Innovations in Co-Created Smart City Services

This study is focused on co-creation of public services in the smart city from an open innovation management perspective. Drawing on both literature and empirical data from four smart city projects in Eu-rope, it discusses the context of collaborative service creation (co­-creation) requiring public service providers to engage with the citizens in the whole life cycle of service delivery (co-production). An integrated conceptual approach to co-production is adopted in order to understand how public service providers and users can co-create both individual and public value through their interaction in co-producing the services people appreciate and need, to impact on citizen and communal welfare. In particular, the sets of skills necessary for co-producing smart city services effectively are identified, allowing pub-lic service providers to gather the necessary user insight and their operational processes and to identify appropriate management approach-es for delivering effective high quality urban services. Research is based on experience gained from SmartiP, a European multidisciplinary project focused on the co-production of citizens-centered inter-net-enabled services in the public sector. The use made by public service managers of a bespoke Self-Assessment Toolkit is analysed to identify what they prioritised when reporting their experiences of co-production. The results suggest that service managers need not only the capacity and skills for managing co-creation activities but for employing a governance structure that encourages collaboration between the multiplicities of stakeholders involved in the smart city open innovation eco-system. The findings can be used by both scholars and city administrations and public servants concerned with smart city services to drive co-creation activities and to redefine relevant operating processes to ensure sustainable value co-creation.