In September 2023, as a first, the City of Kortrijk, VIVES University of Applied Sciences and regional developer Leiedal assembled the Belgian Traffic of Data pilot sounding board group, consisting of active stakeholders and experts in data and mobility.
Members of the sounding board group are researchers attached to various knowledge centres such as the universities of Ghent, Brussels and VIVES or institutions such as Imec, as well as mobility and data experts tied to government organisations, such as the 13 local councils in the Leiedal region, the province of West Flanders, the Flanders department of Mobility and Public works and the Team Flemish Smart Data Space. Non-profits, businesses and organisations with expert knowledge of sustainable and shared mobility, such as Autodelen.net, Sentinel and Movias complete the group.
The sounding board group meets every six months to:
- direct, as well as possible, the Data for All project and the Belgian Traffic <of> Data pilot particularly, based on the needs detected in Flanders.
- ensure due coordination with other projects and use cases.
- embed the pilot’s results firmly within the operations in Flanders and beyond.
During a compelling online session, the sounding board group was introduced to the ambitions of the Data for All project and Traffic <of> Data pilot. Project manager Bieke Blauwblomme (Leiedal) illustrated the transnational component, in which a consortium of 19 partners from 7 nations in the North Sea region aim to lift data-driven service to a higher level. She showed how the various targets may be attained through 4 work packages.
Subsequently, Simon Stock (City of Kortrijk) zoomed in on the regional Traffic <of> Data pilot, the goals and ambitions centre around three angles.
- Mobility: to ensure the region’s accessibility, as a whole and within, and to make mobility more sustainable, attractive and safe.
- Data: to cooperate and to share data, to shed clarity on ownership and responsibilities and to create a data model.
- Ethics: citizens’ attitude and consent regarding the sharing of data, underlying reasoning and decision-making.
With great skill, Leiedal’s GIS and data manager Inge Wydhooge exemplified the method, project planning and milestones to be deployed. Based on this input, a possible extension of the sounding board group with added relevant expertise was discussed.
To conclude, mobility expert Aurelie Van Obbergen (Leiedal) presented the results of a survey carried out with the 13 local councils in the region. The next steps, defined based on a workshop with said councils, were also raised. Putting forward questions and propositions interactively, feedback from the sounding board group was triggered.
What's next?
Over the next months, the Traffic <of> Data team will set to work with valuable input and feedback from the sounding board group. The aim?
- To reinforce data sovereignty.
- To develop the LDAAS data platform (Leiedal Data-as-a-Service) towards a vertical data exchange platform between regional, municipal and supralocal authorities, using quality (mobility) data.
- To gain insights into mobility in Kortrijk and the region.
- To roll out practical use cases regarding data-driven traffic control in Kortrijk and the region.
- To disseminate the results for other regions and projects.
This promising first sounding board group assembly has the team looking forward to the next edition in March 2024. The shared expertise validates the Traffic <of> Data ambition, encouraging everyone to continue our journey together.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the sounding board group, do not hesitate to contact the Traffic < of > Data team:
