Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership of Urban Digital Innovation for Public Value

This module will introduce digital innovations in the urban built environment and how a sociotechnical viewpoint offers a comprehensive understanding. It will help set out foundational knowledge about key concepts that students will engage with and build upon throughout the course. Using relevant examples, emphasis will be laid on unpacking approaches to creating public value through responsible and ethical digitalisation and the multifaceted sociotechnical nature of a digital innovation process. The need for city managers and firms involved in delivering digital innovation projects to develop new competencies and identify (additional) roles to be better equipped for digitalisation initiatives will also be introduced. This module will also comprise an introduction to methodologies, ethics and research tools to equip students with knowledge for effectively undertaking their written coursework.

Indicative content for this module includes an introduction to:

Urban systems and governance

• Urban government structure
• Operating models (as-is/to-be)
• City/Business functions
• Social issues, differences, and needs (place-based approach)

Public value creation through responsible and ethical digital innovation

• Understanding public value creation
• Digital innovations and public value creation
• Ethical and responsible innovation for creating public value
• Public value creation through digital innovations: stakeholders and implications

Digitalisation in the urban built environment and smart cities

• Digital technology trends and applications
• Technical and digital competencies
• Platform urbanism and ecosystems

Digital innovation process I: a sociotechnical understanding

• Sociotechnical innovations
• A processual model for digital innovations in the urban context

Role discovery for digital innovations in the urban built environment for public value creation

• Disciplinary silos and management of the urban built environment
• Competency requirements for digital innovations
• Cross-disciplinary roles definition
• New challenges and professional roles

Introduction to methodologies, ethics and research tools for investigating digitalisation in the urban built environment

• Research philosophy and methodology 1
• Bias and ethics in research 1
• Resources for conducting research 1

Participants will enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities in the following areas by completing this module.

• Systematic understanding of the changing needs of public administration and local governments in developing digital innovations, and critical awareness of current social needs, differences, and problems faced in the urban built environment.
• Critical and practical understanding of how city managers and built environment professionals can create public value, considering the implications of applying digital technologies for societal actors and potential unintended consequences for society.
• Conceptual understanding of research resources, tools, and methodologies that enables students to evaluate critically current research and advanced studies for investigating theoretical and practice-led questions about digitalisation in the urban built environment.
• Ability to identify and describe the different digital and technical competencies and trends, including technology applications, platform urbanism and ecosystems.
• Ability to identify multi-faceted interactions between social and technical elements that characterize urban-level digital innovation projects.
• Ability to apply a role-discovery approach according to the competency requirements of city managers that are needed for the digital innovation process in the urban context. 
• Identify changes in professional roles impacted by digitalisation.

Start date: September 2024

Residential week: 16-20 September 2024

Examining the need to responsibly manage digital innovations in the urban built environment for public value creation will be central in this module. This will build on Module 1, with a focus on answering ‘how to responsibly manage digitalisation’. The different aspects of urban systems that are impacted by digitisation and their consequences for citizens will be discussed in detail, highlighting the importance of adopting principles of ethical and responsible innovation to manage such developments. This module will ground students in the knowledge of how to frame socio-technical problems and how to use principles of responsible and ethical innovation to approach urban digitalisation initiatives.

Indicative content for this module includes:

Problem framing for digital innovations

• Multi-perspective problem framing
• A sociotechnical conceptualisation of digital innovations in the urban built environment
• Needs evaluation
• Critical review of evidence
• Critical thinking

Digital technologies and public value creation

• Co-creation for envisioning outcomes
• Co-production of services
• Dynamic view of public value creation and digitalisation

Responsible digitalisation and ethics for creating public value: An introduction

• Principles of responsible innovation
• Ethical considerations for creating public value using digital innovations
• Identifying potential bias in data
• Embedded responsiveness
• Anticipating impact and deliberating options

Urban systems and environments

• System dynamics
• System performance
• Boundary spanning

Digital Architectures

• Operating models
• Types of digital architectures for Smart Cities (including socio-technical architectures)
• Requirements management

Technology applications

• Digital technology trends (Digital Toolbox)
• Best practices for technology applications
• Cybersecurity in urban systems

By the end of the unit participants would have gained: 

• Comprehensive understanding of strategies to design and deliver public value responsibly using digital innovations, considering the socio and technical dimensions of the urban built environment.
• Knowledge of different types of digital architectures that enables the student to conceptualise the design of urban digital innovation projects and solutions and critically evaluate design decisions to address different urban problems in practice.
• Comprehensive understanding of emerging digital technologies, best practices, and tools, and how they can be deployed securely when developing urban digital innovation projects.
• Ability to analyse and critically frame multifaceted problems within complex settings, such as the urban built environment.
• Ability to identify the ethical competencies necessary to enable responsible innovation, including anticipating impact, reflecting on causes and mechanisms, deliberating options, and embedding responsiveness.
• Ability to recognise the multi-faceted interactions between social and technical elements that characterize urban-level digital innovation projects.

Start date: December 2024

Residential week: 31 March 2025 -  4 April 2025

Building on Module 2, this module will offer detailed knowledge about the implications of digital innovation in the urban built environment from a sociotechnical viewpoint. Emphasis here will be on how digitalisation impacts governance structures and approaches adopted in a place, raises ethical concerns that require deeper reflections by city managers and consultants, and creates demand for developing new leadership competencies. On the latter, focus will be on the broad range of competencies city managers need to successfully lead multidisciplinary teams delivering digital innovation projects to meet context-specific needs, and what this requires of the built environment professionals in their supply chain.

Indicative content for this module includes:

Digital innovations in the urban built environment for responsible public value creation

• Digital technology trends (Digital Toolbox)
• Urban systems and environments

Governance and management of the urban built environment I

• Government, policy and regulation
• Business models, financing and funding structures, and procurement
• Stakeholder and citizen engagement and participation

Ethical considerations for creating public value using urban scale digitalisation

• Anticipating impact
• Reflecting on causes and mechanisms
• Deliberating options
• Embedding responsiveness

Leadership competencies for digitalisation projects in the urban built environment for public value creation

• Leading public value creation through responsible digital innovation
• Leading multidisciplinary teams

By the end of the module the participants should have:

• Critical understanding of the government, policy and regulatory landscape, along with a practical understanding of how urban digital innovations impact established business and financial models, as well as the process of stakeholder engagement and participation.
• Critical awareness of current issues in urban systems and environments and how new digital technologies can enable public value creation responsibly and ethically.
• Ability to apply ethical competencies necessary to enable responsible innovation, including anticipating impact, reflecting on causes and mechanisms, deliberating options, and embedding responsiveness.
• Skills to critically evaluate the capabilities, knowledge and abilities of city managers needed to successfully lead digital innovation processes to create public value.

Start date: May 2025

Residential week: 30 June 2025 - 4 July 2025