Cities and communities across Europe are increasingly exploring artificial intelligence, data-driven technologies and digital solutions to improve mobility, energy efficiency, public services, environmental monitoring and urban planning. 

Yet moving from an innovative solution to its effective deployment in a city remains challenging. Technology providers need opportunities to test solutions in realistic environments, access the right technical infrastructures and data, understand the needs of public authorities and demonstrate that their solutions are reliable and ready for use. At the same time, cities and public organisations need support to identify appropriate technologies, assess their value and risks, and move from experimentation towards procurement and operational deployment. 

The Digital Europe ecosystem provides different instruments addressing these needs. CitCom.ai, European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), AI Factories, and other European projects and initiatives provide complementary capabilities ranging from testing and experimentation to local innovation support, access to AI infrastructure and expertise, and the development of deployable and secure solutions. 

However, as highlighted also in the previous sectorial webinars, these initiatives can still be perceived by users as separate entry points rather than parts of a connected innovation pathway. The purpose of this webinar is therefore to bring these perspectives together and explore how collaboration can make the journey from urban challenge to tested solution and real-world deployment easier to navigate. 

The central message is that deploying AI in cities requires more than developing a successful technology: solutions need the right infrastructure to be developed, tested, secured and ultimately integrated into real urban environments. 

Testing and Experimentation Facilities provide real, virtual and physical environments where AI and robotics solutions can be tested and validated under conditions reflecting the complexity of cities and communities, helping innovators assess performance, safety and readiness for deployment.  

European Digital Innovation Hubs complement this capacity by acting as regional innovation entry points for companies and public administrations. Through test-before-invest, skills development, access to finance and connections with the wider innovation ecosystem, EDIHs can help organisations identify and adopt the technologies and services that respond to their digital transformation needs. 

AI Factories add another complementary layer by providing access to the advanced AI infrastructure and capabilities needed to develop and accelerate AI solutions. Connecting these capabilities with TEF testing environments and EDIH deployment networks can help create a stronger pathway from AI development to experimentation and real-world uptake. 

At the same time, smart and connected cities need to ensure that digital transformation is secure and resilient by design and this is where initiatives funded the DIGITAL EUROPE programme come into play. 

Together, these actors demonstrate how different parts of the European digital ecosystem can contribute to a connected pathway: 

AI capabilities & development → Secure solutions → Real-world testing & validation → Local adoption & deployment 

Part 1 | Open webinar 

A clear, user-oriented overview of the Smart cities ecosystem including: 

• what support and capabilities are available across the ecosystem;  
• who can access them and where different users can start;  
• how organisations can navigate between different initiatives depending on their needs;  
• how testing facilities, EDIHs, AI infrastructures, cybersecurity initiatives and other DIGITAL actors can complement and reinforce each other;  
• and how stronger connections can help solutions progress from development and experimentation to real-world deployment and uptake in cities and communities 

Part 2 | Interactive workshop 

A 45 min closed, hands-on session for project representatives and ecosystem actors. 

Participants will: 

• identify barriers to adopting and scaling smart cities solutions, 
• explore alignment opportunities across TEFs, EDIHs, and DEP actions, 
• define concrete “quick wins” to improve interoperability and uptake, 

• • co-create inputs for a Storytelling Package showcasing successful pathways from pilot to scale.