SPICE NFP 77 Project

NRP 77 has to the goal of investigating the effects and opportunities of digital transformation in Switzerland, particularly for what concerns the topics of education and learning, ethics, trustworthiness in governance, economy and labor market. In this context, the "Scaling smart city Projects - from Individual pilots towards a Common strategy of industry Emergence" (SPICE) project aims at creating means of accelerating the scaling and actuation of human-centered smart city solutions in Switzerland. This can as a consequence enhance innovation, efficiency, social welfare and quality of urban life. The exploration of ways to include citizens' needs and opinions in different stages of the development and upscaling of smart city solutions is one of the central topics to be addressed by SPICE.

The project, led by Prof. Edy Portmann and started in March 2020, is being carried out in both an inter- and transdisciplinary way by the Human-IST Institute in collaboration with the University of St.Gallen and the University of Applied Sciences Zurich, as well as practice-partners such as Swiss Post, SBB, Swisscom, Hauptstadtregion Schweiz, Smart City Thun, and Smart Regio Basel.

Main contributors

snf human-ist unisg zhaw

People

Main applicant:

  • Edy Portmann

Other applicants:

  • Ann-Kristin Zobel
  • Oliver Gassman
  • Vicente Carabias-Hütter

Other employees:

  • Jörg Musiolik
  • Luis Teran
  • Maximilian Palmié
  • Anna Kohler
  • Barbara Bencsik
  • Moreno Colombo
  • Jonas Friedrich
  • Lukas Falcke
  • Leticia Müller

Working packages

The project is divided in the following 6 working packages:

WP1 Project management & development of SC panel data and a pilot database (All) Work package (WP)1 includes project management (lead ZHAW/UniFR) and provides initial databases. The first database collects data on SC initiatives and panel data on SC trends and sector development. The second database is an offshoot of the first one but situated at the level of the project/technological solution. This is especially important because there is no statistical overview of SC activities at this time, which leaves scaling and market potentials for SC solutions unclear and non-transparent. In WP1.1 Annual SC survey: An online survey among Swiss cities will be conducted to identify SC pilot projects, scaling potentials, current partner networks as well as perceived barriers and drivers. Based on the survey databases will be developed and used in WP2-5 for different subtasks and complemented with data from desk and case study research (cf. description WP2-5). In WP1.2. SC statistic: Survey data of at least three years will be compiled and compared to generate panel data on developments of the SC sector in terms of expansion of Figure 1: Framework and work packages (WP) National Research Programme NRP 77 | 9 solutions, changes in the perceived barriers and drivers, etc. The final output of WP1 will be an initial “industry statistic”, which will also serve as an input for WP6.

WP2 citizen-oriented approach of SC pilot projects (UniFr) WP2 will be carried out by the UniFR under the responsibility of Portmann. WP2 focuses on the deployed ICTs in SC pilot projects and their influence on citizen involvement and social acceptance of digitalization. As stated above, the latest developments in the research and practice of intelligent cities aim at involving citizens and their data tracks in the design of their living environment ("Citizen Co-Creation"). This refers mainly to the relationship between the city administrations, technology providers and citizens. The main goal of WP2 is to develop a human-centred approach to identify and solve SC challenges (i.e. design of ICT networks and interfaces). Therefore, the WP is divided into the following three sub-tasks: WP2.1 Modalities of citizen participation: The database developed in WP1 will be used to identify and analyse the level, the modalities and technologies of citizen participation deployed in the various pilot projects. In this context, case studies on the inclusion of human needs in the development of SC initiatives are planned, as well as surveys analysing the thoughts of concerned people regarding Swiss pilot projects. To cover the cases where data from WP1 is incomplete regarding the inclusion of citizens in the process of definition of the project, in-depth interviews regarding this aspect will be conducted with the respective project leaders. These activities will contribute to the establishment of an ICT-typology used in SC which will be further deployed in the other WP 3-5.

