Interconnections Between Technological and Policy Innovation: Re-evaluating the Evidence-Base Supporting the Provision of CCTV in the UK

This article critically examines developments in CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) policy and provision in the UK, with specific reference to the ‘evidence-based’ approach to policy-making and service provision. The main features of the CCTV revolutions are examined from a policy perspective, so that intertwined changes in purpose and technological configuration are illuminated. The underlying premise of evidence-based policy is that a robust and reliable evidence base exists and that this body of knowledge is used rationally to inform changes in policy and practice. However, in the case of CCTV, there are a range of issues associated with the evidence base which seem to contradict the logic of continued CCTV provision. In this article these issues are explored through what the author calls five CCTV fallacies. These fallacies raise important questions, not just about the ongoing provision of CCTV, but the nature of modern public policy making procedures

If surveillance cameras are to be kept in line, the rules will have to keep pace with technology

First paragraph: It has been said that Britain has more surveillance cameras than any other country in the world. This proliferation of CCTV cameras led the government to establish a surveillance camera commissioner responsible for overseeing their governance – the only country in the world to do so. In another first, the commissioner has now released a national strategy for England and Wales to set out how CCTV should be operated and to ensure that cameras are used in the public interest

The value of Big Data in government: The case of 'smart cities'

The emergence of Big Data has added a new aspect to conceptualizing the use of digital technologies in the delivery of public services and for realizing digital governance. This article explores, via the ‘value-chain’ approach, the evolution of digital governance research, and aligns it with current developments associated with data analytics, often referred to as ‘Big Data’. In many ways, the current discourse around Big Data reiterates and repeats established commentaries within the eGovernment research community. This body of knowledge provides an opportunity to reflect on the ‘promise’ of Big Data, both in relation to service delivery and policy formulation. This includes, issues associated with the quality and reliability of data, from mixing public and private sector data, issues associated with the ownership of raw and manip- ulated data, and ethical issues concerning surveillance and privacy. These insights and the issues raised help assess the value of Big Data in government and smart city environments

Searching for the Real Sustainable Smart City?

The emergence of ‘Smart Cities’ is a contemporary global phenomenon which is closely aligned to a vision of modern technologically advanced sustainable urban environments. However, public policy and academic discourses differ about what constitutes a city that is either ‘smart’ or ‘sustainable’, and assumptions are frequently made about the positive impact of technology and its potential benefit to the environment. Whilst a smart city is not necessarily a sustainable city, the terms ‘smart city’ and the ‘sustainable city’ are increasingly being fused together in the concept of the Sustainable Smart City (SSC). This article seeks to explore the conceptual components of the SSC, with a particular focus on the participatory role of the citizen, where this involves the use of new digital technologies. Conventional eGovernment has tended to focus on service delivery rather than engaging citizens in participatory activity, whilst traditional discourses on sustainability focus on environmentalism rather than broader societal sustainability. Sustainability in the context of the SSC is a much wider concept, where the aspiration is also to improve the quality life by engaging citizens in participatory governance, by co-creating sustainability values, and by developing relationships, trust and sustainable mechanisms for ongoing engagement. In this respect, new digital technology is understood according to its transformational potential and the opportunities which it offers to citizens in delivery of services, meaningful participation and of sustainable societal solutions. This article explores the three underlying conceptual pillars of the SCC, namely insights deriving from perspectives associated with (1) sustainability, (2) new technology and (3) participation, where each of these perspectives offers up its own rationale and institutional logic. Here, it is argued, that whilst practice around SSC’s differs considerably, the ‘real’ SSC stands at the nexus of new technology, citizen engagement and sustainable outcomes

The Emergent ICT Culture of Parliamentarians: The Case of the Scottish Parliament

This article explores the ways in which information and communications technologies (ICTs) have become embedded within the activities of parliamentarians, by examining the experiences of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The article presents an overview of exiting research in this area and suggests that many authors do not take into account the full range of functions and activities undertaken by a modern parliamentarian and consequently cannot fully perceive the extent to which these technologies support parliamentary life. Central to the article is a discussion of new unique longitudinal research data which provides empirical evidence of a significant technological orientation, and an emergent ICT culture, that is the outcome of the intertwined relationship between the adoption and use of new communications technologies by parliamentarians, and the established norms and procedures of parliamentary activity. The research findings presented here highlight the significant role played by new ICTs in the Scottish Parliament and the emerging new democratic system in Scotland. For the new Scottish Parliamentarians interacting with ICT is an important part of their daily life, to the extent that it would not be unreasonable to assert that use of these technologies has become a core parliamentary activity, possibly even to the extent that parliamentarians, and consequently the parliamentary system, have become reliant on the informational and communications capabilities embedded in ICTs. This is because these technologies are supporting a wide range of parliamentary roles and activities, and because they are underpinning a range of communicative relationships in the parliamentary arena and wider polity

