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Designing a Public Policy Dashboard for smart Governance: A Systematic Review

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Public Policy and Decision Making, Faculty of Public Administration, Kish Campus, University of Tehran. Tehran. Iran

2 Prof., Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Public Administration and Organizational Sciences, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate Professor of system Managment, Department of public policy and Administration, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

4 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Governance, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

A dashboard, as a visual display, plays an effective role in enhancing knowledge and information sharing across various domains. The use of dashboards in the field of policy, equipped with modern data-driven technologies and aligned with the expansion of e-government, creates a platform for achieving smart governance, enabling progress toward transparency, accountability, forward-looking decision-making, and greater participation. In smart cities, participation often occurs through dedicated participation platforms, such as dashboards, through which citizens can vote, discuss, and brainstorm ideas. The aim of the present research is to provide a framework for designing a dashboard in public policy-making to realize smart governance. To this end, through a review conducted in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, 40 articles published between 2012 and 2025 focusing on dashboard design were selected and qualitatively analyzed. In this study, the design of managerial dashboards in various domains was observed, and subsequently, considering the multitude of features and approaches used, the design of dashboards in public policy-making was addressed from a broader perspective. The research findings, using a thematic analysis approach based on the Brown and Clarke (2006) framework, revealed that for designing smart public policy-making dashboards, 55 sub-themes could be categorized into 6 main themes. The main themes are: needs assessment, intelligent data collection and management, visual design, intelligent data analysis, technical capabilities, and intelligent evaluation and support.

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Business Intelligence Management Studies
Volume 15, Issue 56
June 2026
Pages 1-28
Files
History
  • Receive Date: 23 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 23 October 2026
  • Accept Date: 09 November 2025
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