Overview
The OPENAIR Best Practice Guide for smart air quality monitoring has been developed to help local governments implement air quality monitoring projects. The Guide is divided into sections that reflect the six stages of the OPENAIR Impact Planning Cycle. Each section is organised into topic areas, with a suite of associated resources.
Each factsheet, Best Practice Guide chapter, and supplementary resource is available as an individual download. You can also download the entire Best Practice Guide as a single PDF document, with all chapters combined.
For more information about OPENAIR resources, please contact the project team.
We are adding resources as they become available.
Contents
Introduction
1. Identify
2. Develop
3. Implement and operate
4. Manage and analyse data
5. Act on evidence
6. Evaluate
OPENAIR Impact Planning Cycle
Introduction
This section introduces the OPENAIR Best Practice Guide for smart air quality monitoring. It provides an overview of the OPENAIR project, as well as guidance on how to use the broader suite of OPENAIR resources.
Factsheet – What is OPENAIR?
This factsheet provides an overview of the OPENAIR project.
1. Identify
This section contains information that supports the following tasks:
- Approval and set-up
- Roles and governance
- Project time frame
- Smart places strategy development
- Identify and engage with key stakeholders
- Identify your strategic objective
- Identify your data needs
- Capacity review
- Evaluation strategy
- Business requirements and data use action statements
Smart places strategy development
The following resources explore how smart places best practice applies to air quality monitoring by local government.
Factsheet – Smart air quality monitoring
This factsheet provides a high-level, non-technical introduction to smart air quality monitoring.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Smart air quality monitoring
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides a more detailed, non-technical introduction to smart air quality monitoring.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Smart places best practice
This Best Practice Guide chapter positions smart air quality monitoring as a smart city activity that should be guided by smart city best practice.
Impact design
The following resources cover how to design a smart air quality monitoring project to maximise impact.
Factsheet – The Impact Planning Cycle at a glance
This factsheet presents an overview of the OPENAIR Impact Planning Cycle, a simple, practical framework designed to assist local governments with impact planning for a smart air quality monitoring project.
Best Practice Guide chapter – The Impact Planning Cycle overview
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces the OPENAIR Impact Planning Cycle, a simple, practical framework designed to assist local governments with impact planning for a smart air quality monitoring project. The Impact Planning Cycle is a planning tool that can help to maximise the impact of a project, and address the needs of an organisation and community.
Supplementary resource – The Impact Planning Cycle in detail
This resource is a detailed guide to using the OPENAIR Impact Planning Cycle, a simple, practical framework designed to assist local governments with impact planning for a smart air quality monitoring project. The Impact Planning Cycle is a planning tool that can help to maximise the impact of a project, and address the needs of an organisation and community.
Business case development
The following resources support the development of a business case for a smart air quality monitoring project.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Know your stakeholders
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces stakeholder mapping and engagement as a critical early step in designing a high-impact project. It helps you to start thinking about who the project’s stakeholders might be, and how you will engage with them.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Identify your issues
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides a process for identifying and prioritising a single, focused air quality issue that can be addressed using smart low-cost air quality sensing devices.
Supplementary resource – Identify template
This template supports creation of a business plan and ‘data use action statement’ as strategic foundations for a smart low-cost sensing project.
Air quality as a local issue
The following resources provide a non-technical introduction to air quality as a local issue.
Factsheet – Air quality as a local issue
This factsheet provides a high-level introduction to air quality as a local issue.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Air quality as a local issue
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides a detailed introduction to air quality as a local issue. It explores sources and types of air pollution, impacts of air pollution, and why local action is needed.
Emerging data use cases for smart low-cost air quality sensing
The following resources provide examples of data use cases to guide the decisions and choices of local governments implementing air quality sensing projects.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Emerging data use cases
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces a range of emerging applications for smart low-cost air quality sensing technologies. The focus is on the data produced, and how it can be used to create impact.
Supplementary resource – Emerging data use case compendium
This resource presents an extended list of emerging applications for smart low-cost air quality sensing technologies. The focus is on the data produced, and how it can be used to create impact. These more detailed examples may inspire local governments that wish to address air quality issues in their communities.
