Nils Walravens

Mobile business and the smart city: developing a business model framework to include public design parameters for mobile city services

This article proposes a new business model framework that allows the design and analysis of value networks for mobile services in a public context. It starts from a validated business model framework that relies on 12 design parameters to evaluate business models on, and expands it by eight parameters to include important aspects that come into play when a public entity (i.e. a city government) becomes (or wants to become) involved in the value network. This new framework is then applied to the case of the 311 service offered by the City of New York. Given the quickly changing power relations in the mobile telecommunications industry, this framework offers both an academic and practical tool, enabling the comparison and analysis of mobile city service business models.

Beyond Defining the Smart City. Meeting Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches in the Middle

This paper aims to better frame the discussion and the various, divergent operationalisations and interpretations of the Smart City concept. We start by explicating top-down approaches to the Smart City, followed by what purely bottom-up initiatives can look like. We provide a clear overview of stakeholders’ different viewpoints on the city of tomorrow. Particularly the consequences and potential impacts of these differing interpretations and approaches should be of specific interest to researchers, policy makers, city administrations, private actors and anyone involved and concerned with life in cities. Therefore the goal of this article is not so much answering the question of what the Smart City is, but rather what the concept can mean for different stakeholders as well as the consequences of their interpretation. We do this by assembling an eclectic overview, bringing together definitions, examples and operationalisations from academia, policy and industry as well as identifying major trends and approaches to realizing the Smart City. We add to the debate by proposing a different approach that starts from the collective, collaboration and context when researching Smart City initiatives.

The city as a platform

This paper will explore which roles city governments can take up in the context of the ongoing platformisation of the mobile services industry. It takes an experimental approach by a applying an existing typology for mobile service platforms to the context of the city, combined with an analysis of real-life examples. The paper identifies four City Platform types of which two appear more likely than the others and forms a starting point for research into platform strategies in the context of the city.

Operationalising the Concept of the Smart City as a Local Innovation Platform: The City of Things Lab in Antwerp, Belgium

This paper gives an overview of two divergent approaches to what the Smart City can be, based on evolutions in the market today. A very top-down view on the Smart City sees corporate interest as a main concern, while purely bottom-up initiatives face challenges of scale, incentive and sustainability. This paper then proposes a point of view that bridges these two and makes an appeal for the city as a local innovation platform that balances different interests. Rather than remaining theoretical, we introduce the City of Things Lab that explicitly puts this approach into practice.

źOpen Government Dataź - based Business Models

This paper explores the business potential of open government data in the domain of mobility. Open data is often touted as the go-to policy for government to pursue, but the actual returns of following such a strategy remain somewhat illusive and anecdotic. Based on a research project subsidised by the Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works, this paper presents the results of a market consultation with diverse stakeholders. The goal is to better understand the attitudes, bottlenecks, expectations and requirements related to open data of market stakeholders, so that the government can devise strategies that support sustainable open data initiatives and its policy goals at the same time. The paper offers a framework towards analysing this. It concludes that structural and iterative dialogue is desirable, both from the perspective of the market and government, but that this perhaps obvious key component is often overlooked.This paper explores the business potential of open government data in the domain of mobility. Open data is often touted as the go-to policy for government to pursue, but the actual returns of following such a strategy remain somewhat illusive and anecdotic. Based on a research project subsidised by the Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works, this paper presents the results of a market consultation with diverse stakeholders. The goal is to better understand the attitudes, bottlenecks, expectations and requirements related to open data of market stakeholders, so that the government can devise strategies that support sustainable open data initiatives and its policy goals at the same time. The paper offers a framework towards analysing this. It concludes that structural and iterative dialogue is desirable, both from the perspective of the market and government, but that this perhaps obvious key component is often overlooked.

Benchmarking Internet of Things Deployment: Frameworks, Best Practices, and Experiences

IoT deployments generate data of the real world in an automated fashion without direct user involvement. With increasing scale of these IoT deployments the extraction of the right knowledge about the real world from a vast amount of IoT data and efficient decisions is a challenging endeavor. While solutions to deal with large amounts of IoT data are slowly emerging, potential users of IoT solutions, or policy makers find it difficult to assess the actual usefulness of investing in IoT deployments or selecting adequate deployment strategies for a particular business domain.

Policy Recommendations Supporting Smart City Strategies: Towards a New Methodological Tool

One of the biggest challenges for cities today is positioning themselves in relation to the debate surrounding the “Smart City” concept. Based on a thorough value network analysis of 37 international Smart City services in a doctoral study, a number of policy recommendations are formulated. These recommendations lead to a new methodology that local governments can use to build a vision on their Smart City principles and priorities.

Complementing Smart City innovation platforms with technical harmonization

This paper explores the use of two divergent approaches towards becoming a Smart City: using a top-down approach and using a bottom-up approach. Main characteristics and shortcomings are identified, and then the concept of a Local Innovation Platform is introduced as a combined, alternative approach. Finally, based on the lessons learned in the ECIM EU project, and based on other Smart Mobility related works and initiatives, the paper proposes which approach a city and authorities could take and what role they could play, and to what extent they should interfere and shape the development of Smart City solutions.

A business model approach to local mGovernment applications: Mapping the Brussels Region's mobile app initiatives

This paper uses business model theory as a framework to approach modern mobile government (mGov) applications and explore the role of public bodies within the volatile and complex mobile services sector. We propose and apply a new mapping methodology with a basis in business modelling that allows the comparison of mobile app initiatives by governments and can support the development or adjustment of a mobile strategy. We zoom in on the official applications released by different public administrations in the Capital Region of Brussels, Belgium. We find that the laggard position Brussels is currently in could be an opportunity to leapfrog in the field of mobile services, but that a focused vision, quadruple helix approach and clearly formulated mobile strategy is quintessential to achieving this.

Understanding Local mGovernment Applications: A Business Model Approach to the Case of Brussels

This paper uses business model theory as a framework to approach modern mobile government (mGov) applications and explore the role of public bodies within the volatile and complex mobile services sector. We propose and apply a new mapping methodology with a basis in business modelling that allows the comparison of mobile app initiatives by governments and can support the development or adjustment of a mobile strategy. We zoom in on the official applications released by different public administrations in the Capital Region of Brussels, Belgium. We find that the laggard position Brussels is currently in could be an opportunity to leapfrog in the field of mobile services, but that a focused vision, quadruple helix approach and clearly formulated mobile strategy is quintessential to achieving this.