A Collaborative Approach to Formulate a Public Strategy

This article describes the experience of elaborating on a Brazilian strategy for smart cities. The elaboration process was innovative as it used co-creation mechanisms to engage a group of institutions and people involved in the topic of digital transformation in cities. Based on a design policy approach, it featured design thinking activities, workshops, working groups, listening, and online public consultation. The result was the Brazilian Charter for Smart Cities, a document that presents an agenda to address digital transformation as an opportunity for sustainable urban development in Brazil. The strategy gives eight strategic goals addressed to different stakeholders. Furthermore, a collaborative network was formed that remains active and implements the strategic goals defined in the Charter. The experience illustrates the importance of establishing collaborative and participatory processes in formulating strategies and public policies. The challenge now is implementing the goals in Brazilian municipalities, which are highly diverse and unequal, and replicating this participatory model to formulate local smart city strategies.

Abstract based directly on original source. Back to the SmartCity.ZA collection.