First Blueprint for Data Policy Adopted by City of Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland, September 10, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The World Economic Forum today released Empowered Data Societies: A Human-centric Approach to Data Relationships. The framework put forth in the white paper ensures that data is used in responsible and innovative ways to create progress while respecting, valuing and empowering people and communities.

As part of a year-long partnership with the City of Helsinki, the World Economic Forum convened a global community of technologists, anthropologists and policy and data experts to develop a new way to create data policy oriented around the values, needs and expectations of people.

By leading with the interests of those generating data or most impacted by resulting insights, this approach mitigates the trade-offs between innovation and privacy.

The Forum worked with a dedicated team of data practitioners and policy-makers with the City of Helsinki to apply this new methodology to develop a dedicated anonymization pipeline for complex personal data that will allow for maximal data utilisation anchored in respect for individuals and their privacy. New pathways, processes and tools were also created to document a best practice blueprint for human-centric proactive services, which Helsinki will open-source for future expanded use and improvement.

“Throughout this year-long partnership we were motivated by the principle that human-centricity is neither a ‘nice to have’ nor a ‘deluxe’ approach to data. Human-centricity can and should be the foundation upon which to build empowered data societies. With the release of this paper, we aim to share frameworks, insights and best practices so policy-makers around the world can adopt and build systems that use data in responsible and innovative ways to create progress that legitimately serves people and communities,” said Sheila Warren, Deputy Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network, World Economic Forum.

The City of Helsinki created several tools to enable efficient utilization of extremely sensitive data. The main principle behind the blueprint is that the storage, anonymization and processing of data are separated and that different individuals perform each task.

Forging a way to create entirely new data analytics capabilities for Helsinki has resulted in a new technical environment for treating sensitive personal data with the highest ethical, data protection and cybersecurity standards. This environment will be used as the city continues accelerating its use of data to provide more personalized and timely services for its residents and visitors.

“Helsinki’s commitment to serving its citizens requires going beyond traditional service provision and tapping into the full potential of data to deliver the best quality services in the most efficient way possible. Using data responsibly requires the development and implementation of new practices that are human-centric – those that assure citizens’ interests are respected and prioritized at all times, empower citizens to improve their own lives through data, and increase participation in the overall ecosystem by building trustworthy data relationships,” said Jan Vapaavuori, Urban Activist and Mayor of Helsinki (2017-2021).

Much of the data needed to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges is siloed in public and private sources. Even for social good, the various regulatory, commercial and social risks prevent data sharing. The Shaping the Future of Technology Governance: Data Policy Platform works with partners from all sectors, regions and industries to develop agile and innovative approaches to accelerate the responsible use of data and empower stakeholders across the entire data ecosystem.

Sustainable Development Impact Summit 20-23 September The meeting brings together global leaders from business, government, and civil society under the theme Shaping an Equitable, Inclusive and Sustainable Recovery. It will focus on new technologies, policies and partnerships to advance cooperation, accelerate progress, and highlight tangible solutions to our global challenges.