Virtual Roundtable: How cities are refocusing efforts on digital following the pandemic

Cities across the world have been severely hit by Covid-19 pandemic. Their citizens have had to change their behaviour significantly and adopt new ways of working, consuming, entertaining and learning. The pandemic has also severely affected the economic life of a city, from retail to commercial businesses. These changes have had a massive impact on city budgets.

The need to accelerate the digital transformation of many services is becoming more obvious than ever to improve cities’ ability to restore the situation. Cities, alongside other providers like transport, need to re-think their digitisation city approach to maximise socio-economic outcomes. The time when cities were testing many technologies across many domains is gone.

In this virtual roundtable we’ll explore where and how different city departments/providers can focus scarcer resources to maximise the outcomes of the digital transformation for the city and its citizens. It will ask what new strategies and models should be considered to meet their ambitions.

We’ll set the scene with a guest speaker from the City of Espoo (Finland) who will share their insights. The roundtable will then focus on the obstacles that city departments face, but also on how those challenges can be overcome. We’ll have a mix of experience on the roundtable from large, complex city halls to more simplified city authorities

Register Here 25 May 2021 - 9am (EST), 2pm (GMT), 3pm (CET), 3pm (SAST), 5pm (AST)

Registration is free, however delegates will need to work for city government or local partner. Applications will be approved by the event curator so that we can allow for a unique mix for this intimate roundtable format. The aim is to share insights from your work and make new contacts to speed your city’s transformation.