2. Develop
This section contains information that supports the following tasks:
- Technical requirements
- Data policy development
- Sensing device deployment planning
- Technology procurement
- Communications deployment planning and approvals
- Deploy and test communications infrastructure
- Participatory design and citizen sensing
- Develop a metadata schema
Technical requirements and procurement
These resources support the development of a series of technical requirements to meet the needs of a particular smart air quality sensing project. These requirements can then inform procurement decisions relating to sensing devices, platforms, and digital services.
Factsheet – Sensing device procurement
This factsheet provides an overview of considerations relating to the selection and procurement of smart low-cost air quality sensing devices.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Sensing device procurement
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on the selection and procurement of smart low-cost air quality sensing devices. It explores critical considerations relating to the design and functionality of devices and the quality of the data they produce, supporting procurement choices that are appropriate to the needs of a project and organisation.
Factsheet – Platforms and digital services procurement
This factsheet provides an overview of the platforms and digital services that a local government might require to support smart air quality monitoring activities.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Platforms and digital services criteria
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance for the selection of appropriate platforms and digital services to support smart air quality monitoring.
Best Practice Guide chapter – IoT reference architecture for smart air quality monitoring
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces the OPENAIR reference architecture for smart air quality monitoring. The reference architecture is a framework that identifies the various components and data flows that make up a complete technical solution for smart air quality monitoring. It is a generic reference that can help local governments to design and implement their own technical solutions.
Supplementary resource – A reference architecture for smart air quality monitoring: detailed guide
This resource is an extended, stand-alone guide to the OPENAIR reference architecture for smart air quality monitoring. The reference architecture is a framework that identifies the various technical components of a complete air quality sensing network, and shows how devices, communications, platforms, databases, and user interfaces integrate and support the flow and management of data. It is a generic reference that can help local governments to design and implement their own technical solutions.
Supplementary resource – Data infrastructure maturity assessment model
This resource provides a model for local governments to assess the maturity of their existing air quality monitoring data infrastructure, relative to a broader maturity scale ranging from low to high sophistication, complexity, and functionality. The model helps organisations to position themselves on a pathway to technology maturity, providing guidance on next steps at each stage in the journey.
Supplementary resource – A framework for categorising air quality sensing devices
This resource presents a new framework for categorising air quality sensing devices in an Australian context. It identifies four tiers of device types, separated in terms of functionality, and the quality and usability of their data output. It is designed to assist with the selection of devices that are appropriate to meeting the needs of a project and an intended data use case.
Supplementary resource – Technical requirements template
This template is an extended, step-by-step tool that supports the development of technical requirements for a smart air quality monitoring project. These requirements define the details of technologies (sensing devices, platforms, and services) that can meet the specific needs of a project, and are intended to support procurement decision-making.
Supplementary resource – A guide to developing technical requirements
This resource is a companion guide to the technical requirements template.
Performance evaluation of smart low-cost air quality sensing devices
These resources provide guidance on designing and undertaking performance evaluation of smart low-cost air quality sensing devices. They are more technical than other OPENAIR resources, and are primarily aimed at researchers and people undertaking independent reviews of devices.
Supplementary resource – Sensing device performance evaluation methodology
This resource presents a methodology for evaluating the performance (and corresponding data quality) of smart low-cost air quality sensors.
Data communications
These resources cover the procurement of suitable data communications technologies.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Data communications procurement
This Best Practice Guide chapter explores the various communications technologies that can support smart low-cost air quality sensing, and provides advice on selecting technologies that are appropriate to a project and organisation.
Data policy
These resources provide guidance on how local government policy can support the effective, responsible, and strategic management and sharing of data associated with smart low-cost air quality sensing.
Factsheet – Data policy for local government air quality monitoring
This factsheet provides an overview of how local government data policy can support the effective, responsible, and strategic management and sharing of data associated with air quality monitoring.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Data policy for local government air quality monitoring
This Best Practice Guide chapter explores how local government data policy can support the effective, responsible, and strategic management and sharing of data associated with air quality monitoring. It addresses critical considerations, and provides practical advice relating to the design and development of appropriate data policy.
