Evidence-based public policy decision-making in smart cities : does extant theory support achievement of city sustainability objectives?

Mills, David (author), Pudney, Steven (author), Pevcin, Primož (author), Dvorak, Jaroslav (author)

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.

• Language: English
• Keywords: artificial intelligence, big data, collaboration, decision-making, evidence-based policy, local government, public administration policy, smart city
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: 23 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 14, iss. 1, art. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-136922
• UDC: 352:004.8
• ISSN on article: 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su14010003
• COBISS.SI-ID: 90491395
• Publication date in RUL: 25.05.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Sustainability
• Shortened title: Sustainability
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2071-1050
• COBISS.SI-ID: 5324897

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.01.2022

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: umetna inteligenca, množični podatki, sodelovanje, odločanje, politika na podlagi dokazov, lokalna oblast, politika javne uprave, pametno mesto

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0093
• Name: Razvoj sistema učinkovite in uspešne javne uprave