WP2.2 Comprehensive human-centric approach: Based on the results of WP2.1 and combined with international best practices and an exhaustive review of relevant literature, WP2.2 aims at developing a comprehensive concept for a human-centric approach of SC solution design. In a first step different alternative typologies of SC technologies and citizen involvement formats are explored. In a second step, a combination of transdisciplinary research approaches and action design research will be used to develop or adapt formats and technologies of citizen involvement within workshops and hackathons with industry players. A theoretical analysis of the outcomes of this exploration will be complemented with empirical tests in events organized in collaboration with city administrations and private companies. This will allow for a more in-depth analysis of the benefits and limitations of alternatives. The final outcome of WP2.2 will be that of creating a framework promoting and defining the fundamentals for the development of human-centric design and project implementation approaches in the context of SC-initiatives.

WP2.3 Proof of concept and dissemination: Using the human-centric design and project implementation approach developed in WP2.2, a pilot project will be conducted in collaboration with the Swiss Post (c.f. LoI). This pilot aims at delivering a proof of concept and should serve as a basis for the evaluation of the proposed framework. Activities include the process of understanding citizens’ needs, the definition and selection of a reasonable project and the ways of involving citizens as well as their data and privacy models in the implementation of the project. The final output of the WP2 will be a project guideline for applying a human-centric approach as a key input for the dissemination activities in WP6.

WP3 Collaborative Strategies at the Digital-Physical Interface (HSG) WP3 and 4 will shift the analysis to the organizational level. The implementation and scaling of SC solution involves a range of heterogeneous organizations who need to coordinate with each other to create value (WP3), as well as design business models to capture value (WP4). WP3 will be carried out by ETH under the leadership of Zobel. A postdoctoral researcher will support the tasks, particularly in terms of data collection, compilation, and analyses. The implementation will be characterized by intensive interactions with researchers from WP4 to understand the interactions between collaborative strategies and business models. WP3 consists of three interrelated tasks that shed light on collaborative strategies for scaling SC solutions:

WP3.1 Typology of digital technologies: In the context of SC, where physical and digital elements frequently interact, smart solutions will entail different combinations of underlying technological components. For example, while some solutions rely purely on data analytics (e.g. cities that compile and analyse databases to provide added value to their citizens, such as in the case of interactive city maps), other solutions need to interface with hardware and/or physical infrastructure (e.g. electric vehicle charging stations linked to mobile applications, which both may interface with electric vehicles). This task aims at developing a typology of digital technologies in the context of SC solutions. Based on our research access to a large international consortium of 10 energy utilities and 45 start-ups providing digital solutions, we will develop a database consisting of multiple cases (based on documents, interviews, and observational data) that compiles different types of digital solutions and systematically compares their underlying characteristics. The aim is to develop a typology of the current portfolio (i.e. status quo) of digital solutions for SC that can be used in future research (i.e. to compare strategies, processes, and outcomes across digital solutions) as well as in practice (as a template for firms to categorize their digital solutions).

WP3.2 Collaborative roadmap for scaling different types of digital solutions: Building on WP3.1, task 3.2 aims at systematically analysing how collaborative innovative processes differ across the previously identified types of digital solutions. By conducting in-depth interviews with key informants in collaboration projects, we will explore how different types of digital solutions have unique requirements and boundary conditions for the collaborative process. Focusing specifically on the collaboration between incumbents and start-ups, while also considering the involvement of other stakeholders such as policymakers or advocacy groups, we will provide new solutions for how actors need to adapt their collaborative process when implementing different types of digital solutions. Moreover, further building on and adding to our database developed in task 3.1, we will track the implementation and scaling of digital solutions over time. This will lead to the development of a roadmap, indicating in which order different types of digital solutions should be implemented. As the collaboration projects are embedded in an international context, it is planned that our implementation partner (see LoI) will facilitate the dissemination of findings to Swiss stakeholders.

