3. Introduction
• TechPlace is an URBACT capitalisation initiative. It is
a community for anyone who is actively trying to
grow their local, regional or national tech sector. It’s
a place for public sector people working in cities
and regions, or even national government and
agencies; it’s a place for private sector people
building their own businesses or wanting to be part
of a tech growth agenda; it’s a place for educators
and academia driving new tech knowledge
• The URBACT Secretariat has asked the team of
experts behind TechPlace to undertake a short
assessment of capacity building needs of URBACT
cities in the field of urban digital transitions.
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5. Purpose and methodology
• This report
summarises the
findings of a short
exercise which
explored city
capacity building
needs around the
theme of urban
digital transitions.
• It is based on a
snapshot survey of
URBACT partner cities
which generated 96
responses and
interviews with 18
city practitioners or
stakeholders – all
undertaken in May-
August 2021.
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6.
7. Urban digital transitions – what and why?
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A key priority for European Cities
• ‘The digital integration of urban development policies
allows for a cross sectoral and more integrated approach
to urban governance and the better use of resources’
(ESPON Policy Brief, 2019).
• Digitalisation is cited as a major transformative cross-
sectoral trend in the New Leipzig Charter and features
heavily in the draft URBACT IV programme.
• Large cities are at the forefront of change. Smaller cities
are at risk of falling further behind.
Urban Digital Transitions
• Technological and digital solutions have huge potential
to solve many urban challenges.
• Here we refer to advanced technologies such as
artificial intelligence, open data, Internet of Things,
sensor technology, cloud computing, blockchain and
others.
• Digital Transition cuts across all city policy areas.
Nothing is excluded. Successful digital transition will
require a holistic approach which transcends policy
silos.
8. Urban digital transitions – Perceived success factors
1. A progressive
culture and agile
approach, mindset
and vision across the
city administration and
particularly within
(political) leadership
2. A clear digital
strategy with KPI’s,
dedicated resources to
deliver it (ideally a
Chief Digital Officer)
and open data which
enables
interoperability
3. Strong and effective
partnerships with key
tech and digital
stakeholders – from
universities to startups
to big tech
4. Access to deep
technical knowledge,
experience & expertise
combined with strong
digital education to
build, attract &/or
retain local talent in city
administrations
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9. ‘We need a progressive culture and
attitude which is open to innovation and
change.’
‘Leadership and vision are key – it needs
to make sense across the administration –
we need digital skills, digital champions
and public-private partnerships.’
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10. Urban digital transitions – Blockers and challenges
1. Established city staff,
politicians and citizens
sometimes feel
threatened by tech
through lack of skills,
education and
understanding. There are
issues around trust and
transparency.
2. Cities often lack the
necessary tech
infrastructure such as
good city wide
broadband &/or don’t
have access to
resources to build this
3. City administrations
can be slow, bureaucratic
machines which are
unable to operate with
the flexibility, agility and
speed needed. There is
sometimes a fear of
failure.
4. There is a fear that
some parts of society
will be left behind and
that robots and
automation will ‘take
our jobs’ and rip the
heart out of city
communities
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11. ‘There are 2 factors, both around
education and skills. This applies to
citizens but it also applies to the internal
machine. We need to have the flexibility
and resources to move quickly.’
‘Finding the technology is only part of the
challenge. The bigger part is helping
citizens, businesses and municipalities
understand what is needed & then
educating, enabling and encouraging
them to use tech & digital solutions.’
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12. Summary of capacity building needs
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• There is a knowledge and
experience deficit in many
cities.
• Cities said they need help to
benchmark their progress
against other similar cities.
• They want to better
understand the key
ingredients for success and,
in practical terms, learn how
to grow these locally.
Digital newbie (68.8%) Digital pioneer (31.2%)
Nearly 70% of survey respondents considered their city to be in the
early stages of digital transition
13. Potential to address identified challenges
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1. City staff sometimes feel
threatened by tech.
Offering tools, education and
training and thus enhance
understanding and reduce
apprehension.
2. Resources are needed for
infrastructure
Identifying future funding
opportunities for
implementation could also
be useful in signposting
cities to resources for digital
infrastructure.
3. City administrations are not
known for flexibility and there
is a fear of failure. Mindsets
need to change.
Supporting cities to become
more entrepreneurial in their
approach to leadership.
4. There is a fear robots and
automation will ‘take our jobs’
Supporting through
education, training and
understanding of the
opportunities and potential
offered by tech solutions.
14. Summary of capacity building needs
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Support to understand
the potential of tech
solutions across all city
services and how to
integrate these
solutions in public
service provision
Clear signposting to
existing and new
resources to help with
urban digital transition
Understanding of how
to change mindsets
and create a
progressive
entrepreneurial culture
within city
administrations
Education for
established senior staff
and politicians across
all departments
Inspiration and
learning from peers in
other cities
Examples of city digital
strategies and job
descriptions of key
digital posts e.g. Chief
Digital Officers;
Entrepreneurs in
Residence
Access to experts who
can answer questions
as they arise and/or
provide bespoke
support (from 87% of
survey respondents)
Help developing
metrics and translating
digital solutions and
metrics into something
that’s understandable
for non geeks!
15. ‘It has to go into detail – we need to get
under the surface and have honest
conversations. We need to learn from
failure as well as successes.’
‘We need a sort of Erasmus for cities – so
we can learn about, touch and feel
solutions which are being tried
elsewhere.’
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16. ‘We need to think of Digitalisation –
Sustainability – and Equality, Inclusion
and Diversity across everything that
URBACT does.’
‘We need to learn from cities like ours; to
connect with people and see it for
ourselves. We need to get inspiration,
bring solutions home and adapt them to
our local needs.’
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18. Framework for capacity building – 4 building blocks
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Agile City
Leadership
Demystifying
Tech
Knowledge
Exchange
Hub
Peer
Exchanges /
practical use
cases
19. Across all key policy areas
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Leisure, tourism and
culture
Education
Building and spatial
planning
Health and social care
Transport and urban
mobility
Services (e-
government, e-
governance, citizen
engagement,
communications, e-
procurement, service
design)
Economic
development /
innovation ecosystems
Environmental and
social care
20. ‘URBACT’s role is to bring cities together
and to facilitate exchange and learning.
The content needs to come from experts
and cities.’
‘We need to learn from one another e.g.
how cities are using technology across
different services. You have to see
examples to make it make sense. URBACT
has an important role to play.’
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21. Where can
URBACT add
most value?
• There seems to already be some
national support for, and networks of,
tech teams / Chief Digital Officers
working at a high level (especially in
large EU cities).
• Smaller cities seem to be finding the
transition harder.
• Therefore, non ‘tech’ or low ‘tech’
teams working across all other policy
areas would benefit most from
URBACT’s support.
• This audience is wider than just
existing URBACT network coordinators.
