Revealed: Nesta's top tech cities, from London to New York

The research team evalsuated 40 city governments and analysed 1,440 data points to create the top-five list

What do the world's MOST innovative cities – from London to Helsinki and Seoul to Amsterdam – have in common? Is it the amount of money invested in local startups, how they regulate new urban businesses or how they use data to govern? UK innovation charity Nesta has been searching for the answer. "We set out to measure how well city governments are supporting the growth of a tech community," says John Gibson, study co-author and director of government innovation at Nesta.

The research team evalsuated 40 city governments and analysed 1,440 data points to create an overall top-five list. Then, the 40 were divided into four tiers: experimenters, where new approaches for growth are tested; builders, where an innovation agenda is actively pursued; challengers, where ecosystem growth is being capitalised on; and front runners, where well-established entrepreneurship is built upon and expanded.

According to the report, "CITIE: City Initiatives for Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship", the top five cities are New York, London, Helsinki, Barcelona and Amsterdam.

London lost out to New York for two reasons, says Gibson: "It doesn't have an innovation team in City Hall or a chief technology officer, as many North American cities do. Also, where London put in £1.5m into digital skills education, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio committed $70m [£45m]." On the plus side, London's open-data policy led to startups such as Citymapper. "Citymapper is now in 28 cities. There's a lovely cause and effect there," Gibson says.

For legislators who want to explore the data, the team built an interactive "diagnostic tool" that charts comparative statistics. "We want this to be useful for policymakers, and to bring to light the most innovative ideas from around the world."

KEY

The report scores city governments out of 100 for each of these features. Clockwise from left to right:

Openness
Infrastructure
  • Strategist Has clear support for innovation
  • Digital governor Low-friction engagement
  • Datavore The city publishes live, open data with APIs
Leadership
  • Host Effective use of space and networks
  • Investor Invests in skills and funding
  • Connector Access to Wi-Fi, public transport and cycling

This article was originally published by WIRED UK