Establishment of an AI Competence Centre for the City of Munich

This information was sourced from "Establishment of an AI Competence Centre for the City of Munich" by Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OECD), https://oecd-opsi.org/innovations/establishment-of-an-ai-competence-centre-for-the-city-of-munich/. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO).

Innovation Overview

The AI (Artificial Intelligence) Competence Center of the city of Munich is an in-house competence center for AI offering consulting and implementation expertise for municipal departments and public enterprises. As one of the first municipalities in Germany to do so, the city of Munich is pooling its internal AI know-how and providing an infrastructure for the careful use of AI methods. The AI competence center offers training, workshops, and support for implementing AI solutions.

The AI competence center was developed to make the city administration fit for the future and to take a leading role in the use of AI in municipalities. It aims to increase the efficiency of city processes and to boost innovation. The practical use of AI methods can help to make decisions faster and more accurately, which also helps to provide better services to citizens.

The AI competence center consists of 6 employees and will be further expanded in the future to serve as a model for other municipalities. The center relies on open and cooperative collaboration through NewWork and self-organization and aims to create a climate of collaboration and exchange. To address concerns about data protection and ethics when using AI, ethical and legal issues will be examined more closely.

The AI competence center has published four publications and had their papers and posters accepted at several conferences such as INUAS, AI.Bayern2023, M3-Konferenz, and GI Salzburg. They have also conducted over 20 inhouse workshops, hackathons and talks in the last two years.

The center developed 10 AI prototypes, including NO2 emission analysis, tree recognition, mood analysis, recommendation for a system for libraries and MUCGPT, a new language model for the Munich city administration. These prototypes showcase the expertise and innovation of the center's team.

The center works with dual computer science students and young LHM employees who are already exposed to the topic of AI during their studies and are, therefore, quickly able to work on initial use cases. The center's inspiring working environment in the InnovationLab and the "self-organisation" NewWork model are designed to keep employees for the long term. The center relies on the city administration's specialist departments to find meaningful use cases to work on. The center organizes numerous presentations, training courses and workshops to increase understanding of AI solutions within the city administration and the general public. In cooperation with the city's strategy department the center established clear guidelines and procedures for handling data and ethical issues in order to address concerns about data protection and ethics.

What Makes Your Project Innovative?

Our project is innovative in several ways. Firstly, our AI competence center is unique and the first of its kind in our organization, and we believe that it is also one of the first in our region. Secondly, we have developed AI prototypes in various areas, including environmental analysis, image recognition, and sentiment analysis, which are innovative and unique solutions.

We believe that our AI competence center is at the forefront of AI innovation in our organization, and we are continually exploring new ways to apply AI to solve real-world problems.

Another aspect that makes our project innovative is the fact that we have carried out our work without relying on expensive consulting firms. Instead, we have partnered with young employees who have a passion for AI and a willingness to learn and grow. By working with this group, we have been able to develop innovative solutions that meet the needs of our organization without breaking the budget.

What is the current status of your innovation?

Our project is currently in progress, and we are continuing to develop and refine our AI prototypes and solutions. We began our project in 2021, and since then, we have made significant progress in establishing our AI competence center, developing prototypes, and sharing our insights with the community.

Currently, we are working on several projects, including the development of a recommendation system for our municipal library, predictive maintenance for traffic sensors, and image anonymization for our municipal defect reporting platforms, which were requested by our stakeholders. We are also exploring new areas of application for AI and conducting research to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the field.

Overall, we are excited about the progress we have made so far and are eager to continue our work in promoting the use of AI in our organization and beyond.

Collaborations & Partnerships

We have collaborated with various partners and stakeholders throughout our innovation process, each bringing unique perspectives and expertise to the table. Firstly, we partnered with young employees who had a passion for AI and the willingness to learn and grow. They brought fresh perspectives and ideas to our project and were instrumental in developing our AI prototypes. We also worked closely with our stakeholders, NGOs, and private companies, to identify key areas of application for AI.

Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries

Our collaborators in universities and research institutions have benefited from our innovations by gaining new insights into the application of AI in different areas in city government. The general public has also benefited from our AI solutions, as they have helped to improve the quality of life in our city by improving public services.

Results, Outcomes & Impacts

The results and impacts of our innovation have been significant so far. We have developed ten AI prototypes and solutions that have been adopted by our organization and stakeholders, resulting in tangible improvements in various areas. To measure the impacts of our innovation, we have used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including surveys, interviews, and data analysis. We have collected feedback from stakeholder and user. We have published four papers in reputable conferences such as INUAS, AI.Bayern2023, M3-Konferenz, and GI Salzburg, which have helped to promote our work. Furthermore, we have conducted over 20 workshops and talks.

Challenges and Failures

One of the main challenges we faced was a lack of resources, which hindered our ability to develop and implement our AI solutions quickly. This challenge was addressed by partnering with young employees who were passionate about AI and willing to learn and grow, allowing us to leverage their skills and expertise to move forward. Another challenge we faced was the complexity of developing AI solutions that met the diverse needs of our stakeholders. This challenge was addressed by conducting extensive research and working closely with our stakeholders to understand their requirements and develop solutions that met their needs. We have also experienced some failures along the way, including setbacks in the development of some of our prototypes.

Conditions for Success

Based on our experience, we believe that several conditions are necessary for the success of an innovation such as ours: Adequate infrastructure and services are necessary to support the development and implementation of AI solutions. This includes access to data, computing power, and software tools. Clear policies and rules are needed to ensure that AI solutions are developed and used in an ethical and responsible manner. This includes regulations concerning data privacy, security, and bias. Effective leadership and guidance are necessary to drive innovation and promote a culture of experimentation and risk-taking.

Replication

We believe that our innovation has the potential to be further replicated in the future by other organizations and governments. Our approach of partnering with young employees and working closely with stakeholders can be applied to other contexts to develop innovative solutions that meet the needs of different communities.

Furthermore, our AI competence center can serve as a model for other organizations looking to develop their AI capabilities. By sharing our experiences and insights, we can help to promote the adoption of AI solutions and drive positive change in different industries.

Lessons Learned

Passion for AI and innovation is essential for success. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing are critical to driving innovation. By partnering with diverse stakeholders and sharing insights and experiences, we were able to develop solutions that meet the needs of different communities. Ethical considerations must be at the forefront of AI development and implementation. Organizations must prioritize data privacy, security, and bias to ensure that AI solutions are developed and used in an ethical and responsible manner. Investment in human and financial resources is necessary to support the development and implementation of AI solutions. Organizations must provide sufficient resources to ensure that teams have access to skilled personnel.

Anything Else?

We would like to emphasize the importance of innovation and collaboration in driving positive change in society. Our AI competence center has demonstrated that by working together with diverse stakeholders and fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation, organizations can develop solutions that meet the needs of different communities and drive meaningful improvements in society.

Furthermore, we believe that AI has the potential to transform various industries and create new opportunities for growth and development. However, it is essential that AI is developed and used in an ethical and responsible manner, prioritizing data privacy, security, and bias.

Budget: Not disclosed