SMART GOVERNANCE IN THE DIGITAL AGE: BENEFITS, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Abstract

Smart governance – one of the key pillars of smart city, improves public administration, transparency, and citizen involvement by combining digital technologies, data-driven decision-making, and participatory frameworks. In addition to discussing important issues including data privacy, cybersecurity threats and the digital divide, this study looks at the possible advantages of smart governance (such as increased effectiveness, accountability, and service delivery) as well as challenges that the urban planners and concerned authorities have to encounter before adopting smart governance. Hence, the main objective of this paper is to investigate the benefits, challenges and future directions of smart governance. In order to evaluate how governments throughout the world are putting smart governance techniques into practice and their effects on social inclusion and policy success, this paper uses a literature review methodology to examine previous research and case studies. The results highlight how technology may revolutionize governance while highlighting the necessity of ethical and well-balanced regulatory frameworks.