WP3.3 Coordinating digital-physical interfaces: This task focuses on mapping and understanding interdependencies amongst and across components and complements at the digital-physical interface. We will pay specific attention to the question of how and why coordination mechanisms can be ‘outsourced’ to the digital world (e.g. human interfaces vs. human-machine interfaces vs. machine-machine interfaces). This will provide SC actors with new insights on i) the tensions between new digital solutions and existing systems, ii) the integration of digital technologies with established infrastructures, and iii) the coordination mechanisms by which this integration can take place. We will theoretically sample SC projects (i.e. that differ in terms of their interdependences across digital and physical components/complements) and study their implementation and scaling longitudinally. While tasks 3.1 and 3.2 take an international perspective, task 3.3 will specifically focus on Swiss SC projects (e.g. new mobility platform rollout in Zurich, see LoI by VBZ). We envision combining qualitative data collection (e.g. in-depth interviews) with the build-up of a quantitative database. The quantitative database would contain digital traces (e.g. data flows from different providers into a common platform) as well as human interactions (frequency and intensity of human coordination, such as in the form of meetings and emails). This would allow the identification of digital and human interaction patterns which would enable their statistical relationships with relevant outcomes, such as adoption rates by citizens. The different activities in WP3 will lead to a typology of digital solutions, a roadmap for implementing and scaling these solutions in an SC context, as well as strategic guidelines for collaboratively coordinating digital/physical interfaces. These outputs will be used in other WPs as well as in the dissemination activities in WP6.

WP4 Patterns of SC business models and scalability (HSG) Work package 4 will be carried out at HSG by Gassmann, Palmié, and a PhD student. Drawing on substantial empirical evidence that the prosperity of technological solutions tends to depend enormously on the business model that translates the technology into a value proposition (Gassmann et al., 2014; Teece, 2010), WP4 concerns itself with the business model of SC projects. Since smart cities comprise various application areas (smart environment, smart living, smart economy, smart mobility, smart government, and smart people) and various digital technologies, SC business models differ considerably in their target clients, value proposition, value creation & delivery processes, and value capture, i.e. in the elements that constitute the business model. WP4 consists of three tasks pursuing complementary objectives related to business models:

WP4.1 Typology of SC business models: This task will build on WP1’s database that contains comprehensive information on SC pilot projects in Switzerland to analyse the business models of these projects. WP4.1 will conduct desk research and interviews with stakeholders to collect the information needed, to depict the business models according to the four constituting elements. A detailed examination of the business model elements will provide us with a better understanding of, among others, the value that SC projects can create for their clients and the distribution of benefits and costs among multiple stakeholders. The additional data of WP4.1 will complement the SC pilot project database of WP1. WP4.1 is a central part of the status quo analysis and represents a foundation for subsequent analyses.

WP4.2 Complementarities and conflicts among business model elements: Building on the insights generated by WP4.1, WP4.2 intends to examine complementarities and conflicts among business model elements. Such complementarities and conflicts can occur among the business model elements of an individual technological solution (e.g. some value propositions may only work for certain target clients) as well as among the elements of business models covering various technological solutions (e.g. the value proposition from solution A may not be readily compatible with the value proposition from solution B [e.g. better service vs. lower costs]). These complementarities and conflicts affect the “internal consistency” and the “external consistency”, respectively, of the business models. Internal and external consistency is key to the performance of a business model. WP4.2 will use pattern recognition tools (e.g. fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis) to detect such complementarities and conflicts. It will then study selected cases in greater detail (e.g. social value-oriented BM) to shed light on their causes and on factors that strengthen complementarities and relieve conflicts. These insights will be tested and enriched in workshops with city and business representatives (c.f. LoI City of Winterthur) to propose some levers that project managers can pull when they want to implement some business model elements jointly, increase complementarities, and avoid conflicts.

