Innovations in co-created smart city services

Abstract

This study is focused on co-creation of public services in the smart city from an open innovation management perspective. Drawing on both literature and empirical data from four smart city projects in Europe, it discusses the context of collaborative service creation (cocreation) requiring public service providers to engage with the citizens in the whole life cycle of service delivery (co-production). An integrated conceptual approach to co-production is adopted in order to understand how public service providers and users can co-create both individual and public value through their interaction in co-producing the services people appreciate and need, to impact on citizen and communal welfare. In particular, the sets of skills necessary for co-producing smart city services effectively are identified, allowing public service providers to gather the necessary user insight and their operational processes and to identify appropriate management approaches for delivering effective high quality urban services. Research is based on experience gained from SmartiP, a European multidisciplinary project focused on the co-production of citizens-centered internet-enabled services in the public sector. The use made by public service managers of a bespoke Self-Assessment Toolkit is analysed to identify what they prioritised when reporting their experiences of co-production. The results suggest that service managers need not only the capacity and skills for managing co-creation activities but for employing a governance structure that encourages collaboration between the multiplicities of stakeholders involved in the smart city open innovation eco-system. The findings can be used by both scholars and city administrations and public servants concerned with smart city services to drive co-creation activities and to redefine relevant operating processes to ensure sustainable value co-creation.