Understanding the smart city race between Hong Kong and Singapore

IMPACT

Public sector innovation is crucial for smart city development. This paper compares progress in Singapore and Hong Kong (HK). Although similarly competitive in many areas, SG is ahead of HK in rankings. Why does this disparity exist? What forms of public sector innovation are crucial for smart city development? This paper answers these questions for policy-makers by examining the role of public sector innovation in driving smart city developments, and underscores the importance of research and development within the public sector.

ABSTRACT

Since the 2000s, Hong Kong (HK) and Singapore (SG) have been working to reinvent themselves as smart cities. Despite their similarities, SG has consistently ranked ahead of HK on several smart city indices. To explain this gap, the smart city initiatives of both cities were categorized using a six-factor typology of public sector innovation. Further analysis indicated that SG was ahead of HK because its government has been more aggressive in funding and fostering innovation. This paper suggests that a government’s financial support for public sector innovation, as well as its ability to redirect resources within the public sector and get citizens involved, will catalyse transformational efforts into a smart city.

KEYWORDS:

• Government research and development
• Hong Kong (HK)
• public sector innovation
• Singapore
• smart cities
• smart city governance

Acknowledgements

The first author would like to thank Mehmet Demircioglu for his feedback and encouragement in the process of writing this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).