GLOBAL RESEARCH ON SMART LOCAL GOVERNANCE: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW

Abstract

This study examines the global development of smart local governance research through a bibliometric review of publications indexed in the Scopus database between 2015 and 2025. The analysis aims to identify publication trends, document characteristics, major contributors, and future research opportunities. Bibliographic data were retrieved using a predefined Boolean search strategy, resulting in 134 publications. The dataset was analyzed using the Scopus Analyze Search Results feature, focusing on publication trends, subject areas, document types, authors, institutional affiliations, countries, and funding sponsors. The findings reveal a significant increase in publications after 2020, indicating growing scholarly interest in smart local governance driven by digital transformation and governance innovation. Research is predominantly multidisciplinary, with Social Sciences and Computer Science representing the largest subject areas, while journal articles constitute the dominant publication type. Scientific contributions are widely distributed across authors, institutions, and countries, with Indonesia emerging as the leading contributor and the European Commission as the primary funding sponsor. Overall, the publication patterns demonstrate that smart local governance has evolved into an internationally recognized and interdisciplinary research field integrating public administration, digital technologies, and sustainable development. Future research should strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and focus on governance capacity, digital inclusion, artificial intelligence, and evidence-based policymaking to support more adaptive, resilient, and citizen-centered local governance systems.