Metropolitan areas have become key spaces for the digital transition. It is at this level where the daily needs of citizens, democratic governance and European agendas converge. But digital transformation is not just a technological issue: it is, above all, a challenge of governance, trust and the creation of public value.
This was the central axis of the round table "Future visions: co-creating the metropolitan digital transition", moderated by Mikel Berra (Metròpolis Digital, AMB), with the participation of Miquel Estapé (Consortium of Open Administration of Catalonia – AOC), Juan Carlos González (AMB), Rebecca Marconi (ALDA), Spela Zalokar (ENoLL) and Levent Gürgen (Kentyou).
Shared digital infrastructure at the service of 2.250 administrations
At the AOC we work to provide shared public digital infrastructure and services that allow more than 2.250 public entities in Catalonia - town halls, county councils and supramunicipal administrations - to offer better digital services to citizens.
Our mission is clear: avoid reinventing the wheel, encouraging the reuse and scalability of what already works. Collective action generates concrete benefits: cost savings thanks to economies of scale, consistent application of best practices and standards, faster deployments and cross-cutting services designed around people's life events, not administrative silos.
For citizens, this approach translates into stronger digital rights, simpler interactions and a better experience with public services.
What will a successful metropolitan digital transition look like?
Over a 5-year horizon, a successful metropolitan digital transition is one in which the administration becomes truly proactive: not only digital, but capable of anticipating needs, reliable and people-centered.
This implies moving from a reactive administration to a personalized and anticipatory administration. Citizens should not repeatedly request their rights. Administrations must be able to detect situations, verify eligibility and grant services or benefits automatically, based on reliable data and clear legal mandates. The best service is not a faster form, but a notification informing that the right has already been recognized.
This change is especially relevant in a context in which citizens perceive a clear asymmetry: when it comes to paying taxes, the administration knows everything; when it comes to receiving a benefit, it seems to know nothing.
This vision is based on three essential pillars:
- quality data, well governed and used responsibly;
- real interoperability, with a single source of truth for each data shared securely and legally;
- and the conviction that digital transformation is about trust and public value, not just technology.
Artificial intelligence: public value with democratic guarantees
At the AOC, artificial intelligence and automation are no longer pilot projects. They are tools that generate public value at scale, reducing administrative burden and improving responsiveness to both citizens and public employees.
Currently, AI systems are mainly used in three areas: citizen care through virtual assistants available 24 hours a day, digital identity with biometric verification to facilitate secure and remote access to services, and the field of social services, automating processes such as energy poverty reports to reach vulnerable people sooner and better.
However, scaling the use of AI requires strong governance. That is why all AI systems promoted by the AOC are subject to clear safeguards: assessments of transparència algorithmic, mandatory human oversight in sensitive decisions, user testing and alignment with the risk-based approach of the European AI Act.
Democratic trust depends on the transparència: citizens must know which algorithm affects them, with what data and with what guarantees. AI in administration is not a technological challenge, but a governance challenge.
Digital tools to strengthen citizen participation
Digital tools must reduce barrierseres in democracy, not increasing them. An easy-to-use and secure digital identity is key to making citizen participation natural and accessible.
At the AOC we promote shared participation platforms for local governments, which allow people to contribute ideas, vote on proposals, follow debates and build collective intelligence. The big challenge is scale: when participation works, thousands of contributions are generated. Here, AI can help group, synthesize and analyze contributions, always as a support for democratic debate, never as a substitute.
The big change: shared public digital infrastructure
The true transformative element is to understand public digital infrastructure as a common good. In Catalonia, almost 90% of municipalities do not have the capacity to lead digital transformation alone. The answer cannot be fragmentation, but shared, cloud-native infrastructures that guarantee cybersecurity, interoperability and territorial equity.
Moving from isolated projects to shared infrastructures allows no administration to be left behind and for the digital transition to strengthen territorial cohesion, public value and democratic trust.
Multilevel governance and co-creation
The digital transition only works if it is built collectively. The quadruple helix model —administrations, private sector, academia and citizens— is key, although complex to apply. At the AOC we act as facilitators, using methodologies of co-creation, service design and collaborative development.
Digital governance also does not work at a single scale. Europe defines the principles, states operationalize them, regions scale solutions and the local world gives meaning to the transformation. No level can succeed alone.
