Digital transformation not only introduces novel technological advancements but also demands a new understanding of how public services should be provided. However, legal uncertainty and the lack of overarching organizational frameworks lead to poor implementation and management of digital data-driven services.
Smart city innovations cannot be completed successfully without a secure data governance framework. Data governance aims to balance conflicting interests involved in the collection and reuse of data. This can lead to overlaps with other areas of governance, such as smart city or corporate governance. The different governance approaches must therefore be synchronised by suitable structures across the normative, organizational and technological dimensions.
The project develops data governance concepts via two approaches:
Inductive (bottom-up): Data governance concepts are developed using a data-driven air quality management solution. This involves designing and implementing approaches for project management which are oriented towards public welfare. These approaches are then refined and optimised through dialogue with citizens, district offices, and senate offices. The resulting concepts are then abstracted, refined, and applied to other use cases.
Deductive (top-down): These concepts will be aligned with governance principles in the areas of smart city, corporate and data governance, as discussed in expert discourse.
From this process, a data governance guideline with suitable procedures, roles, responsibilities and decision-making criteria will be developed, which will allow actors to identify, consider and answer questions regarding the legal, organisational and technological dimensions of data governance in a structured and comprehensible manner.
In the use case, KWB leads the research on the organisational dimension, analysing administrative processes, as well as roles and competencies. It also supports the theoretical contextualization of the issues at hand and the implementation of consultation and participation processes.
KWB and its project partners are making a significant contribution to the digital transformation of the public sector through the Data Governance project. The project focuses on the data-related negotiation processes that are essential for smart cities. This involves making these processes more efficient, easier to understand, and more effective in promoting the common good.
