Designing Services for an ICT Platform to Support City Learning for Developing Smart Cities

Cities experiencing rapid urbanisation and technological innovations face multifaceted challenges in demographics, economics, society, and the environment. To address these challenges and ensure sustainable development, the concept of “digital governments” has emerged, leveraging Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). However, these technocratic approaches lack a citizen-centric focus, potentially widening the digital divide among city residents. Consequently, there has been a shift from “digital government” to “digital governance,” emphasising collaboration among key stakeholders and utilisation of ICT to promote public value. The potential of digital governance lies in supporting city learning, wherein a city learns as an innovation ecosystem for its sustainable citizen-centric development and innovation. There is a lack of focus on how ICT can support city learning as an innovation ecosystem. Based on the Design Science Research Method, this study describes our research-in-progress in designing and developing a suitable ICT platform design, which focuses on citizen engagement and participation to support city learning for transforming cities towards sustainable citizen-centric smart cities. Using service blueprints, we illustrate the services that need to be supported by an ICT platform to support city learning.