Sensing device deployment planning
These resources assist with the deployment and installation of air quality sensing devices.
Factsheet – Sensing device deployment planning: high-level design
This factsheet introduces a high-level design approach for a smart air quality monitoring network, including key considerations for planning where and how to deploy sensing devices.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Sensing device deployment planning: high-level design
This Best Practice Guide chapter explores the high-level design of a smart air quality monitoring network. It provides general guidance for selecting where to deploy devices, what to mount them on, how to mount them, and how to support their operation.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Sensing device deployment planning: detailed design
This Best Practice Guide chapter explores the detailed design of a smart air quality monitoring network. It builds upon high-level design activities, and provides guidance for planning and documenting the details of specific device deployments.
Supplementary resource – Sensing device deployment planning: high-level design template
This resource is a practical, step-by-step template for undertaking the high-level design of a smart air quality monitoring network. It covers how to identify general device deployment locations; identify suitable device mounting infrastructure; identify power supply options; develop device mounting solutions; and plan access and permissions.
Participatory design
These resources introduce the concept of participatory project design, where citizens can become active co-designers of an air quality monitoring project, and may take ownership of key aspects of its delivery. Resources explore the benefits of participatory design for local governments in this context, practical approaches to implementation, and common challenges that may arise.
Factsheet – Citizen-led air quality engagement: participative design in practice
This factsheet provides an overview of the concept of participatory project design, where citizens can become active co-designers of an air quality monitoring project, and may take ownership of key aspects of its delivery.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Participative design practice
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance for inclusion of participatory design approaches in a smart air quality monitoring project. Participatory design is where citizens can become active co-designers of a project, and may take ownership of key aspects of its delivery. The chapter explores the benefits of participatory design for local governments in this context, practical approaches to implementation, and common challenges that may arise.
Citizen sensing
These resources explore citizen sensing, where citizens play an active role in the collection of air quality data using low-cost sensors.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Citizen sensing
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance relating to a type of citizen science known as ‘citizen sensing’. This is where citizens play an active role in the collection of air quality data using low-cost sensors. This chapter explores the benefits of this approach, practical considerations, and common challenges.
3. Implement and operate
This section contains information that supports the following tasks:
- Sensing device calibration
- Procure device installation services
- System integration
- Sensing device test deployments
- Sensing device network deployment
- Troubleshooting
- Collect and store sensor data
- Confirm/procure operational services
- Cybersecurity considerations
Sensing device calibration
These resources provide guidance on the calibration of smart low-cost air quality sensing devices.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Sensing device calibration
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on the calibration of smart low-cost air quality sensing devices. It discusses calibration, co-location, decision-making, and developing and following a plan.
Sensing device deployment and verification
These resources provide guidance relating to the activation and deployment of sensing devices, and a process for verifying correct device installation, accurate metadata records, and acceptable data quality immediately after deployment is completed.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Air quality sensing device activation and deployment
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on activating and deploying smart low-cost air quality sensing devices.
Supplementary resource – Air quality sensing device activation and deployment checklist
This resource provides extended guidance on activating and deploying smart low-cost air quality sensing devices. The process begins with onboarding and configuration of devices, includes testing and installation, and ends with commissioning.
Troubleshooting and network operations
These resources identify common issues with smart low-cost air quality sensing devices, and how to fix them. They also provide guidance on the technical operation of a smart air quality monitoring network.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Sensing device troubleshooting: common problems and how to fix them
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces a framework of common problems that can arise with smart low-cost air quality sensors and the provision of useful data. It includes some practical information to help diagnose issues, fix them, and mitigate against reoccurrence.
Supplementary resource – Sensing device troubleshooting: extended guide
This resource presents an extended, systematic list of problems that can arise with smart low-cost air quality sensors and the provision of useful data. It includes practical information to help diagnose, fix, and mitigate each type of issue.
Best Practice Guide chapter – IoT system operations
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on the technical operation of an air quality monitoring network as a complete IoT system (comprising multiple devices, communications systems, software/platforms, databases, and digital services). Effective operation of these systems ensures a reliable supply of air quality data, and ensures that data is stored, accessed, and used in accordance with the needs of a project and organisation.
