Page 20 - Guide for smart and sustainable city leaders: Envisioning sustainable digital transformation

Guide for smart and sustainable city leaders: Envisioning sustainable digital transformation

Step 3 – Build stakeholder consensus

Figure 4: Building stakeholder nexus for smart sustainable cities for digital
transformation

Engagement with key stakeholders and stakeholder groups is imperative. Effective leadership
and engagement of key stakeholders is, therefore, necessary to ensure stakeholder buy-in,
coherence in plans, as well as to avoid a duplication of efforts. In addition, the engagement of
inhabitants at the grassroots level is equally important for resource allocation and efficiency.
Strategic objectives for the SSC should be built upon participative consultation processes and
substantial community support.

For initiating digital transformation with the purpose of establishing a smart and sustainable city
effective leadership is essential. As urban development is a transdisciplinary topic, multisectoral
partnerships are needed to address various challenges in cities, including the diverse range
of sectors. As cities need to be inhabitant centric, ensuring engagement at the grassroots
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level is required for enhancing resource efficiency. In this context, local governments should
obtain the necessary key stakeholder buy-in and backing to ensure that the SSC strategic
programme aligned with digital transformation is pursued. This includes the adoption of the
SSC programme/targets through consensus. In order to gain key stakeholder buy-in, persons
with disabilities or specific accessibility needs must be anticipated. This can only be achieved
by proactive planning with those stakeholders with disabilities. This will provide the basis for an
agreed document that has widespread support and will serve as a reference for the strategic
planning by the local authority. For additional information on stakeholder mapping for smart
and sustainable cities, please see Y.Sup34 : ITU-T Y.4000 series – Smart sustainable cities –
Setting the stage for stakeholders' engagement.

Step 4 – Evaluation of digital technologies for adoption

Advanced digital technologies hold the potential for creating opportunities for the delivery
of services and products to improve the operational performance of the city ecosystem and
enhance transparency, while limiting the negative environmental impact. Furthermore, they

1 In many cases, inhabitants belonging to socially marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities, are
often not recognized as stakeholders or are not in a position to properly express their opinions. Therefore,
in the process of identifying stakeholders, it is important to discover proper potential stakeholders and
encourage their participation.

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