything on data over the past week. We discuss business intelligence in the context of smart cities, what data fabric is, and investment in 'small' smart cities. We reflect on why cities are not making decisions on smart cities solutions based on data, and why a business case is still an underutilised tool for guiding actions.

We kick off our first episode in a new series called 'the week in data', with Director of Data Analytics at Aurecon, Eric Louw. We discuss data and its role in the digital transformation in the built environment, where data processing happens and its comparison to human systems and the market demand for AI. We share mutual concerns and observations around privacy and facial recognition, yet agree the benefits of 'sensing' and 'tracking' can have significant benefits when appropriately deployed.

What tried and tested methods from other sectors can we use for our smart cities projects? In this episode we sit down with Deloitte's Steven Hamilton from Boston MA to explore further their work on bringing 'alliancing' approaches from the infrastructure world into the smart cities agenda. Governance, partnerships, financing and procurement can't be 'unstuck'. Lets embrace that and catalyse more action and investment in smart cities.

One of Australia's leading privacy experts - Nicole Stevensen - introduces us to the Privacy Impact Assessment, and why its your best friend when it comes to your smart cities work. In this episode Nicole gives us the essentials on privacy impact assessment - why, what and how. It is critical listening at a time when privacy is such an important topic for policy makers and the community alike.

In Part 3 of our 'Where it all began' series we go back to 2006 (and a little further) to unearth the urban informatics agenda, with one of the research sectors greatest contributors to smart cities, Professor Marcus Foth from the Queensland University of Technology Design Lab. In this discussion we talk about the 'connective tissue' between technology, people and place, and how the complexities and opportunities of this convergence have changed over the years, and what it means to 'be digital' in the public realm today, with the proliferation of sensing and data gathering.

We sit down with Amy Baxendale, Regional Human Resources Director for consulting firm Acadis, to chat about building the workforce of the future. From culture and recruitment to capacity building and new partnership models, Amy gives us a glimpse into what a global 27,000 person consulting firm does to keep up with digital transformation.

In this, our 50th episode of the Chronicles, we talk IoT deployment. A problem, an idea, and a partnership. That's what it took for the City of Marion in South Australia to successfully execute on an IoT pilot project that would provide the learning to scale solutions for their 160+ public park assets across the city. Join us as we sit down with Fiona Harvey (Manager of Innovation and Strategy) and Georgie Johnson (Smart Cities Project Officer) from the City of Marion, and Ashby Martin (Smart Cities Lead) from Sage Automation to discuss the Jervois Street Park project.

In this second interview in our multi-part series on "Where it all began", I sit down with the Founder and Chairman of the Smart Cities Council, Jesse Berst, to explore the organisations eight year journey, and where it all started. Jesse provides the context to why he founded the organisation, and what was happening in the market at the time. We touch on the major advancements for the smart cities movement in the last five years, and muse on the hills we are still yet to climb. Jesse reflects on the work and influence of the Council, and where its trajectory looks like heading. Join us as we look back, to look forward

In some way's this is a milestone episode for the Chronicles. In this interview we speak with Yasser Helmy, Smart Cities Lead for Asia Pacific with Cisco, one of the global titans in smart cities history. Yasser reflects in this episode where it all started for the company, takes us on a journey through the first decade of the smart cities movement and shares his thoughts on what's next for the agenda.