Accelerating the Potential of Drones for Local Government International Best and Emerging Practice Report

Around the world, cities have started to deploy drones in a variety of missions –saving lives, reducing costs, delivering better services and generating efficiencies. The technology has evolved at a breath-taking pace over the past decade with a significant growth in the number of drones using our airspace. However, public sector and local government drone operations are at an early stage of their journey, with the next decade expected to bring about dramatic changes. Key benefits of drones adoption were identified across a number of public sector services, including: Public Safety: fire services, such as site mapping, aerial view and support on firebreaks; rescue missions and flood risk maps. Health and Environment: delivery of defibrillators, medical supplies and transplant organs, sanitation of urban areas, pollution control and monitoring critical infrastructure. Drones can make operations more efficient, save time and lives. Planning and Development: site inspections at reduced cost assisting planning decisions and enforcement. In the construction and development of buildings, real time data from drones can reduce costs and gain efficiencies while reducing risks and improving data quality. Transport and Logistics: road maintenance monitoring with reduced costs per inspection, traffic surveillance with more accurate data on congestion and accidents, assisting ports operations, and for postal and package deliveries. Energy: monitoring energy storage and transmission systems can result in significant time savings and a safer operating environment