The Role of Smart Technologies to Support Citizen Engagement and Decision Making

Abstract

Smart government relies both on the application of digital technologies to enable citizen's participation in order to achieve a high level of citizen centricity and on data-driven decision making in order to improve the quality of life of citizens. Data-driven decisions in turn depend on accessible and reliable datasets, which open government and social media data are likely to promise. The SmartGov project uses digital technologies by integrating open and social media data in Fuzzy Cognitive Maps to model real life problems and simulate different scenarios leading to better decision making. This research performed a multiple-case analysis in two pilot cities. Both municipalities use the technologies to find the best routes: Limassol to improve the garbage collection and Quart de Poblet to improve the walking routes of chaperones guiding children to school. The article proposes a generic framework for Smart City Governance focusing on the inputs and outcomes of this process in the use of technologies for policy making built based on the analysis of the SmartGov.