Dubai: A new tool will soon be used across Dubai entities to assess the impact of their smart-city initiatives on the happiness of people, it was announced on Monday.
The Smart Happiness Project Assessment Tool, announced by The Smart Dubai office (SDO), will allow both public and private entities to evaluate each of their projects and prioritise those that will have the maximum impact on the city’s happiness, officials have said.
The cutting-edge tool will enable an evidence-based decision making process, allowing organisations to upgrade and improve their projects to make them more effective, in addition to being able to calculate the outcome of each project.
Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai Office explained that the unified tool, developed in collaboration with professor Jan- Emmanuel De Neve of the university of oxford, is the first of its kind and will help entities better understand which of their projects need to be adjusted and on which areas to focus their initiatives.
“This new and innovative project will guide our decisions in the city by creating a structured and scientific approach to assessing projects and initiatives,” she said.
The project will be ready for initial deployment within five months, she added.
“What we are launching marks a significant step forward towards realising the Smart Dubai 2021 strategy which strives to transform Dubai into a fully integrated smart city.”
The tool is a scientific model built on data collected from the ‘Smart Happiness Index’, explained Dr Ali Al Azzawi, City Experience Adviser at SDO. The index, developed by Gallup organisation and University of Oxford, was able to give a data-based link between happiness and the six dimensions of the Smart Dubai 2021 Strategy: smart living, smart economy, smart mobility, smart governance, smart environment, and smart people.
“It was found that the happiness of people in Dubai is highly correlated to the living and economy dimensions, meaning that people want to see more initiatives and effort pour into these dimensions and that’s what will make them happy,” he said.
The assessment tool will be also used as a learning tool for future projects and to evaluate policies in later stages, aiming for sustainable long-term happiness in a smart Dubai.
