ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications 149 While these mechanisms should be set up at the onset of the SSC's strategy, they should be maintained, monitored and adjusted throughout the process of implementation to ensure flexibility, as well as the provision of up‐to‐date information about the features and benefits that SSC can provide to its citizens. Without relevant and timely information, citizens can perceive SSC projects as an unnecessary use of their taxes. It is, therefore, important to demonstrate transparency and accountability in terms of the investments made in SSC service provision, and the way in which these investments are having an impact on the citizens' quality of life. A smart sustainable city needs to promote participation in crucial aspects of the city's functioning, like participatory budgets. Citizenry can also play a key role in the provision of data to inform city‐level decision‐making processes (e.g., citizen as a sensor, real‐time reporting/monitoring using social media), as well as in the provision of innovative ideas to improve city services, or to tackle emerging challenges through cost‐effective approaches. In addition, it is very important to involve the companies in the design of the city in order to better understand their needs and facilitate investments made on their behalf. SSC must be inclusive and enable access to those sectors of the population that may not have access to technology. To address this challenge, municipalities can offer training programs targeting marginalized populations (e.g., vulnerable women, the elder), equip public zones with technologies to broaden the user base, and implement other programs aimed at raising awareness and encouraging citizen engagement in the realization of the SSC strategy. 3.2 Phase 2: Strategic Planning Progress needs to be made through holistic visions and transversal policies that strengthen the integrated approach, which should prevail in all SSC. Therefore, initiatives for SSC should consider metropolises from a global perspective; otherwise, the effectiveness and scope of such initiatives may be severely reduced. In the first step of the cycle, local governments identify a SSC vision and assess the city's situation in order to establish the relevance and feasibility of becoming a SSC. This step includes, among others: To define, what kind of city it should be. What are the overall aims of the initiative and what is the main idea to achieve specific targets? Identifying a SSC vision that is line with the city's identity, political priorities and long‐term development strategy; The vision establishes the connection between the SSC components and its guiding principle. This is necessary to provide a deeper understanding of the vision of a smart sustainable city; Document the detailed business process of the main existing city services along with their inter‐relationships and dependencies; Gathering relevant data on the status of ICT infrastructure and usage at the city‐level, including the status of the city in regards to the SSC technical specifications; Further information on the role of SSC stakeholders is available at: FG‐SSC deliverable (2015), Technical Report on “Setting the stage for stakeholder's engagement in smart sustainable cities”.