Smart Governance Toolbox: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Smart city projects rely upon dynamic and complex multi-stakeholder collaboration. This collaboration can be challenging. In this study, we use an instrumental lens and argue that tools can help public professionals in dealing with smart governance challenges. Building upon smart governance and collaborative governance models, we conceptualize smart governance as a toolbox. Based on our “smart governance toolbox”, we assess the variety of tools available for professionals to initiate and support multi-stakeholder collaboration by reviewing academic and grey literature. This review results in the identification of a broad range of tools that research and practice have developed. However, we also demonstrate that certain parts of the ‘smart governance toolbox’ remain almost empty: there are few tools for assessing the smart collaborative governance context, facilitating the collaborative structure, tackling technology issues, and measuring outcomes of smart city practices. Future design research should focus on developing instruments needed to make the smart governance toolbox complete.