Cybersecurity
These resources explore best practice approaches to cybersecurity in the context of smart low-cost air quality sensing devices and supporting systems.
Factsheet – Cybersecurity for smart air quality monitoring networks
This factsheet provides an overview of key cybersecurity considerations for local governments establishing smart low-cost sensor networks and supporting platforms and services.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Cybersecurity for smart air quality monitoring networks
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on key cybersecurity considerations for local governments establishing smart low-cost sensor networks and supporting platforms and services.
4. Manage and analyse data
This section contains information that supports the following tasks:
- Data correction and translation
- Data quality control
- Metadata completion
- Data analytics
- Data management and sharing
Data interpretation
These resources provide guidance on interpreting data produced by smart low-cost air quality sensors. This includes a general overview of the process and a high-level strategic approach, as well as more detailed guidance relating to data correction and harmonisation, data quality control, and data analysis.
Factsheet – Air quality data interpretation
This factsheet provides an overview of the process for interpreting data produced by smart low-cost air quality sensors. The process includes data correction and harmonisation, data quality control, and data analysis.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Data interpretation: overview
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on interpreting data produced by smart low-cost air quality sensors. It outlines the three main stages of the process (data correction and harmonisation; data quality control; and data analysis), explores the relationship between data interpretation and impact creation, and supports the planning of a data interpretation strategy.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Data interpretation: correction and harmonisation
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on correction and harmonisation of data produced by smart low-cost air quality sensors. It introduces several types of correction factor that may need to be applied to raw sensor data, and explores how data formatting and labelling should be harmonised with a project data schema to support effective data management and sharing.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Data interpretation: quality control
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on the quality control of data produced by smart low-cost air quality sensors. Data quality control helps to isolate trusted data that can then be used to support chosen activities. This chapter explores approaches to cleaning static data sets to prepare them for analysis, and approaches to operational verification and quality control of live data streams.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Data interpretation: analytics
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces common analytical approaches that can be applied to data produced by smart low-cost air quality sensors. These include statistical analysis; temporal interpolation; spatial aggregation and interpolation; complex geospatial system modelling; and AI and machine learning applications.
Data labelling
These resources provide guidance on creating a project data schema, and implementing data labelling to support effective data management and sharing.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Data labelling for smart air quality monitoring
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on data labelling for smart air quality monitoring. It provides advice on developing and implementing a project data schema (which defines all of the telemetry and metadata that will be used in a project).
Data sharing
These resources explore the ways in which data is shared, including the decision-making process for assessing specific data sets, and the methods (how and where) by which data is made discoverable and shared with end users.
Factsheet – Sharing air quality data
This factsheet provides an overview of how to share air quality data, including how to decide which data to share, and how to ensure that data is shared appropriately and effectively.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Sharing air quality data
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on the sharing of air quality data. It explores the process by which a local government might assess data to determine its shareability, and presents a series of practical options for implementing data sharing.
5. Act on evidence
This section contains information that supports the following tasks:
- Develop insights and build an evidence base
- Plan and implement activities for impact
- Institutional capacity building
- Engaging community with data
- Data visualisation and user interfaces
- Knowledge sharing and communities of practice
Activities for impact
These resources explore a broad range of activities that can be undertaken by a local government to create impact relating to an air quality issue. Activities are defined as actions supported by data or by data-driven insights. In the OPENAIR Impact Planning Cycle, the collection of data using smart low-cost air quality sensors is intended to support activities for impact.
Factsheet – Activities for impact
This factsheet provides an overview of activities that can be undertaken by a local government to create impact relating to an air quality issue. It frames data as an enabler of these activities.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Activities for impact
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces a range of activities that can be undertaken by a local government to create impact relating to an air quality issue. Activities are categorised into four impact areas: transport; built environment; green infrastructure; and community engagement.
Supplementary resource – Activities for impact compendium
This resource presents a detailed compendium of activities that can be undertaken by a local government to create impact relating to an air quality issue. Activities are categorised into four impact areas: transport; built environment; green infrastructure; and community engagement.
