Formulating integrated knowledge city development strategies: the KnowCis 2.0 methodology

During recent years, the theme of Knowledge Cities (KC) has evolved as a major topic of interest, in the context of the knowledge-based development (KBD) field. The KC theme, being multi-dimensional by nature, attracts researchers from a wide variety of disciplines. Many cities around the world are in the process of adopting KBD approaches and, specifically, of developing KC development strategies. It is only recently that researchers, as well as local authorities’ policy makers, have started looking at the potential for formulating integrated strategies to bridge the knowledge divide, and develop successful KC. However, the lack of integrated KC development strategies still exists and is an important problem for local authorities and decision makers worldwide. This paper aims to further enhance a previous methodology proposed for the formulation of a KC strategy (KnowCis) with new innovative features. It provides insights to the need for local authorities to design sound KC development strategies, discusses key issues and implications and builds on an existing methodology, to develop a more citizen-driven approach. The proposed methodology has been successfully applied in a pilot way, in a Greek Municipality.