Global economic challenges demand new approaches to urban infrastructure and technology as well as innovative policies to advance and accommodate smart sustainable growth. Throughout the world, cities are seeking to become smarter by pursuing a range of different strategies, including the creation of intelligent transport networks, constructing and retrofitting energy efficient buildings, and harnessing the power of public data sets. Despite the different definitions of, and studies focused on smart cities, there seems to be agreement on the fact that “smart city” is a multidimensional and multifaceted concept that goes beyond the mere use of technology and urban infrastructure. Although technology is a necessary condition for a smart city, it is not the only one. City administration and management, information integration, data quality, privacy and security, institutional arrangements, and citizen participation are just some of the issues that need greater attention to make a city smarter today and in the near future. As cities move forward to become smarter, they are looking to academia as a partner. Some of the worlds’ smartest cities are engaging with academia; often helping to define, other times driving, sometimes studying their smart city agendas.

This workshop will contribute to the development of such partnerships by bringing together researchers and practitioners to explore the joint development of smart programs and projects. The Smart Cities and Smart Government Research-Practice Consortium (SCSGRPC), based at the Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, State University of New York, is one of the few fora around the world that makes this possible. The SCSGRPC is a robust global research community focused on innovations in technology, management and policy that change the fabric of the world’s cities. Through purposeful networking and collaborative and connected research, the Consortium members come together to share ideas, new knowledge, and research and practice innovations in the interest of increasing opportunity for all those who live and work in these cities.

The workshop “Smart Cities and Smart Governments: The Enabling Role of Research and Practice Collaborations in the Urban Context” is organized by the SCSGRP Consortium. During the half-day workshop, attendees will participate in presentations and discussions to identify common issues and opportunities for research-practice collaborations. The workshop will complement the paper sessions of the HICSS-51 E-Government Track and, particularly of the Smart Cities and Smart City Government Minitrack.

Agenda (room Kohala 1)

Workshop Leaders

Mila Gascó (Primary Contact)

Associate Research Director

Center for Technology in Government

Research Associate Professor, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

University at Albany, State University of New York

Albany, NY (USA)

Email: mgasco@ctg.albany.edu

Mila Gascó holds a MBA and a Ph. D. in public policy evaluation (Award Enric Prat de la Riba granted to the best Ph. D. thesis on public management and administration, given by the School of Public Administration of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain). Nowadays, she is the Associate Research Director of the Center for Technology in Government as well as a Research Associate Professor at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, both at the University at Albany – SUNY. Before joining SUNY, Dr. Gascó served as a senior researcher at ESADEgov – Center for Public Governance and the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Management, both at ESADE Business & Law School in Spain. Previous to that, she was a senior analyst at the International Institute on Governance of Catalonia and a professor in the Rovira Virgili University and the Pompeu Fabra University, both in Spain. Mila Gascó has considerable consulting experience on the information and knowledge society as well. In this respect, she has worked for a wide variety of organizations such as the United Nations Development Program, the Mayor’s Office in Valencia (Venezuela), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, the City Council and the Provincial Council of Barcelona, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Latin American Centre on Management for Development (for whom she co-developed the Ibero-American Interoperability Framework), the World E-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments (she was the leading judge for the WeGo Awards), the Inter-American Development Bank, or Google. Her areas of research are mainly related to information and technology in government and, among other, they include electronic and open government, e-governance, public sector innovation, smart cities, and public policy evaluation.

Co-chairs

1. Ramon Gil-Garcia

Research Director Center for Technology in Government

Associate Professor, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

University at Albany, State University of New York

Albany, NY (USA)

Email: jgil-garcia@ctg.albany.edu

1. Ramon Gil-Garciais an Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy and the Research Director of the Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). Professor Gil-Garcia is a member of the Mexican National System of Researchers and of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. In 2009, he was considered the most prolific author in the field of digital government research worldwide and in 2013 he was selected for the Research Award, which is “the highest distinction given annually by the Mexican Academy of Sciences to outstanding young researchers.” Currently, he is a Faculty Affiliate at the National Center for Digital Government, University of Massachusetts Amherst and an Affiliated Faculty member of the Informatics Doctorate Program at the College of Computing and Information, University at Albany. Professor Gil-Garcia is the author or co-author of articles in prestigious international journals in Public Administration, Information Systems, and Digital Government and some of his publications are among the most cited in the field of digital government research worldwide. His research interests include collaborative electronic government, inter-organizational information integration, smart cities and smart governments, adoption and implementation of emergent technologies, digital divide policies, new public management, public policy evaluation, and multi-method research approaches

Theresa Pardo

Director

Center for Technology in Government

Research Professor, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

University at Albany, State University of New York

Albany, NY (USA)

Email: tpardo@ctg.albany.edu

Theresa A. Pardo, Ph.D. is the director of the Center for Technology in Government and a full research professor in public administration and policy at Rockefeller College, both at the University at Albany, SUNY. Theresa has over 35 years of experience working with governments and non-profit organizations to create sustainable and innovative policies and programs that create public value. Under her leadership, the Center works closely with multi-sector, interdisciplinary teams from the U.S. and around the world to carry out applied research and strategic consulting projects focused on the intersections of policy, management, and technology in the public sector. Theresa’s work has been recognized through numerous best paper awards as well as with the University at Albany’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the Rockefeller College Distinguished Service Award, and University at Albany’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Theresa is ranked among the top five digital government scholars in terms of citations to her published work. In addition, in 2015 she received Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Drivers, and Dreamers Award which recognizes individuals who exemplify transformative use of technology that’s improving the way government does business and serves its citizens. Theresa is a co-developer of the top-ranked Government Information Strategy and Management concentration at the University of Albany and is past president of the Digital Government Society. She serves as OpenNY Adviser to New York State’s Governor Andrew Cuomo and is Chair of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Advisory Committee. Theresa serves as a member of the User Working Group of the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), a member of the Steering Committee of the National Science Foundation funded North East Big Data Hub, an International Advisor to the E-Government Committee for the China Information Association, and Chair of the Steering Committee for the University at Albany’s Institute for Advanced Data Analytics. Theresa holds a doctorate in Information Science from the University at Albany, SUNY.