Page 25 - Redefining smart city platforms: Setting the stage for Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms - A U4SSC deliverable on city platforms

3.6 Prioritize partnerships and ecosystems

All smart and sustainable city ventures are predicated on and driven by public and private
partnerships. Accordingly, this step will be dedicated to prioritizing partnerships, keeping the
following in mind:

What: Make an analysis of the stakeholders related to data and systems you depend on and who
does what best. Involve stakeholders in the preparation of metrics for functional characteristics,
i.e., how to measure if the system does what it should do. Validate the maturity of the deliverables
by means of tests and analyses, preferably integrated into so-called living labs. Make sure to have
clear specifications of tasks, responsibilities and rights. Establish partnerships rooted in ecosystems
and include both sides of the market (requisitioners and suppliers). Be aware of the options for
models of collaboration and control.

Why: Over- and underinvestment in equipment and personnel should be avoided, new projects
and continuous development should be weighed against operating costs and depreciation/
obsolescence at all times, and short- and long-term perspectives should be weighed against one
another. There are pros and cons, regardless of whether you do all development yourself inside the
organization, buy everything from the outside, or have separate responsibility for development and
operation. Partnerships are the best way to get beyond the risks involved in committing strongly
to a single or a few suppliers (or customers). Building partnerships and living labs takes time and
is a significant investment in itself; hence, it requires the organization to have a strategy for how it
is done. It is impossible to know everything yourself, so standards, networks and ecosystems are
good ways of ensuring access to local, national and international best practices.

How: Acquire an overview of what advice and recommendations you lean on when buying,
developing, operating and managing. Within the individual sectors, industry networks and
standards are well established, but special attention needs to be given to the areas falling between
or outside of industries. This applies to new technologies that are not linked to a single application,
e.g., sensors for data collection, artificial intelligence for data processing, and platforms for data
sharing. Be aware of your own competencies and involve partners and external resources in the
innovation and realization phases of the project, where there is a need to add knowledge and
competencies. Learn from others' errors, but make sure to also build a learning culture, where
smaller projects can also have a skills development objective.

3.7 Take maturity and complexity into consideration

This step involves keeping the following “what”, “how” and “why” in mind:

What: A good understanding of the maturity of your own organization, the maturity of the
technology, the complexity of the task, and the complexity of your collaboration with other actors
are critical to obtaining a good result. Assess the need for technical, legal and organizational
support based on the organization's experience and resources, and the complexity of the task. Use

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