Webinar (29 Sept): How data and AI support better decisions to bolster city operations

Register Here

 

Date: Tuesday 29 September 2026

 

Time: 10:00 (EDT), 15.00 (BST), 16.00 (CEST), 17.00 (EEST), 18.00 (GST)

 

With artificial intelligence rapidly moving beyond experimentation to become a practical tool for improving how local governments operate, this SmartCitiesWorld webinar, brought to you in association with Microsoft, will explore how cities can strengthen their workforce decision-making by combining unified data, agentic AI and secure digital foundations. As councils face increasing service demand alongside financial and workforce pressures, AI has the potential to help staff work more efficiently by connecting information across departments, preserving institutional knowledge and providing intelligent support for everyday decision-making.

 

The webinar will examine how organisations can move beyond fragmented data and isolated AI pilots towards a unified intelligence model that gives employees access to trusted, contextual information regardless of where it resides. Speakers will also explore the emergence of agentic AI and discuss where these technologies are already delivering measurable value for local government.

 

Alongside the opportunities, the webinar will address the practical realities of implementation, from governance and cybersecurity to workforce skills and organisational readiness.

 

Key discussion points 

• Why workforce decision-making is becoming the next major frontier for AI in local government 
• Breaking down data silos to create a unified intelligence layer across departments and agencies 
• Turning institutional knowledge into an organisational asset that survives workforce turnover 
• The evolution from generative AI assistants to agentic AI capable of supporting complex public sector workflows 
• Practical use cases for AI agents across planning, social care, customer services, policy and operational teams 
• Balancing automation with human judgement, accountability and transparency 
• The cybersecurity, governance and data management foundations needed to deploy AI safely at scale 
• Preparing the workforce for AI through upskilling, change management and responsible adoption 
• Lessons from early adopters and practical advice for moving from pilot projects to organisation-wide impact.

 

Register Here

 

Speakers

		Ghayath Haidar Director of Business Solutions Ville de Montréal   Ghayath Haidar has been working as Director of Business Solutions in the IT department for 8 years, but has been an employee of the City of Montreal since 1995. He has worn many hats over the past 30 years, but more recently, he and his team have been working on data management and the implementation of an artificial intelligence integration framework.
		Doug Priest Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Lead Microsoft Frontier Company   Doug Priest works in tech operations and policy and leads Transportation and Urban Infrastructure at Microsoft Frontier Company.   Before joining Microsoft, he worked on technology operations and policy in the New York Governor’s Office 1 as part of the governor’s Technology & Innovation team. There he worked on projects like the Tech SWAT COVID Response effort. Previously, he was Department Head for Digital at Townsquare Media.   At the end of 2021, he finished a three-year stint at the shared lead on the board at H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online, where he previously worked as project manager helping lead the organisation’s digital transformation.
		Luke Antoniou Senior Editor SmartCitiesWorld   Luke has been reporting on the implementation of smart technologies that benefit citizens and the public sector since 2017.   He has a particularly keen interest in smart and sustainable mobility and its role in influencing the decisions of urban planners, citizens and governments alike.   As rapid urbanisation continues, he keeps his finger on the pulse of the myriad urban challenges facing local and central governments, making new connections in the public and private sectors and finding new angles from which to cover the latest smart city developments around the world.