An army of green frogs is at the cutting edge of council’s attempts to revolutionise the way they collect and analyse their data. The plastic frogs, designed by Bristol City Council to tackle damp housing, points to the growing importance of these skills within a local authority setting and the way they are helping to improve services for communities.

Bristol’s Citizen Sensing project identified damp housing as a worthy pilot scheme. Residents who volunteered to take part were given a frog-shaped plastic box containing a temperature and humidity sensor that collects data every five minutes, saving it to a central database that is accessible to homeowners. The work has helped residents acquire the knowledge and resources that will help them challenge landlords to take action over the problem, which can cause breathing trouble and allergic reactions.