Decide Better: Open and Interoperable Local Digital Twins

This is an open access book.

Decide Better: Open and Interoperable Local Digital Twins explores the transformative potential of Local Digital Twins (LDTs) in urban governance. The book begins by introducing the concept of LDTs, which create digital replicas of cities or regions, combining real-time data and simulations to inform decision-making. It highlights how LDTs can enhance urban management by fostering collaboration among stakeholders and providing evidence-based insights for policy and operational strategies. The book emphasises the importance of openness, interoperability, and ethical use in LDT development, offering practical guidance for policymakers, urban planners, and technologists.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part discusses the foundational principles of LDTs and their role in making cities smarter through data-driven decision-making. The second part focuses on implementing reusable LDT architectures, emphasising standards and interoperability. The final section addresses maximising LDT impact, offering strategies for governance, scalability, and ethical considerations. Drawing from real-world examples and expert insights, the book provides a comprehensive framework for adopting LDTs in diverse urban environments, aiming to advance sustainable and citizen-centric urban development.

Lieven Raes is a distinguished professional holding master's degrees in Administrative Management and Land-Use Planning, showcasing a multifaceted expertise in public service innovation. Currently serving as a senior public servant at Digital Flanders within the Flemish government, Lieven has garnered extensive acclaim as a respected research and innovation consortium coordinator in the Smart City domain. Notably, Lieven spearheaded the EU (Horizon 2020) DUET project focused on Digital Urban European Twins, which received the prestigious Best Enabling Technologies award at the 2021 World Smart City Expo and Congress in Barcelona. Presently, Lieven assumes the role of coordinator for the EU COMPAIR Horizon 2020 consortium, facilitating the integration of Citizen Science with evidence-based decision-making through the utilisation of various domain-overarching IoT devices. Prior engagements include leading the (CIP) Open Transport Net consortium and the (Horizon 2020) POLIVISU consortium, all aimed at fostering data driven, evidence-informed decision-making. Alongside these achievements, Lieven played a pivotal role in driving the development of the Flanders e-government MAGDA platform, focusing on building permits and environmental permits. Continuously pushing the boundaries of research, Lieven is also engaged as a PhD candidate at the Public Governance Institute of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, further solidifying his commitment to advancing the realms of public administration and technological innovation.

Susie Ruston McAleer is an accomplished expert in research, innovation, and governance, dedicated to driving positive change and fostering inclusive digital innovation globally. For nearly two decades, she has empowered governments worldwide to leverage digital transformation for societal progress. As the founder of the digital innovation firm, 21C, Susie serves as a solution strategist, concept builder, and architect for award-winning digital research and innovation endeavours. Her exceptional track record includes securing over 20 multi- million Euro funding awards, notably Europe's inaugural Local Digital Twin project, recognised with a World Smart Cities Award. Currently, Susie contributes to research initiatives on AI trust (THEMIS 5.0), critical thinking elevation for combating disinformation (TITAN), responsible data sharing (DS2), and leveraging digital twins for positive energy districts (BIPED). In pivotal consultancy roles, she has shaped Microsoft's public sector strategy, and informed IBM's perspectives on public sector technologies. Susie's contributions also extend to the scientific community, where she has authored and edited numerous specialist papers and journals, including a seminal book on eParticipation published by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. With a blend of practical experience and scholarly insight, Susie continues to help drive the discourse on digital governance, shaping a more inclusive, efficient, and responsive public sector for the digital age.

Ingrid Croket graduated as a Commercial Engineer at the University of Antwerp in 1997 and obtained a master’s degree in Enterprise IT Architecture at the Antwerp Management School in 2022. She has broad experience in programme and IT project management in public and private companies. Ingrid has strong analytical skills and a good understanding of how to match digital technologies with business challenges, thus contributing to the strategic alignment between IT and business requirements. Ingrid has vast experience in managing complex digitalisation programmes, such as the replacement of mainframe IT infrastructure at the Province of Antwerp by a web-based document and process management system. As part of the Master in Enterprise IT Architecture programme she designed for her master project an enterprise architecture model identifying how smart services of a digital twin contribute to the achievement of the sustainability goals for a city. In her role as project lead and architect for the AI & Data team at imec, she was involved in the VLOCA project (Flemish Open City Architecture) and contributed to the design of the Local Digital Twin Toolbox project for the European Commission.

