Instrumental Factors

The Smart Centres Index (SCI) is built using a range of instrumental factors. In selecting factors to compile the SCI, a number of key properties are essential:

• Time series – where possible we will seek data that is contemporary (published within the last three years) is part of a series (collected as part of a programme rather than as a one off) and is on-going (there are plans to update it in the future).
• Locational relevance – where possible we will seek data at a jurisdictional level. Where this is not possible we use appropriate apportionment rules and/or alternative data, i.e. country or regional.
• Accessibility – data should generally be publicly accessible, this enables transparency in the assessments.

This edition of Smart Centres Index (SCI) used 136 instrumental factors. We have grouped the factors into the following areas:

Base Factors

1. The Business Environment: Economics statistics and information on the ease of doing business;
2. Reputational: Statistics on the quality and openness of life;
3. Infrastructure: These focus on the physical attributes of centres such as telecommunications, real-estate and transport;
4. Human Capital: These include data on education, employment, crime, corruption and health;
5. Financial Services: Data on the state of financial service development and the value of trade and commerce;
6. Technology Factors

• Legal: Measures focused on the legal status of smart technology use;
• Documentation: Sources tracking the use of smart technology for the delivery of services;
• Identity: These are measures focused on the maturity of e-government for identity and citizenship;
• Payments: The level of use of cryptocurrencies for payments and banking.

The taxonomy of factors is represented in the following diagram.

The factors used in the SCI are set out below: