Discussing implementation and scaling up of the Actions in Luxembourg

The 11th meeting of the Digital Transition Partnership took place on 14-15 February in Luxembourg and was hosted by DG CNECT.

The meeting included several cities and member states participating in a two-day roundtable discussion, which was joined by representatives from ESPON and the Commission Data Unit. The roundtable also included a representative from DG GROW, who presented the Digital Cities Challenge and the opportunities it could provide to cities.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the Partners to learn more about the state of play related to activities, policies and funding opportunities in the pipeline of the European Commission. During the meeting partners also discussed how efforts by cities can be aligned with the current Commission priorities and vice versa.

One of the main objectives of the meeting was to discuss the status of the Actions implementation, which is now underway. In particular, Partners are now considering the key activities and concrete deliverables resulting from the Partnership's work, in light of changes and challenges they have encountered.

One of the overarching messages coming across from the discussion was the need to step up the implementation, and where necessary seek expert support and reach out to other cities or member states. DG CNECT stressed how cities have a strong collective power when working together by aligning their efforts and resources to achieve common goals.

Finally, the Partnership has started thinking about how to scale up the Actions and ensure that the knowledge and know-how that has been produced can be disseminated to other cities, and in particular those with less resources. Developing a set of lessons, or a white label, based on the experiences of the different labs might be a potential solution to inform medium and small cities in Europe who wish to invest in digital transition.