Defining the Role of the Smart-City Manager: An Analysis of Responsibilities and Skills

Increasing social problems are challenging public administrations to adopt new strategies in order to create smarter cities. With regard to this, some cities have created a dedicated organizational unit focused on planning and implementation of Smart City (SC) projects, led by an SC Manager. However, the SC Manager's responsibilities and curricula remain overlooked. The objective of this paper is to theoretically explore the role of the SC Manager in municipalities and to analyze their main responsibilities and skills. Based on an empirical questionnaire administered to public managers and politicians, a Responsibility Index (RI) is defined to identify the domains under the responsibility of the newly-established role of SC Manager. The questionnaire is also an opportunity for understanding the main competencies and skills required through a factor analysis and qualitative investigation of the responses.