Twenty-one European capital cities, including Vilnius, were selected to receive tutoring and funding to improve services for residents using digital innovation, according to a press release.
“European capital cities are already among the world’s leaders when it comes to digitising government services to deliver better results for residents,” said Andrea Coleman of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the founders and sponsors of the two-year programme.
“We hope to see these cities take their work to the next level by putting people at the heart of digital transformation, driving [modern] ways of working across their organisations, and sharing lessons with other cities around the world.”
The programme is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which invests in 510 cities and 129 countries, according to the press release.
Alongside Vilnius, the programme is joined by Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Ljubljana, London, Madrid, Nicosia, Prague, Riga, Reykjavik, Sofia, Stockholm, Tallinn, and Warsaw.
The types of issues cities are expected to address include housing, mobility, health, education and jobs.
Initially, cities will identify key opportunities in digital vision, governance, technology systems development, approaches to user-centric design, and building an infrastructure for the use of data.
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the new digital innovation program in June 2018 as part of the organisation’s work to improve innovation, data, and collaboration capacity within city halls.
