The City of Cape Town’s Corporate Services Directorate will receive support from the Finnish government on how to apply data analytics in its long-term planning and decision-making processes.

As the city works towards “optimising and rationalising its asset portfolio for greater synergy and cost-savings”, the Facilities Management Department believes it will benefit greatly from cooperation with Finland on centralising the facilities management function.

The Corporate Services Directorate manages a large portfolio of city facilities, including 159 city buildings, 120 clinics, 102 libraries, 38 early childhood development centres, 31 fire stations, 19 Metro Police offices, 31 traffic centres, 54 law enforcement offices, and 11 municipal courts.

“The Facilities Management Department is busy developing digital solutions to improve the way we are managing these properties,” explains Cape Town Corporate Services MMC Theresa Uys.

“For us to achieve the best possible outcomes, we must ensure that our decisions and long-term planning are based on data.

“Also, data in itself is not the answer – you have to know how to analyse and use the data to achieve the correct outcomes.

“The collaboration with Finland is a great opportunity to learn more from the most digitalised country in Europe and the world leader in digital government.”

The support to Cape Town is provided under the Finnish Digital and Green Transition (FDGT) Programme, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, and implemented by the HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management.

The cooperation will take place over six months at no cost to Cape Town.

The technical assistance programme will start in September, and will focus initially on developing a City of Cape Town Facilities Management Digital Twin Framework.

This will provide guidance to the department about how to use digital twin technology as a strategic enabler for operations.

Thereafter, the implementation of the Digital Twin Pilot Project will follow.

A digital twin is a virtual representation, or digital counterpart, of a physical object, system or process. It is created using real-time data, simulation and modelling techniques to mirror the behaviour, characteristics and performance of its physical counterpart.

Digital twins offer a framework for gaining insights, optimising performance and driving innovation in the real world.

“We are excited to embark on this journey, and I also want to thank the mayor and the mayoral committee for their approval, which will allow us to sign this agreement with Finland,” says Uys.