Mechanisms of innovation in smart cities

However Open innovation is the "de facto" standard in the private sector (Chesbrough 2003), its translation to the Public Sector has been slow. The lack of the need for competition and the traditional barriers existing in the Public Sector are probably the culprits for this situation. However, the recent movement towards Smart Cities and the need for the provision of increasingly sophisticated Internet Services that many times are asked to address very particular needs and constituencies is rapidly changing this situation. In the private sector, the need for addressing platform management as a means of becoming more competitive, innovative, and prosperous (Lathrop and Ruma 2010; Adner 2006) is rapidly becoming prevalent, particularly in sectors where innovation has an accelerated pace, such as Future Internet Services. A simple look at how competition is being organized in the mobile industry provides clear evidence of this fact. Following the lead of the private sector governments are looking to adopt similar strategies to become more innovative in serving the public (Laursen and Salter 2006). Governments are starting to function as platforms. Concepts such as government as a platform, Open Data or Crowdsourcing are rapidly becoming part of the lingo of public servants. This paper attempts to summarize some of the most relevant European exercises providing insights on the translation of Open Innovation to the Public Sector, concretely in the context of Smart Cities.