What are the best ways to ensure that smart city governance is flexible and adaptable?

1 Co-create solutions

Smart city governance is not a top-down process, but a collaborative one. It involves co-creating solutions with citizens, businesses, civil society, and other actors, using participatory methods and tools. Co-creation can foster trust, innovation, and ownership, as well as address diverse and complex problems. Some examples of co-creation are hackathons, living labs, citizen assemblies, and online platforms.

2 Experiment and learn

Smart city governance is not a fixed plan, but a learning journey. It involves experimenting with new ideas, testing them in real contexts, and learning from the results. Experimentation can enable rapid prototyping, feedback, and iteration, as well as cope with uncertainty and risk. Some examples of experimentation are pilot projects, sandboxes, agile methods, and data analytics.

3 Adapt and scale

Smart city governance is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but a context-sensitive one. It involves adapting solutions to different situations, contexts, and needs, and scaling them up or down accordingly. Adaptation can enhance relevance, effectiveness, and resilience, as well as leverage existing assets and capacities. Some examples of adaptation are modular design, open standards, interoperability, and network governance.

4 Communicate and share

Smart city governance is not a closed system, but an open one. It involves communicating and sharing information, knowledge, and best practices with internal and external stakeholders, as well as the public. Communication can increase transparency, accountability, and awareness, as well as foster collaboration and learning. Some examples of communication are dashboards, reports, newsletters, and social media.

5 Empower and enable

Smart city governance is not a centralized control, but a distributed empowerment. It involves empowering and enabling citizens and stakeholders to participate, contribute, and co-produce smart city solutions, as well as to access and use the benefits. Empowerment can enhance inclusion, diversity, and democracy, as well as unleash creativity and potential. Some examples of empowerment are digital literacy, capacity building, incentives, and rights.

6 Evaluate and improve

Smart city governance is not a static state, but a dynamic process. It involves evaluating and improving the performance, impact, and value of smart city solutions, as well as the governance model itself. Evaluation can provide evidence, insights, and recommendations, as well as identify gaps and challenges. Some examples of evaluation are indicators, metrics, surveys, and audits.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?