Witan

SBRI funding is being sought to enable a highly respected UK-based SME to create a solution that shifts city models away from custom built models and which allows subject experts and policy makers to integrate different types of hard and soft model, in order to explore scenarios for the futures of their cities. There are three main classes of solution at present. Excel/VBA (macro) based models that give subject specialists good flexibility, but are difficult to integrate or scale; custom software models have been available for some time; and recent ‘Smart City’ models that are visually engaging but lack transparency and can rely on simplified models. Witan serves an important need between these solutions, by creating a platform that works well for expert users whilst also allowing policy staff to explore scenarios and create better integrated plans. Witan will operate at three levels: • Uniquely, it will allow experts to ‘look into’ and adjust the equations, assumptions and connections of their models (without the need for programming skills). The use of modern data analytical tools from projects such as our work with the Energy Savings Trust will provide version control and the capacity to scale to very big or complex datasets and simulations • Through a specially designed interface, policy makers will be able to explore scenarios much more widely without the need to engage directly with the equations. Importantly, Witan will allow social and physical models to interact (for instance, recycling rates with waste production or household composition with demographic projections) • Finally, the general model assumptions and results will be made transparent to the average citizen, through a graphical interface. Witan will build on open source technology, will be open source itself, and will provide an open API interface to read data from and publish data to other systems, providing an open and documented interface to interact with other inter- and intra-city systems. Witan will be developed in collaboration with the Greater London Authority (GLA) who are expert in the existing vertical models and have shown innovation through the Smart London Board, London DataStore and city data challenges. It will have immediate application to test and refine the 2050 London Infrastructure Plan & London Plan, before being tested with a second city and then rolled out more widely to other cities. The software will be fully available under an open source license, and commercialisation will come through consulting, management and support and hosting services, via Mastodon C's existing partnerships.