Multiple pathways to solve urban challenges: A shared portfolio approach towards smart city development

van den Ouweland, Chantal; van Winden, Willem; Mora, Luca

Abstract

Municipalities often collaborate with other stakeholders in smart city projects to develop and implement technological innovations to address complex urban issues. We propose the shared portfolio approach as an alternative way of collaborating, because we have identified possible limitations when the commonly used single-project approach is adopted in complex contexts, such as the smart city context. The portfolio approach enhances flexibility, an embedded focus and cross-project learning, because partners work on multiple projects – either in parallel or in succession – to develop multiple solutions to a specific problem. An in-depth case study is used to illustrate how the shared portfolio approach works. In practice, these insights can be used by public bodies who aim to collaborate in smart city development or by partners who work on smart city projects and wish to continue their collaboration in a portfolio setting. Conceptually, our paper develops a connection between cross-sector partnership literature and smart city literature by revealing how the shared portfolio approach could be an effective way to deal with the complexities of innovation in the smart city context.

Citation

van den Ouweland, C., van Winden, W., & Mora, L. (2024). Multiple pathways to solve urban challenges: A shared portfolio approach towards smart city development. Public Policy and Administration, 39(2), 193-213. https://doi.org/10.1177/09520767231183864

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Aug 5, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-04
• Deposit Date: Apr 8, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 8, 2024
• Journal: Public Policy and Administration
• Print ISSN: 0952-0767
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 193-213
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09520767231183864
• Keywords: smart city initiatives, Cross-sector partnerships, case study, innovation, shared portfolio approach
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3587541