Objective 2 of CANDID is to describe and critically assess visions of ‘smart’, as these emerge within the ICT programmes in Horizon 2020, and in public discourse more generally. This will be achieved through an analysis of the discourses of ‘smart’, to be carried out using a number of themes, including:
- a socio-technical economic and legal imaginary, that is, as a set of intertwined social, technological and economic visions and promises, that build on existing relations and practices, and constructs new ones;
- market-making, that is, as a set of tools, models, theories and strategies that enable the emergence of ‘smart’ as a market and an innovation-driven approach to development;
- a range of initiatives from citizens (including hobbyists) adapting existing technologies, building kits and sharing their experiences, indicative of possible future directions that ‘smart’ inventions might take;
- a legal constitution of socio-technical and market relations, mainly the making of a distinctively European market, for example, through greater emphasis on data protection and privacy in accordance with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Through dialogue with a set of stakeholders and research peers, the project team is aggregating insights in three key areas of ‘smart’ developments, to produce insights for thematic and discursive analysis.