Policy Gadgets for Urban Governance in the Era of Social Computing

The chapter introduces the concept of policy gadgets that may be expressed as the combined use of computer simulations and social media in policymaking. Such a concept is exemplified by providing the description of an Italian campaign on telemedicine, launched by the regional government of Piedmont (IT) in the context of an international research project named PADGETS (www.padgets.eu). In addition, some preliminary results are presented, which are very encouraging. The use of such instruments in urban and regional policymaking may generate significant advantages in terms of conveying society's inputs to policy makers, by providing them with a set of concise, fresh, and relevant data in a cost effective and easily understandable way.