Municipalities Experimenting with Digital Innovation, Upskilling and the Metaverse

The project aimed to support civil servants in the use and potential of emerging digital technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality and the metaverse. The main objectives were to s...

The project aimed to support civil servants in the use and potential of emerging digital technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality and the metaverse. The main objectives were to strengthen digital skills within the public sector, contributing to its ongoing digital transition, while promoting innovation and improving accessibility to public services. The project sought to encourage municipalities to explore how these technologies could improve their services, address societal challenges and increase citizen involvement. The consortium achieved this by providing civil servants with the necessary tools to understand the evolving framework of digital and immersive technologies, thus also adapting their level of digital competence in their daily work. One of the objectives was to deconstruct digital resistance by providing clear and reliable information. Embracing change and understanding the different aspects of technologies enabled the creation of a culture of digital responsibility and preparedness.

The project began with an analysis of the local context and a needs assessment, in collaboration with Etterbeek and Lousada, to co-design a questionnaire to assess the levels of digitisation and use of immersive technologies in their contexts. A stakeholder map was developed, outlining the benefits and potential involvement of key stakeholders in the project. A tailor-made training package on immersive technologies and participatory democracy strategies was created, leading to a two-day ‘Train the Trainers’ event in Lousada. Participants in the train-the-trainer event acquired skills that enabled them to conduct cascade training for other public officials in their municipalities. In addition, participatory consultations involved various stakeholders in discussions on digital public services. Through focus groups and brainstorming, participants improved their skills and proposed concrete ideas to improve an existing public service; each partner selected a pilot idea to foster citizen involvement. A solid communication strategy was implemented, with the creation of a visual identity, social media and offline updates aimed at municipalities, local authorities and digital stakeholder to enhance the visibility of the project.

The project achieved several concrete outputs and results across different activities. In A.2 , afinal report and needs analysis were completed, providing insights into the local context on the level of digitalisation, with a particular focus on the knowledge on the metaverse and virtual reality. For A.3, a training package was designed specifically for the Training of Trainers programme, covering key topics such as participatory democracy tools and principles, the use of digital tools to foster engagement and the virtual reality. Within the A.4, the Training of Trainers took place in Lousada, Portugal, with four participants who learned about participatory principles and the use of virtual reality. The A.5 included the implementation of local training sessions in Lousada, with five participants, and Etterbeek, with seventeen participants. A.6 involved participative consultations to discuss digital innovation in public services, conducted in Lousada with eight participants and in Etterbeek with ten participants, fostering stakeholder involvement and co-ideation of the pilot ideas using virtual reality tools. Finally, A.8 focused on the dissemination of the results through multiplier events with more that 380 participants.