Smart City Data Governance Guidelines

Background of Policy Proposal

The Data Governance Research Unit of the Institute for Future Initiatives was established in 2020 with the aim of proposing governance rules for data, including personal information, in order to realize the society aimed by Society 5.0. Since then, we have been studying how to govern healthcare data by an interdisciplinary approach. After 2021, we have joined the Habitat project of Hitachi UTokyo Labs and started to study the applicability of agile governance with regard to data governance. In FY2022, we worked on the formulation of data governance guidelines for smart cities as a specific application. In formulating the guidelines, we conducted detailed hearings on the Kashiwanoha Smart City initiative by Hitachi UTokyo lab and prepared a draft guideline with reference to such case studies.

We present the final version of the guidelines based on the following expert discussions at the public workshop “Smart Cities and Data Governance: Policies and Guidelines” held on March 20, 2023.

Overview of the proposed guidelines

Smart cities are sustainable cities and regions that can solve various urban and regional problems by utilizing new technologies such as IoT and AI. On the other hand, there have been cases in which the development of smart city initiatives has been stalled due to a disconnect with the awareness of citizens caused by the prior utilization of data. While there is no doubt that the possibilities of smart cities are expanding with the advancement of technology, advancing with a focus on technology, or collecting data in order to make use of technology first, may result in opposition from citizens and society.

Therefore, we have compiled the Smart City Data Governance Guidelines (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) to present approaches to data governance in the promotion of smart cities. The purpose of the Guidelines is to enable the creation of value in smart cities as it should be (i.e., human-centered), rather than prioritizing the use of technology and data,. Data governance refers to frameworks that set rules for data handling in smart cities and control suitable usage on this basis. Data governance includes a process that ensures no misunderstandings with citizens or society, contributing to the promotion of appropriate smart cities.

To center human beings (citizens) and balance the protection of their rights with the creation of services (benefits), the Guidelines explain procedures, etc., for suitable governance of data handling in smart cities.
We hope that many smart city stakeholders will find it useful in considering data governance.

The full report can be downloaded below.

Policy Recommendation(PDF)