Analysing the critical role of data governance in shaping Iraq's smart city future

The discussion around smart cities in Iraq usually emphasises the issue of infrastructure barriers, while, in the opinion of this paper, the most important challenge in this case is the lack of a National Big Data Governance framework. In the absence of this framework, even the best of IoT and AI technology will remain redundant. The research intends to Iraq's data environment within a qualitative critical analysis framework and sees a 'data chasm' in the contemporary terrain of Iraq emerging out of the digitised, siloed, and policy-deficient records. This chasm prevents the integration of urban digital systems into a single operational intelligence network. The paper attempts to bridge this gap and, based on recent research, outlines a sustainable data governance framework for Iraq, advocating for minimum standards and inter-ministerial cross-border data flow. Data investment governance actually supports sustainable infrastructure development and makes technology work for urban development.