Capacity Building

Equipping People and Organisations for Inclusive Digital Transformation

We provide capacity building services to equip local government staff, partners, stakeholders, and communities with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate digital transformation and smart city development.

Effective capacity building is essential for ensuring that all participants—whether policymakers, service providers, businesses, or citizens—understand the potential of emerging technologies and how they can be deployed to address urban challenges related to efficiency, sustainability, quality of life, and the experience of city living and visiting.

Our approach goes beyond technical training. We focus on cultivating a shared understanding of core smart city concepts, digital governance, and socio-technical innovation—empowering people at all levels to contribute meaningfully to strategic thinking, policy development, service delivery, and civic engagement.

Why Capacity Building Matters

Smart city initiatives succeed not just through infrastructure and systems, but through the people who plan, manage, and engage with them. Without the right knowledge, skills, and confidence, even the most advanced technologies can fall short of their intended impact.

Capacity building enables cities to:

  • Foster Digital Confidence: Empower individuals and institutions to participate in and shape digital change.

  • Enhance Collaboration: Build shared language and understanding across departments and sectors.

  • Support Innovation: Equip teams with the mindset and tools to explore and adopt new approaches.

  • Strengthen Governance: Ensure leaders are equipped to navigate complex trade-offs and make informed decisions.

  • Drive Inclusion: Create equitable opportunities for all groups to access, understand, and benefit from digital transformation.

Ultimately, capacity building lays the human foundation for successful, sustainable, and inclusive digital strategies.

Building the Human Infrastructure of Smart Cities

Digital transformation is not only about infrastructure—it’s about culture, leadership, and collective capacity. Our capacity building services ensure that the people behind your strategy are prepared to drive it forward with insight, integrity, and purpose.

Our Approach

We design and deliver capacity building programmes that are adaptive to the needs of each place and stakeholder group. Our offer includes:

  • Introductory and Advanced Training Modules
    Covering foundational topics such as smart city principles, digital rights, data governance, climate-tech, and urban AI—tailored for public officials, technical teams, or community organisations.

  • Interactive Workshops and Simulations
    Facilitating hands-on learning around specific themes, such as co-design, ethical innovation, cybersecurity awareness, or strategic planning using frameworks like ISO 37106 or Theory of Change.

  • Peer Learning and Community of Practice Facilitation
    Bringing participants from different roles, departments, or cities into structured dialogue and shared problem-solving spaces.

  • Leadership and Strategic Thinking Support
    Building the capacity of senior leaders and elected officials to set direction, manage risk, engage stakeholders, and lead digital transformation with confidence and clarity.

  • Inclusive Engagement and Skills Transfer
    Supporting digital champions, community organisers, and civil society actors with tools and strategies to facilitate engagement, build digital inclusion, and sustain local ownership.

  • Embedded Support
    For complex or long-term projects, we offer embedded coaching and mentoring to ensure skills and confidence grow alongside implementation.

Each programme is designed to reflect the specific context, goals, and maturity of the organisation or territory—and delivered in formats that meet people where they are, from in-person workshops to hybrid and online learning environments.

What We Cover

Our capacity building content is rooted in real-world challenges and aligned with international standards and strategic frameworks. Topics we regularly cover include:

  • Holistic smart city planning and governance.

  • ISO 37107, 37106, and related standards.

  • Digital public service design.

  • Data ethics and privacy.

  • Community engagement and co-design.

  • Climate and environmental digital strategies.

  • Innovation ecosystems and the digital economy.

  • Digital inclusion and digital skills for life.

  • AI, automation, and future-readiness in the public sector.

We work closely with local teams and communities to tailor each session to their real needs, challenges, and local opportunities.