scholarly journals Evidence-Based Public Policy Decision-Making in Smart Cities: Does Extant Theory Support Achievement of City Sustainability Objectives?

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
David Mills ◽  
Steven Pudney ◽  
Primož Pevcin ◽  
Jaroslav Dvorak
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
Evidence Based Decision Making

Evidence-based decision making is promoted as offering efficiency and effectiveness; however, its uptake has faced barriers such as underdeveloped supporting culture, limited access to evidence, and evidence that is not fully relevant. Smart city conceptualizations offer economic and environmental sustainability and better quality of life through evidence-based policy decision-making. We wondered whether smart city theory and practice has advanced the knowledge of evidence-based decision-making. We searched major databases for literature containing a mention of smart cities, decision-making, and policy. We identified relevant literature from a range of disciplines and supplemented these by following backwards and forwards citations. Evidence-based decision-making was found mostly in literature regarding the theory and practice of smart city operations, and, to lesser extents, the articles regarding policy decisions and tactical decisions. Better decision-making which supported the achievement of city sustainability objectives was reported in some articles; however, we found significant obstacles to the further achievement of city objectives in the areas of underachievement in collaborative decision-making, privileging of big data evidence, and artificial intelligence agents as decision-makers. We assembled a definition of smart city decision-making and developed an agenda of research which will support city governments, theorists, and practitioners in better achieving sustainability through improved decision-making.

scholarly journals A Study of the Interaction of Human Smart Characteristics with Demographic Dynamics and Built Environment: The Case of Limassol, Cyprus

Smart Cities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-73
Author(s):  
Maroula N. Alverti ◽  
Kyriakos Themistocleous ◽  
Phaedon C. Kyriakidis ◽  
Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Population Census ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Demographic Dynamics ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
City Policy

The smart city notion provides an integrated and systematic answer to challenges facing cities today. Smart city policy makers and technology vendors are increasingly stating their interest in human-centered smart cities. On the other hand, in many studies smart city policies bring forward a one-size-fits-all type of recommendation for all areas in question instead of location-specific ones. Based on the above considerations, this paper illustrates that smart citizen characteristics, alongside local urban challenges, are paving the way towards more effective efforts in smart city policy decision making. Our main presumption is that the development level of human-centered indicators of smart cities varies locally. The scientific objective of this paper is to find a simple, understandable link between human smart characteristics and local determinants in Limassol city, Cyprus. The data set consists of seven indicators defined as human smart characteristics and seven which determine local urban challenges consisting of demographic dynamics and built infrastructure attributes based on housing. Correlations of the 14 above indicators are examined in entirety and separately, as the study area was divided into three spatial sub-groups (high, moderate, and low coverage areas) depending on dispersed urbanization, as the main challenge of the study area. The data were obtained mainly from the most recent population census in 2011 and categorized in sub-groups by triggering CLC 2012. Analyzing the statistics using principal component analysis (PCA), we identify significant relationships between human smart city characteristics, demographic dynamics and built infrastructure attributes which can be used in local policy decision making. Spatial variations based on the dispersed urbanization are also observed regarding the above-mentioned relationships.

Smart Cities Governance

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 724-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Castelnovo ◽  
Gianluca Misuraca ◽  
Alberto Savoldelli
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Public Value ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
Evaluation Approaches

Most of the definitions of a “smart city” make a direct or indirect reference to improving performance as one of the main objectives of initiatives to make cities “smarter”. Several evaluation approaches and models have been put forward in literature and practice to measure smart cities. However, they are often normative or limited to certain aspects of cities’ “smartness”, and a more comprehensive and holistic approach seems to be lacking. Thus, building on a review of the literature and practice in the field, this paper aims to discuss the importance of adopting a holistic approach to the assessment of smart city governance and policy decision making. It also proposes a performance assessment framework that overcomes the limitations of existing approaches and contributes to filling the current gap in the knowledge base in this domain. One of the innovative elements of the proposed framework is its holistic approach to policy evaluation. It is designed to address a smart city’s specificities and can benefit from the active participation of citizens in assessing the public value of policy decisions and their sustainability over time. We focus our attention on the performance measurement of codesign and coproduction by stakeholders and social innovation processes related to public value generation. More specifically, we are interested in the assessment of both the citizen centricity of smart city decision making and the processes by which public decisions are implemented, monitored, and evaluated as regards their capability to develop truly “blended” value services—that is, simultaneously socially inclusive, environmentally friendly, and economically sustainable.

scholarly journals Chile’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (CAVEI): Evidence-based recommendations for public policy decision-making on vaccines and immunization

Vaccine ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (32) ◽  
pp. 4646-4650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannette Dabanch ◽  
Cecilia González ◽  
Jaime Cerda ◽  
Johanna Acevedo ◽  
Mario Calvo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Advisory Committee ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Decision Making

scholarly journals Policy-Related Decision Making in a Smart City Context: The PoliVisu Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Yannis Charalabidis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Evidence Based Decision Making

AbstractDealing with the growing quest for better governance, the advancement of ICT provides new methods and tools to politicians and their cabinets on an almost daily basis. In this changing landscape, the PoliVisu project constitutes a step forward from the evidence-based decision making, going towards an experimental approach supported by the large variety of available data sets. Through utilizing advanced data gathering, processing and visualisation techniques, the PoliVisu platform is one of the most recent integrated examples promoting the experimental dimension of policy making at a municipal and regional level.

scholarly journals Misunderstanding home: Exploring depictions of home in old age policy decision-making

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Jutta Pulkki ◽  
Liina-Kaisa Tynkkynen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Old People ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Policy Decision Making

Living at home is a core value in old age policies worldwide. This study examines how members of parliament (MP) depict the home in two parliamentary discussions related to a law on older people’s care and living arrangements in Finland. The data contained 110 speeches from 42 MPs in the first discussion and 17 in the second and was examined using thematic analysis. The extracts with the word “home” were coded and grouped as potential themes. These themes were reviewed further and reflected using relevant literature. As a result, the overarching theme ‘home as a restricted space’ was formulated with three subthemes: home as a space in which old people ‘manage to live’, ‘are treated’ and ‘live without contacts’. The findings suggest that policymakers misrecognised the valued attributes related to older persons’ homes, and in doing so, they hamper the potential for success in home-centred old age policies.

A new epistemology of evidence-based policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-258
Author(s):  
Philip Sayer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Process Reliabilism ◽  
What Works ◽  
Evidence Based Policy ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Policy Decision Making

In a remarkably short period, ‘evidence-based policy’ (EBP), and the associated discourses of ‘what works’, have risen to prominence as a set of organising principles for public policy decision-making. Critics of EBP frequently point to its implicit positivist assumptions by highlighting the socially constructed nature of evidence. However, the effectiveness of this critique is limited by the imprecise and often pejorative use of the term ‘positivism’. This article therefore seeks to offer a more precise account of the underlying assumptions of EBP. To do so, it draws on an epistemological position known as process reliabilism, which analyses the justification of a belief by assessing whether it has been reached by means of an epistemically reliable decision-making process or processes. Through this framework, the article advocates a new approach to EBP which is framed around the principle of avoiding error, rather than that of seeking truth.

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