This paper deals with the need for the different levels of government to attain the capabilities to open the way to smart development in smart communities. In order to achieve this aim governance systems are deemed to manage an different types of knowledge in scientific, technological, and economic fields. By combining the idea of the smartness as defined by the European Commission with the opportunities that emerge from new modes of knowledge production the chapter lists all the preconditions for smart development to be managed in smart communities and provides new insights for effectively coordinating government and governance in the smart development perspective.
The first precondition concerns the political side: democracy, transparency, participation, accountability are the words which come to our mind. We have here a tension in that rules must be written in such a way as not to allow a drift towards autocracy and corruption, but when rules are too strict, whatever their intention, they can obtain a perverse effect of blocking any possibility of effective governance.
The second precondition concerns knowledge. Knowledge relates to all aspects of our action, that is we need institutional, organisational, scientific and technological knowledge. This means that an updated organization of knowledge within and outside the firm should be made available. One has to be very careful because often one presumes to have the right knowledge, informing his or her action on this presumption to find out that the premises were wrong.
The third precondition can be addressed as the technological dimension, with particular emphasis on ICTs. Our presumption to possess the “right” knowledge is more and more based on our ability to gather, store and process data. Undoubtedly enormous progresses have taken place, and today we can monitor and assess in real time more and more magnitudes, from traffic to the sewerage system. A fourth precondition consists in the acknowledgement of the coexistence of hierarchic, market and network mechanisms in which public, private for-profit and non-profit companies coexist and compete to provide goods and services.
The central role of the public administration in regulating existing infrastructures and in providing new material and immaterial infrastructures (like, for instance, in the field of R&D and education) is eventually emphasized. Due to the array of requirements put forward by the business community, social organizations and citizens, the public administration has to become more robust and efficient, not only in the management of current affairs, but also in the assessment of future needs. The assessment of future needs in a planning period ranging approximately from 10 to 15 years is becoming more and more important. This cannot be done with a week government and implies a strong cooperation between the private and public sectors. We try to address these crucial nodes by leveraging on the role of governance in building up an effective connection between the organization of knowledge internal and external to the firms.
C3 - Smart Cities: A Global Comparative Public Management Perspective
