Mayor of London poised to appoint a chief digital officer for the capital

It seems London will soon have its own chief digital officer to oversee digital transformation across government in the capital.

Earlier this week, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wrote in CityAM that he would be aiming to ensure that data and innovative tech solutions help deliver public services more easily and efficiently, and that a CDO would oversee these initiatives.

His comments come after a panel of experts suggested in a report in March that the next Mayor of London should appoint an IT leader, whether it be a chief technology officer (CTO), chief information officer (CIO) or a chief digital officer (CDO), or perhaps even more than one of those roles. The experts suggested that the CDO was the preferred option.

The report by the Greater London Authority, dubbed Future Smart, suggested that the next mayor should "examine options for enhancing city leadership in data technology".

Earlier this week a new report, by London First, Centre for London and Bloomberg Associates suggested that the role of the CDO should focus on three main themes. One is to provide policy advice and digital expertise, another is to champion digital transformation across London government, and the last is to seek out and share best practice.

The report was put together with the help of some London councils, Intel, Tech City UK and NESTA, among others. In a blog post, Tim Scott, programme director at London First, and Kat Hanna, research manager at the Centre of London, said that while the announcement by Khan to hire a CDO will be a "crowd pleaser", the risk is that the role will merely become "a muddled dumping group for all things tech-related, from broadband, to digital skills, office space, and regulation".

They say that their report has therefore clearly defined what the scope of the role must be. They believe the CDO should provide policy advice and direction on behalf of the Mayor.

This includes anticipating the impacts of new technologies and supporting innovation, by promoting open standards and interoperability, for example.

They also suggest that the CDO has to work across London government to find ways to support London's growing population. This may include using open data to better plan transport infrastructure using blockchain to register land assets, they said.

They call for the CDO to establish and lead a network of public and private sector CDOs, CTOs, CIOs and political leads across the London boroughs. They hope this will help to avoid duplication of the role, and of initiatives.

In the longer term, Scott and Hanna said that the CDO should forge similar connections with other global cities and develop new partnerships.

Reports suggest that the CDO could be hired within weeks.