As the dashboard model grows traction and is embraced by Australian governments, this paper reflects on the institutional design of city dashboards, as they cut across the worlds of ICT policy and strategic urban planning. Based on recent case study research across Sydney, London and New York, this presentation compares a series of dashboard examples with a view to understanding the relationship between data-driven discovery programs, open data release channels or platforms, and the mechanisms of city performance management and strategic planning. In particular, it addresses the ‘back end’ support programs that support data discovery and harvesting; the challenges of persistent ‘data shadows’; and the forums needed to support alignment between data discovery, citizen engagement and strategic planning. 

I was invited to attend an Urban Studies Foundation Postdoctoral Research Forum at the University of Glasgow in April 2015 to present on my research underway at the University of Western Sydney. It was a chance to set out a research agenda for 'platform cities' from both a practice and a research perspective. For me the term has more resonance than 'smart cities' because it addresses the dynamics of digital disruption as led through the platform-based business model.