What factors drive policy transfer in smart city development? Insights from a Delphi study

Abstract

Smart city initiatives are viewed as an input to existing urban systems to solve various problems faced by modern cities. Making cities smarter implies not only technological innovation and deployment, but also having smart people and effective policies. Cities can acquire knowledge and incorporate governance lessons from other jurisdictions to develop smart city initiatives that are unique to the local contexts. We conducted two rounds of surveys involving 23 experts on an e-Delphi platform to consolidate their opinion on factors that facilitate policy transfer among smart cities. Findings show a consensus on the importance of six factors: having a policy entrepreneur; financial instruments; cities’ enthusiasm for policy learning; capacity building; explicit regulatory mechanisms; and policy adaptation to local contexts. Correspondingly, three policy recommendations were drawn. Formalizing collaborative mechanisms and joint partnerships between cities, setting up regional or international networks of smart cities, and establishing smart city repositories to collect useful case studies for urban planning and governance lessons will accelerate policy transfer for smart city development. This study sheds light on effective ways policymakers can foster policy learning and transfer, especially when a jurisdiction's capacity is insufficient to deal with the uncertainties and challenges ahead. • Consolidated opinions of 23 experts via two rounds of e-Delphi study on smart cities. • Identified six key factors to foster policy learning and transfer in smart cities. • Policy capacity, context sensitivity, financial and regulatory tools are crucial. • Policy entrepreneurs and enthusiasm to learn also drive inter-city policy transfer. • We also suggest formalising collaborative mechanisms and smart city repositories.