Interactive Digital Television and Electronic Public Services: Emergent Issues

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have been at the heart of a transformation of public services in the UK, in a process that has seen the emergence of forms of 'electronic public services' (EPS). Policy makers have hoped that EPS will bring about improved, convenient, accessible and cheaper public services. The Internet has been at the heart of attempts to deliver EPS. However, limiting factors affecting user uptake of web-based services, including skills and access issues, have encouraged service providers to consider additional delivery platforms. Interactive Digital Television (iDTV) has emerged as one possible platform, since it brings an interactive capacity to a medium that is both familiar and easy to use. This paper examines the ways in which the capabilities offered by iDTV technology have been exploited by policy makers and service providers. Reporting data from a number of research projects, this paper also explores the extent to which the technology has supported the emergence of high-quality and user-friendly services, and the extent to which users have valued and utilised such services. It concludes that while we now have a significant evidence base of provider and user experiences, the relative immaturity of the technology and the nature of the iDTV initiatives themselves has prevented a full investigation of EPS via iDTV

Smart Governance: Opportunities for technologically-mediated citizen co-production

Citizens increasingly contribute directly to the evolution of sustainable cities, in particular where new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) promise to transform urban governance into ‘Smart city governance’ and where ICTs are integrated in strategies for citizen participation and the co-production of public services and policy. This article provides a multi-disciplinary understanding of Smart city governance, including new insights around the opportunities for citizen engagement in the co-production of service-delivery and decision-making. Using findings from a review of Smart cities literature and practice, the article aims to establish the breadth of Smart city initiatives which emphasise citizen participation and the realities of delivering such initiatives in complex city environments. Emphasising the emerging role of the technologically ‘empowered’ citizen, a new conceptual model is presented, where mutual trust, shared understanding and new opportunities for co-production emerge in an environment mediated by new technology – this form of Smart governance is referred to here as ‘technologically-mediated municipal reciprocity’

Policy Innovation, Convergence and Divergence: Considering the Policy Transfer Regulating Privacy and Data Protection in Three European Countries

This article examines policy activity surrounding the implementation of privacy regulations in three European countries, Denmark, Sweden and the UK, following the ratification of the 1995 European Union Directive on Data Protection. It highlights the convergence and divergence of policy embedded in the policy transfer process and stresses not only the complexity of policy transfer, but also the degree to which policy innovation is shaped by existing institutional settings and the processes associated with policy implementation. The article uses Dolowitz and Marsh’s ‘Policy Transfer Model’ as an analytical tool to unpack the regulatory environment surrounding the governance of privacy. This illuminates the main features of the policy process in each of the three case study countries and also the tendency to focus on policy formation at the expense of policy implementation. In the case of the 1995 European Union Directive on Data Protection the three cases examined here demonstrate that multiple regulatory regimes and policy divergence are embedded in the harmonisation (or convergence) process, and that different countries approach the regulation of privacy and data protection in quite different ways

The Sale of Edited Electoral Registers in Scotland: Implications for Privacy, Data Protection and Citizenship

This article provides an assessment of the recent phenomenon in Scotland and the United Kingdom of selling edited electoral registers to third parties, and reflects on the implications of this practice for privacy, data protection and citizen-state relations. Drawing on the results of the National Survey of Electoral Registration Officers in Scotland, information is presented on the sale of edited registers, the types of organisation purchasing registers, revenues generated and the number of electors ‘opting out’ of the edited register. This is the first time such information has been collected nationally and therefore represents a unique Scottish ‘snapshot’. The article argues that the sale of edited registers is contentious. The collection of personal information contained within the register is critical for the successful functioning of elections and consequently our representative democratic system, yet the subsequent unrestricted sale of this information for commercial gain potentially undermines trust in democratic processes and alters the informational nature of citizen-state relations. This article offers a first opportunity to reflect on some of the consequences of this practice

Delivering Smart Governance in a Future City: The Case of Glasgow

In 2013, Glasgow City Council received significant funding to develop innovative smart city applications, including the delivery of new electronic public services and the co-production of governance. This case study examines the processes that underpin the ways in which the ‘Future City Glasgow programme’ delivered ‘smart governance’, in the context of a regenerating post-industrial city. We assess the contribution of smart city technologies and data collection and monitoring processes designed to facilitate citizen engagement and sustainable governance practices. The Future City Glasgow programme ran from 2013‒2015, and included the Open Glasgow project, and ‘Demonstrator Projects’ of: Energy Efficiency; Intelligent Street Lighting; Active Travel; and, Integrated Social Transport. Opportunities arose from these demonstrators for developing co-production and legacy initiatives. The case study provides insight into the ways in which citizens and local communities in Glasgow have been engaged in governance processes. This engagement has taken place via traditional and innovative smart city technologies, and in particular in relation to policy formulation, service design and delivery. It finds that the co-creation of governance is shaped by vested interests, that engagement is fragmented and partial, but at the same time new technologies, social media and shared learning opportunities offer innovative new ways for some citizens to influence local governance