Public-public collaboration: how to combine a vertical and horizontal approach?

On November 19, the 7th edition of the Smart Inspiration Day took place, with the theme this year being governance and the co-creation of public value in the context of the sustainable and smart transition of territories. In the afternoon, nearly thirty participants (mainly representatives of inter-municipal and local authorities) gathered for a workshop dedicated to collaboration between public players.

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The aim of this session was to explore how public authorities can better collaborate in the deployment of Smart City initiatives. In the following article, our team has summarized the session's main conclusions for you.

The discussion, moderated by Audrey Lebas, Researcher at the Smart City Institute, focused on identifying available and desired regional levers, as well as potential opportunities for sharing resources between territories to facilitate more efficient, sustainable and smart local development. The workshop also provided an opportunity to explore in greater detail the major challenges raised in one of our latest published research reports, entitled " Perceptions and implementation of Smart City dynamics: a case study of Wallonia ".

A lack of resources

Firstly, Wallonia's municipalities face significant resource constraints. It's not just a question of financial limitations, but also of human resources and material assets. A interesting trend emerged from the discussions with regard to specialist talent: data managers and other technical experts often leave their positions within communal administrations, not because of a lack of skills, but rather because their roles are not sufficiently valued compared to opportunities in the private sector. The compartmentalized nature of municipal actions can compound this problem, limiting the sharing of knowledge between departments.

Collaboration vs. competition

The second major challenge revolves around the dynamics of collaboration. While it's often said that "alone we go faster", this individualistic approach can impede overall progress. Municipalities are frequently pitted against each other for funding, leading to a paradoxical situation when it comes to innovation.

Indeed, participants present said they felt their projects had to be innovative to secure funding, which could explain a reluctance to implement solutions already tested by neighboring communities, creating a potentially counter-productive cycle as regards replication (and improvement) of innovative solutions already tested and approved.

" We can't launch a project if it's not distinctive [different / innovative] enough from what's already been done by our neighbors" : For fear of not being funded, we don't take the "risk" of drawing inspiration from what already exists.

Lack of understanding of the Smart City concept

The third challenge concerns the lack of a shared vision of the Smart City concept itself. Local councillors often struggle to grasp its full value proposition. What's more, when local authorities do adopt sustainable and smart transition initiatives, it's often for quick win projects rather than as part of a profound transformation logic. The result can be a superficial adoption with no real integration into communal planning.

Timeframes sometimes difficult to reconcile

Last but not least, the workshop underlined the fact that the sustainable and smart transition of territories requires patience and perseverance. Resistance to change, the mismatch between political timetables and project implementation needs, and the different operational timeframes of the public and private sectors all add to the complexity.

Public-public collaboration: which levers to activate?

The workshop concluded with some constructive suggestions for the future. To be successful, we need to think not only about developing innovative solutions, but also about fundamentally rethinking the way public authorities collaborate and manage change in an increasingly digital world.

The first step in this direction is to simplify administrative procedures, particularly in the areas of human resources and public procurement (thereby reducing bureaucratic obstacles). Secondly, to encourage the transition from a logic of competition to one of dialogue and collaboration between communes. With this in mind, participants emphasized the importance of being able to rely on genuine municipal leadership , as well as the potential value of university partnerships to drive forward Smart City initiatives.