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Paper short abstract:

The paper uses an innovative process tracing methodology. We mapped urban systems institutional structures and data processes in cities to reveal interdependencies & illuminate points for intervention. We explored links of administration and data systems for effective data-driven urban services.

Paper long abstract:

The exponential growth of digital forms of data is bringing insight and telling complex stories about every possible domain of human activity. Urban systems are one domain that is being transformed by new data technologies, creating the potential for unprecedented efficiency and accountability, but also new risks and challenges. One of the biggest issues for the urban domain is the extent to which administrative and functional silos keep data systems and stakeholders from working together effectively. To maximise the utility of data and ensure the emergent risks are mitigated, cities must urgently address these challenges of data governance, with the caveat that data governance is embedded within other existing systems of institutional governance. The challenges of providing data security and privacy alongside more insightful analytics requires a deep understanding of how the technology and the institutions fit together and co-evolve in complex ways.

This paper draws on an EU-funded action research project through which we worked closely with 4 cities participating in India's Smart City Mission. Using an innovative process tracing methodology, we mapped the institutional structures and data processes in these cities to reveal interdependencies and illuminate points for intervention. We comment on the potential to link up disparate administrative and data systems to support more effective data-driven urban services as well as to design more effective systems and processes for governing data. We conclude with a discussion of how the Indian Smart Cities are demonstrating leadership at the cutting edge of data governance.