The impact of digital twin technology on the policy lifecycle in government agencies and the role of value-sensitive design in guiding its ethical development

The rise of Digital Twin Technology (DTT) in spatial planning practices could transform how governmental agencies develop and manage policies. This paper conceptually explores the influence of DTT on the policy lifecycle, examining how it enhances decision-making, governance efficiency, and service delivery, but doing so in a Value-Sensitive manner using Value-Sensitive Design (VSD) theory. VSD can be employed to ensure the ethical development and implementation of DTT, which is important as spatial planning affects many human values of individuals over a prolonged period. Drawing the state-of-the-art on the central topics of this work, this research provides a comprehensive understanding of DTT's implications for governance and the potential of VSD to shape its ethical design and implementation.