Across the world, cities are facing the same challenge: how to deliver better services, modernise infrastructure and embrace digital transformation while operating under increasing financial and resource constraints.

From artificial intelligence and digital twins to automation, data platforms and smart infrastructure, local governments are investing heavily in technology. Yet a growing number of city leaders are recognising that the next breakthrough may not come from new technology alone.

It may come from collaboration.

Across New Zealand, councils have been using the building blocks of smarter local government for some time: AI, digital twins, automation, sensors, geospatial tools, smart transport systems, data platforms, cyber resilience, resident-service automation and new forms of infrastructure intelligence.

The challenge is not a lack of activity. The challenge is that too much of this work remains difficult to discover, compare and reuse.

That was the strongest message from a recent working session involving smart city and local government digital leaders from across New Zealand. The discussion was practical, grounded and direct. Councils are under financial pressure. Technology teams are stretched. Data is often trapped in PDFs, legacy systems or disconnected databases. Smart initiatives exist, but not always with shared governance, common standards or clear pathways for adoption.

The priority is clear: helping councils use technology to improve services, reduce duplication, support better decisions and manage infrastructure more intelligently.

The Next Frontier: Reuse at Scale

A central theme emerging from the discussion was that councils often face similar challenges but solve them independently.

That approach is increasingly difficult to justify.

Whether the challenge relates to AI readiness, digital service delivery, smart mobility, asset intelligence, data governance or customer engagement, local governments frequently invest time and resources solving problems that have already been addressed elsewhere.

The result is duplicated effort, slower adoption and missed opportunities to accelerate innovation.

This challenge is not unique to New Zealand. Around the world, governments are recognising that the ability to share knowledge, frameworks, tools and lessons learned may be just as important as the technologies themselves.

The idea of a New Zealand Smart Collaboration Hub responds directly to this challenge.

Such a Hub could serve as a trusted front door where councils can discover, understand and reuse smart local government assets that already exist.

Rather than operating as another repository or central agency attempting to own everyone else's work, it would function as a navigation layer. It would help councils identify what exists, where it resides, who owns it, how current it is, how it can be used and who to contact.

Assets would remain with their source owners. The Hub would simply make them easier to find, trust and reuse.

That distinction is important.

The goal is not centralised control.

The goal is reduced friction.

From AI Hype to Practical Delivery

The working session identified several high-value opportunities for collaboration.

One is AI implementation: who owns it, how risk is governed, how accuracy is tested and how organisations avoid running old and new systems in parallel for too long.

Another is data integration: moving from fragmented systems and static documents to usable APIs, analytics and machine-learning-ready data.

A third is procurement: helping councils specify technology effectively, avoid vendor lock-in and encourage interoperability.

Cybersecurity and data science also stand out as areas where shared capability could help smaller councils access expertise that may otherwise be difficult to maintain internally.

The same applies to legislative interpretation, service automation and reusable resident-service tools such as chatbots.

There is also a cultural opportunity.

New technologies are often held to a higher standard of proof than existing processes, even when those existing processes are inconsistent, slow or outdated. This can delay adoption even when new approaches are demonstrably better.

A collaboration hub could help councils compare evidence more objectively by sharing what works, what saves money, what improves services, what risks require management and what solutions are ready to scale.

Learning from Global Collaboration Models

New Zealand does not need to replicate overseas models directly, but there are valuable international examples from which to learn.

Denmark’s KOMBIT shows the value of municipal collaboration around shared digital systems, procurement and digital infrastructure.

The UK’s Local Digital Declaration demonstrates how common principles, funded projects, playbooks and shared practice can help councils move together rather than separately.

The EU Smart Cities Marketplace shows how curated project knowledge, matchmaking and investment support can help cities move from ambition to delivery.

Amsterdam Smart City offers a strong example of an open innovation platform where governments, knowledge institutions, companies and civic actors collaborate around urban challenges.

Smart Dublin shows how multiple local authorities can work together with technology providers, researchers and citizens to trial and scale solutions to local challenges.

Forum Virium Helsinki, the City of Helsinki’s innovation company, is another useful model for co-creating urban futures with companies, universities, public organisations and residents.

The lesson across these examples is remarkably consistent.

Smart city progress accelerates when knowledge is shared, standards are visible, pilots are connected to pathways and collaboration is designed as infrastructure rather than left to chance.

Building Shared Capability

For New Zealand, the opportunity is to start modestly and govern well.

Any future collaboration hub would require clear safeguards, including owner attribution, version control, usage rights, withdrawal rights, transparent governance and clearly defined vendor boundaries.

The objective is not to redistribute ownership or status.

It is to help existing knowledge work harder.

The most useful starting point may be a small number of priority pathways including AI readiness, digital twins, asset intelligence, procurement, data governance, automation and operational use cases such as transport, waste management, resilience and customer service.

Organised by maturity level, these pathways could help councils identify practical next steps while learning from the experiences of others.

Looking Ahead

The lesson from leading smart city ecosystems around the world is becoming increasingly clear.

The future of innovation is not simply about creating new solutions. It is about making proven solutions easier to discover, trust, adapt and scale.

As cities face mounting financial, environmental and operational pressures, collaboration itself is emerging as a form of infrastructure.

The cities and communities that learn together will move faster than those that innovate alone.

If we get this right, a Smart Collaboration Hub could help councils reduce duplication, accelerate innovation, learn from both success and failure, and build confidence in technologies that are becoming central to local government performance.

The future of smart local government will not be built organisation by organisation in isolation.

It will be built through shared capability, trusted relationships and practical reuse.

A collaboration hub may be one way to help make that future a reality.

Join the Conversation

The concept of a Smart Collaboration Hub is intended to spark discussion and explore how councils, technology providers, researchers and industry partners can work together more effectively.

Have you been involved in a similar collaboration model, knowledge-sharing platform, municipal innovation network or shared digital capability initiative?

What worked? What challenges emerged? What lessons should New Zealand consider?

Mark welcomes insights, examples and perspectives from practitioners across local government, industry and academia.

To continue the conversation, connect with Mark Thomas via LinkedIn or contact him at mark.thomas@smartcitiescouncil.com.