Organisational capacity building
These resources provide guidance to project staff on how to engage proactively with other people or teams within their organisation. This helps to support their particular project (and the data that it is producing), and contributes to organisational capacity building.
Factsheet – Engaging your organisation with air quality data
This factsheet provides an overview of effective activities for proactive engagement with air quality data within a local government context. It provides a rationale for engagement, and high-level guidance for getting started.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Engaging your organisation with air quality data
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on designing and delivering effective activities for engagement with air quality data within a local government context, addressing the common issue of underutilisation of data assets.
Engaging community with data
These resources explore approaches to impact creation through engaging local communities with air quality data, explain the benefits of proactive engagement, and provide guidance to local governments.
Factsheet – Engaging your community with air quality data
This factsheet provides an overview of approaches to community engagement with air quality data. It introduces some of the benefits to local government, and some of the more common community engagement approaches that a local government might choose to adopt.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Engaging your community with air quality data
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance on engaging communities with air quality data. It explores the benefits of community data activation, provides tips on how to get started, and presents an extensive range of community engagement approaches that a local government might choose to adopt. It also considers how to mitigate against common risks associated with data release and community engagement with data.
Data visualisation and user interfaces
These resources introduce some of the key tools and strategies that can be used to communicate air quality data to stakeholders and collaborators in meaningful and useful ways. They focus on the design and functionality of user interfaces, including dashboards, data portals, and a variety of live data integrations. They also explore communication strategies, and the use of ‘data stories’ for effective engagement.
Best Practice Guide chapter – User interfaces and data stories
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces some of the key tools and strategies that can be used to communicate air quality data to stakeholders and collaborators in meaningful and useful ways. The chapter focuses on the design and functionality of user interfaces, including dashboards, data portals, and a variety of live data integrations. It also explores communication strategies, and the use of ‘data stories’ for effective engagement.
Knowledge sharing and communities of practice
These resources introduce the idea of a community of practice for smart air quality monitoring. By connecting with others, knowledge and insights can be shared, collaborations can be created, new funding can be accessed, and increased value and impact for communities can be leveraged. These resources provide guidance on three domains of community building: within one’s own organisation; within the local community; and at a larger scale (state/national/global).
Best Practice Guide chapter – Building a community of practice: networks, collaboration, and wider impact creation
This Best Practice Guide chapter introduces the idea of a community of practice for smart air quality monitoring. By connecting with others, knowledge and insights can be shared, collaborations can be created, new funding can be accessed, and increased value and impact for communities can be leveraged. This resource provides guidance on three domains of community building: within one’s own organisation; within the local community; and at a larger scale (state/national/global).
6. Evaluate
This section contains information that supports the following tasks:
- Evaluate all aspects of your project (core strategy and business case; technology choices and design; business operations; data efficacy; practicality and sustainability of evidence-based activities; outcomes and impacts achieved)
- Evaluation reporting
Evaluation
These resources identify the importance and methods of evaluating impact.
Factsheet – Measuring impact
This factsheet provides an overview of impact measurement, evaluation, and reporting for local government air quality monitoring projects.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Measuring impact
This Best Practice Guide chapter provides guidance to assist with the measurement, evaluation, and reporting of impact created through a local government air quality monitoring project.
Best Practice Guide chapter – Business case evaluation and future planning
This Best Practice Guide chapter explores the evaluation of a local government business case for smart air quality monitoring, and outlines a high-level approach to future planning. This chapter is concerned with reviewing the success of a project relative to an original business case, and evaluating the success of the business case itself (in terms of how well it was executed, how realistic it was, and how practically achievable its aims were). It also considers how well the existing business case is suited to ongoing project activity, and offers guidance on planning a sustainable future roadmap.
Supplementary resource – Air quality data set evaluation template
This template is intended as a practical tool for local governments to evaluate and characterise the quality and usability of data produced by smart low-cost air quality sensors. The template supports a meta-analysis to establish what data has been collected; the quality and reliability of the data; how data is being shared; what associated metadata is available; and the potential uses and limitations of the data.
Find out more
For more information about OPENAIR resources, please contact the project team.