Knowledge Base

The pressure to redesign city infrastructures is strong, since climate change and the problem of allocation are defining new requirements, which will not be met through cosmetic and maintenance repairs. In particular, energy infrastructures like water, waste or recycling are affected by this issue.
The following description draws a picture for future smart cities.

The term Open Data means that data and content can be freely used, modified and shared by anyone for any purpose. Open Data is accessible for everyone and useable without any restrictions. [1]
Open Government Data refers to the wide range of information that public sector bodies collect, produce, reproduce and disseminate while accomplishing their institutional tasks. [2]

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are an integral component of public administrations performance measurement systems. In general, KPIs are assessment criteria that refer to the assessment dimensions Input, Process, Output, Impact and Outcome. [1]

Privacy by design is an approach that promotes privacy and data protection compliance throughout the whole system engineering process. The Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has taken a leading role in developing the privacy by design concept, establishing a reference framework of “Seven foundational principles of privacy by design” with respect to a proactive, transparent and user-centric engineering process. [1][2]
The 7 principles are:
•    Proactive not Reactive; Preventative not Remedial
•    Privacy as the Default setting

Security by design is an approach in software engineering that promotes to design software from the ground up to be secure.
Core pillars of information security are confidentiality (only allow access to data for which the user is permitted), integrity (ensure data is not tampered or altered by unauthorized users) and availability (ensure systems and data are available to authorized users when they need it). [1]

The Data Governance Institute defines Data Governance as a system of decision rights and accountabilities for information-related processes, executed according to agreed-upon models, which describe who can take what actions with what information, and when, under what circumstances, using what methods. It encompasses strategies and technologies used to make sure organisations data stays in compliance with regulatory and legal requirements.[1]

Governance is a term that has a quite broad context and means in its core to shape or design areas of life. E-Governance (Electronic Governance) is devoted to the challenges of shaping life areas in face of digital revolution and information era and affects all sectors encompassing the public, private and civil sector. It also affects communication and exchange between the sectors.

Evidence-based policy refers to policy decisions that are informed by objective evidence. Without evidence, policy-makers need to fall back on intuition, ideology, or conventional wisdom.
Originally, the concept has evolved in the medicine, encompassing the toolbox of quantitative experimental methods such as randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental trials to support medical decisions.

New technologies have great influence on work and work processes, as we know them today. For example, new technologies offer the possibility of mobile work, can optimise the work process and make it more economical. [1]

This trend deals with the use of algorithms in policy and decision making. First, there is the trend of algorithmic regulation. Algorithmic regulation means that regulatory decision making is delegated to algorithms. The algorithms give the instructions of what should be done to achieve a desired outcome. [1]
The trend of using algorithms in governance and an increasing reliance of public decision making on algorithms is sometimes also called algocracy. [2]