An emergent taxonomy of boundary spanning in the smart city context – The case of smart Dublin

Abstract

Smart cities emphasize the use of advanced technology to deliver better services to and improve the well-being of their residents. Since the administrative authorities that manage cities often lack the knowledge and skills needed to transform their operations in this way, smart city initiatives usually involve a complex set of actors, from local urban authorities and their technical departments to small and large IT firms, academics, and civic organizations, as well as individual citizens. Mediating organizations are often set up to coordinate and manage such interactions. However, little is known about the roles and activities of such bodies. Using data from the Dublin smart city projects, this study draws on the concept of boundary spanning to develop a taxonomy of the work of such intermediaries. Divided into technical, political, social, and cultural domains, the study demonstrates the critical role of the work done by such bodies in enhancing collaboration among and the participation of a diverse group of citizens, IT and digital strategy departments of local authorities, universities and local/international IT companies (e.g., Google, Facebook or Airbnb), leading to a bottom-up governance style of leading smart city initiatives and projects.