Digitaler Donnerstag

Data - the foundation of a modern city administration

What do the planning of new traffic routes, the watering routes of our city trees and the services of our citizen service have in common?

More than you might think at first glance. Because all of these tasks are based on one decisive factor: data.

Whether in traffic planning, environmental and climate protection or citizen services: Data is generated everywhere, which - if used correctly - helps to make our city more liveable, efficient and transparent.

Already in Digital Thursday on the topic of "Urban data: The key to a smart city", this topic was highlighted in an introductory way.

Why is the topic of data so important now?

A smart city uses data to make better decisions, deploy resources more effectively and improve the quality of life for everyone. Data is therefore a central foundation of modern administration. It is becoming a valuable municipal resource that must be shaped and used responsibly in the interests of the common good.

That is why we as the City of Jena have developed a data strategy, which was also adopted by the City Council in May 2025. It creates uniform standards for handling data and ensures that information is better maintained, easier to use and more transparent in future. In doing so, we are laying an important foundation for digital administration, for better decisions and for more openness towards an urban society interested in data.

Who is responsible for data management in the administration?

The roles and tasks of data management, maintenance and provision are distributed both in a separate organizational unit and directly in the specialist departments. They all have a common goal: a transparent, modern and data-driven administration that promotes innovation, collaboration and the common good, while ensuring data protection and data security at all times.

The Data Management team has the task of "standardizing the maintenance and management" of data. The collection, use and release itself can only take place in cooperation between the specialist area and central data management.

In order not to leave the specialist departments alone with this task, adequate qualification and further training opportunities will be offered on this basis to all those who create, process and use data.

The Urban Data Coaches, who were recruited as part of the Smart City project, play a special role in data management. They take on the role of data architects and data managers.

What are data architects and data managers?

Data architects ensure that data is well "built" in an organization - similar to architects in a house.

They plan

  • where data is stored,
  • how different data fits together,
  • and how data can be used securely and reliably.

You can imagine this as follows: Data architects design the blueprint for the data. They determine which systems are connected to each other, which standards apply and how new data can be integrated in a meaningful way. This prevents data from being chaotically distributed, stored twice or incompatible.

Data managers take care of the day-to-day handling of data.

They make sure that:

  • Data is complete, correct and up-to-date,
  • there are clear responsibilities,
  • Rules on data protection and data security are adhered to
  • and data is used where it is needed.

Data managers are often the people to contact if there are questions about specific data: How do I get the data from my system or program? How can I evaluate the data from my program? Can it be passed on?

What does this mean for citizens?

The better the data quality, the more meaningful the evaluations and visualizations. Urban data also forms an important basis for digital services - for citizens as well as for business and science. To achieve this, it is not enough to simply generate data: clear rules and framework conditions, as defined in the data strategy, are crucial - so that data is transparent, reliable, available, secure and easy to use. Accordingly, measures have been defined to improve the benefits of the data for the city association, urban society and its environment in the long term.

What happens now?

We are implementing the measures from the data strategy step by step: to this end, we are further developing the technical infrastructure for data management and establishing the urban data platform. At the same time, we are strengthening employees' digital skills through regular training videos. Our Urban Data Coaches are already available as permanent contacts for questions and support. In this way, we are creating the basis for ensuring that urban data in the administration is reliable, secure and usable where it is needed.

Do you have any questions about this or any other DigiDo contribution? Feel free to contact us, we look forward to your feedback.