eGovernment, IT Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The journal Media and Communication (open access, indexed in Web of Science) is planning a thematic issue on the links and tensions between E-Government and Smart Cities. The call for abstracts is out now:... more

Title: E-Government and Smart Cities: Theoretical Reflections and Case Studies (Volume 6, Issue 4)
Journal: Media and Communication (ISSN: 2183-2439) - https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication
Editors: Peter Mechant (Ghent University, Belgium) and Nils Walravens (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium) Deadline for Abstracts: 28 February 2018 Deadline for Submissions: 30 June 2018 Publication of the Issue: November/December 2018

Today, the concepts of e-government and smart city are increasingly used to refer to one another and have started to converge. While e-government was introduced under the flag of better service delivery by focusing on internal processes and the use of ICTs by administrations, the smart city concept nowadays builds on this as a way to foster innovation by collecting, processing, integrating and using data on a larger scale than ever before. This supposedly leads to better-informed decision making and high-quality services, but assumes far more complex partnerships with very diverse stakeholders, such as large and small companies, civil society, academia, individual citizens and so on (triple, quadruple, and quintuple helix models).

In this thematic issue we are particularly interested in contributions that address the concept of ‘e-government’ in the context of smart cities. What does the concept of e-government mean in relation to smart cities? What is the role for and impact on the involved stakeholders? We see three main themes that link to these questions: data, governance and participation. Data is hailed as the “new oil”, but what does this mean for the daily practice of policy makers and smart city stakeholders? The concept of governance shifts as the role of the private sector becomes more opaque and (local) governments explore new financing and business models. Meanwhile, local governments are exploring new forms of participation that are enabled by technology, while facing risks related to i.a. inclusion, media literacy and privacy.

This thematic issue of Media and Communication would be a good match for articles, including case studies as well as theoretical and critical perspectives, addressing (but not limited to) the following topics from inter- or multidisciplinary perspectives:

Data
• Open (& Linked) Data in government
• Data- / Evidence-based policy making
• Smart city monitoring and KPIs
• Standardisation/Interoperability
• Privacy challenges

Governance
• Platform-based governance
• Smart city business models & governance
• Power relations in the Smart City
• Private-public partnerships
• Decentralisation vs centralisation of government
• Smart city and commodification of the public space

Communication and Participation
• Inclusion and civic engagement
• Media literacy
• Social media in e-governance
• Impact of the ‘social’ Web on the public sector
• Co-creation of public services with citizens and stakeholders
• Innovative services or methods

The aim is to bring together contributions on e-government in a smart city context from a wide variety of communication-related disciplines, government studies and relating fields to synergize their research on this topic.

Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal’s instructions for authors (https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/pages/view/forauthors) and to send their extended abstracts (about 400–500 words, with a tentative title and reference to the thematic issue) to the Guest Editors (peter.mechant@ugent.be) by 28 February 2018.

The journal has an article processing charge to cover its costs, so authors are advised to check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication fees. Further information about the journal’s open access charges and institutional memberships can be found at https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/about/editorialPolicies#publicationFees.