The e-government initiatives in the smart cities. Insights from the European Commission’s Intelligent Cities Challenge

Growing digitalization of the urban environment, especially in smart cities, enables the development of e-government initiatives. The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) initiative of the European Commission supports European cities in their transition towards a green and digital economy; it empowers cities to implement e-government initiatives. This study represents the first attempt to provide a detailed overview of the actions undertaken in the e-government do- main in the framework of the ICC project in Italy and Greece; it offers insightful evidence about the programs and initiatives implemented by local governments to support the implementation and development of e-government initiatives in the European smart city domain. The study reveals the importance given to ad- ministrative simplification and the adoption of online platforms to offer effective and user-friendly services to citizens and stakeholders, the strong emphasis on open data culture and platform development, and the importance of citizen involvement and engagement in developing smart city initiatives.