Pavel Kogut holds a Master's degree from the esteemed London School of Economics, underscoring his commitment to academic excellence and professional advancement. He is an experienced and meticulous researcher, data analyst, and project manager, boasting over a decade of comprehensive experience in the field of European research and innovation. Pavel's expertise extends across a diverse spectrum of European Smart City, Maritime, and Rural projects, encompassing notable endeavours such as DUET for digital twin supported decision-making, COMPAIR citizen science sensors for behaviour change, and PERMAGOV for enhancing marine governance. Pavel's contributions transcend mere participation; he is an active advocate for all his projects, undertaking speaking engagements at events and workshops across Europe, and he is a prolific author of scientific papers, showcasing his profound understanding and insights within the domain. Prior to his work at digital innovation firm, 21C, Pavel honed his skills as an assistant analyst at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, a prestigious think-tank. There, he contributed to projects commissioned by senior clients including the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Dutch Safety Board. Preceding this, Pavel worked at the European Economic and Social Committee, collaborating closely with the EESC Labour Market Observatory on an impactful study concerning youth unemployment, demonstrating his early passion for fostering inclusive, positive change on a global scale.

Martin Brynskov, PhD, is a Danish academic and standardisation expert, serving as a Founding Board Member of Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities (OASC). OASC is a global network of cities and communities, based in Brussels, that represents the needs of citizens and their communities towards Big Tech and regulators, advocating for Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs). Related to the development of technical standards, Dr Brynskov is a contributor to ITU-T SG20 and related Focus Groups, co-leads the United Nations ‘United for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities’ (U4SSC) new architecture for digital, sustainable development, leads the Living-in.EU Technical Subgroup overseeing the MIMs Plus specifications for Europe, and he chairs the Danish Standards Committee for smart and sustainable cities and communities. With research focused on place-based computing and interaction technologies, Dr Brynskov has coordinated and led European digital transformation initiatives. His work spans research, innovation, deployment and policy, with a focus on connected communities, interoperability and ecosystems involving AI, IoT, data spaces and Local Digital Twins. Notable projects he has led include CitCom.ai - the European Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for AI and Robotics for Smart Cities and Communities, the European Data Space for SmartCommunities and CommuniCity, which addresses the gaps in deploying emerging technologies, like AI and the metaverse, in marginalised communities. Dr Brynskov is a global expert, speaker and advisor on digital transformation with a human-centric focus.

Stefan Lefever holds Master’s degrees in electronics and computer science and a postgraduate degree in business administration. He has 23 years of experience in the European telecom industry and has worked in different roles as an R&D engineer, system architect, enterprise architect and program director, delivering critical telecom infrastructure towards telecom providers and operators in different markets and driving the innovation of the company technology towards SDN and NFV. His passion for innovation within connectivity, sensor and data infrastructure within more societal domains embarked him in 2018 on a mission within imec to work on novel sensor devices, Open City Architecture and data ecosystems, early (Urban) Digital Twins and IoT data platform architectures as Technical Director within the City Of Things Program. Within this program, Stefan participated in numerous European and Flemish research programs within the vertical domains of environment, mobility, logistics and public health. Within these programs, his team focused mainly on the technology architecture of city sensors, IoT platforms, Local Digital Twins and Data Spaces from an enterprise architecture viewpoint. His broad knowledge and experience of different technologies and ecosystems have been used to bridge the gap between research, innovation and market uptake, and he fits very well with the Local Digital Twin as a system-of-systems concept.