TY - JOUR
T1 - Data science empowering the public
T2 - Data-driven dashboards for transparent and accountable decision-making in smart cities
AU - Matheus, Ricardo
AU - Janssen, Marijn
AU - Maheshwari, Devender
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Dashboards visualize a consolidated set data for a certain purpose which enables users to see what is happening and to initiate actions. Dashboards can be used by governments to support their decision-making and policy processes or to communicate and interact with the public. The objective of this paper is to understand and to support the design of dashboards for creating transparency and accountability. Two smart city cases are investigated showing that dashboards can improve transparency and accountability, however, realizing these benefits was cumbersome and encountered various risks and challenges. Challenges include insufficient data quality, lack of understanding of data, poor analysis, wrong interpretation, confusion about the outcomes, and imposing a pre-defined view. These challenges can easily result in misconceptions, wrong decision-making, creating a blurred picture resulting in less transparency and accountability, and ultimately in even less trust in the government. Principles guiding the design of dashboards are presented. Dashboards need to be complemented by mechanisms supporting citizens' engagement, data interpretation, governance and institutional arrangements.
AB - Dashboards visualize a consolidated set data for a certain purpose which enables users to see what is happening and to initiate actions. Dashboards can be used by governments to support their decision-making and policy processes or to communicate and interact with the public. The objective of this paper is to understand and to support the design of dashboards for creating transparency and accountability. Two smart city cases are investigated showing that dashboards can improve transparency and accountability, however, realizing these benefits was cumbersome and encountered various risks and challenges. Challenges include insufficient data quality, lack of understanding of data, poor analysis, wrong interpretation, confusion about the outcomes, and imposing a pre-defined view. These challenges can easily result in misconceptions, wrong decision-making, creating a blurred picture resulting in less transparency and accountability, and ultimately in even less trust in the government. Principles guiding the design of dashboards are presented. Dashboards need to be complemented by mechanisms supporting citizens' engagement, data interpretation, governance and institutional arrangements.
KW - Accountability
KW - Big data
KW - Dashboards
KW - Data science
KW - Decision-making
KW - Design principles
KW - E-government
KW - Open data
KW - Open government
KW - Policy-making
KW - Smart City
KW - Transparency
KW - Trust
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ec089ffb-3d36-47fc-85a5-95bbdb3a4ebc
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044786511&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.giq.2018.01.006
DO - 10.1016/j.giq.2018.01.006
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044786511
SN - 0740-624X
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Government Information Quarterly: an international journal of information technology management, policies, and practices
JF - Government Information Quarterly: an international journal of information technology management, policies, and practices
ER -