WP4.3 Barriers and facilitators of scaling: This task strives to examine the barriers and facilitators that impede or support the up-scaling of business models from an individual SC project to multiple projects within a city or other cities. To do so, WP4.3 will consider the development of individual SC projects over time and conduct in-depth interviews to understand why some projects developed better than others in terms of scale. As in WP4.2, the results will be discussed in workshops with city and business representatives to produce research-based advice on what project managers can do to overcome the barriers and leverage the facilitators. These insights can thus support the transition from small pilot projects towards more comprehensive solutions. WP4.3 will be conducted in close cooperation with other WPs. The final outputs of this WP (e.g. typology of SC BM, guidelines for the development of SC BM) serve as input for the dissemination activities in WP6 but are also used in other dissemination activities

WP5 Analysis and development of supportive SC sector (ZHAW) WP5 will be headed by Carabias and Musiolik. It will analyse the development of supportive sector structures as parts of a broader SC innovation system. Of key importance is the analysis of system failures, the emergent sector-context-interplay along with future trends to identify inroads for a sector strategy and policy measures. It is conceived of three tasks focusing on (i) the development of an analytical framework and analysis of the status quo, (ii) the identification of possible strategies and activities for policymakers and industry players, as well as (iii) solution generation in terms of formulating a strategy for sector development. WP 5.1 Analytical framework and analysis of status quo: In general, it is still fuzzy what the SC sector will be, which ICTs will be involved and how the interplay with other established sectors, such as city government, housing, energy, and mobility, will evolve. WP5.1 aims at delineating an analytical framework for the subsequent analysis. In a first step, system boundaries are carefully chosen in terms of the relatedness of knowledge fields, technological and digital components and complementarity/fit with extant sectoral structures (Bergek, 2008). In a second step, typical barriers and drivers (including established regime structures) for SC development are derived from a literature review and allocated to the identified framework components. For this step, databases such as Web of Science and Scopus are used. In the final step, links and dynamics between barriers and drivers as well as system boundaries are verified with the help of experts. This framework will provide the basis for further activities and will be improved taking into account the results of the other WPs, thus serving as a key input for WP6. WP5.2 Analysis of the status quo of the emerging SC sector: This task will investigate the political and regulative context and coordinative industry activities that aim at solving joint problems. As a first step, leading innovation networks, associations, and SC initiatives are selected and analysed according to their systemic impacts (Hekkert, Suurs et al. 2007). In a second step, the regulative and political context at the national and cantonal level is analysed. Based on the developed framework (WP5.1) and further identified barriers and drivers (WP1-5) problematic or missing regulations in addition to activities of the federal government (in terms of strategy making, funding, instrument deployment, industry network coordination) are identified and analysed according to their systemic impacts. In a third step, international best practices are analysed and compared with the Swiss situation. These research activities draw on comparative case studies (Yin 2009) which will be summarized in reports for a workshop in WP5.3 WP5.3 Development of a sector strategy: Results from the tasks above are deployed in a workshop setting with Smart City Hub Switzerland to discuss and identify an inroad for a joint sector strategy. First, the status quo of the coordinative activities of governmental and industry actors in Switzerland is reflected in comparison with international best practices and the identified barriers and drivers for scaling and sector formation (WP5.1). Finally, policy recommendations in terms of supportive actions at the federal and cantonal level as well as recommendations for joint activities and sector development at the industry level are derived. A focus group approach has been chosen as a qualitative research method. Focus groups are useful for finding orientation in an emerging field, for generating ideas and hypotheses based on informants’ insights, etc. (Morgan, 1988). In total, two focus groups will be conducted. A draft for an SC sector strategy and implementation roadmap is developed as input for WP6.

WP6 Synthesis and final dissemination In WP6 all practically relevant outputs from WP1-5 (c.f. table 3) are presented, discussed and also validated by the wider Smart Community in a final event. The event will be organized as a session within the established professional conferences such as Smart Suisse or the annual meeting of the IG Smart City and will consist of three proposed thematic foci. Discussion and comments in these sessions will be recorded and analysed and published as a common white paper. This paper will synthesize key findings of the project on scaling of SC solutions and sector formation. It will conclude with specific recommendations for Swiss actors (i.e. city administrations, firms, regulators, etc.). To ensure the dissemination and further uptake of the project results, the final event will be organised with the help of the IG Smart City and the Swiss Union of Cities and Towns (c.f. LoI). Furthermore, the white paper and the established tools, database and panel data will be additionally published on an SC web-platform.

Publications