Webinar (3 Mar): Preparing for AI - understanding the data groundwork with Sunderland

Register here

 

Date: Tuesday 3 March 2026

 

Time: 9.00 (EST), 14.00 (GMT), 15.00 (CET), 16.00 (EET), 18.00 (GST)

 

Length: 60 minutes + Q&A

 

Sunderland City Council is laying the groundwork for practical, responsible AI by building a secure, scalable data foundation that connects insight to action. This webinar explores how the city has designed its smart city data platform in partnership with Boldyn Networks, and supported by Microsoft, to transform how data is collected, analysed and visualised across the city. 

 

The session will show how Sunderland is turning insight into impact through practical use cases – city planning and events dashboards informed by footfall and travel patterns, environmental hotspot mapping to target interventions, community insights to direct support, digital exclusion modelling to guide connectivity programmes, and social care data integration to forecast demand and improve outcomes.  

 

You will also hear how this approach is already delivering measurable social value – from identifying additional pupils eligible for Free School Meals, to reaching tens of thousands of residents through digital inclusion campaigns and supporting communities through Digital Health Hubs. Looking ahead, the webinar will explore how simulation, predictive analytics and AI are helping Sunderland plan for the future. 

 

Key talking points include: 

• Building a city-wide data foundation for AI and advanced analytics 
• Using Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Services and OpenAI Cognitive Services within a secure, governed framework 
• Moving from reactive services to proactive, data-led decision-making 
• Real-world use cases – planning, environment, communities, digital inclusion and social care 
• Delivering measurable social impact through data and insight 
• Preparing cities for responsible, scalable AI adoption.

For city leaders and practitioners, this is a practical look at how strong data foundations, backed by Microsoft’s cloud and AI services, can turn ambition into delivery – and prepare a city to use AI with purpose, at scale, and for people.

 

Register here

 

Speakers

		Liz St Louis Director of Smart Cities Sunderland City Council   Liz is the Director for Smart Cities at Sunderland City Council. A dynamic, highly motivated and experienced leader with over 30 years’ experience, Liz has driven transformation programmes and digital and data initiatives throughout her career and has a passion for person centred user design and ensuring digital and data enables transformational change that makes a real and measurable difference.   Leading the delivery of the Smart City Programme for Sunderland, Liz is responsible for driving forward city-wide investment in next generation digital infrastructure and use cases that will make a transformational difference across a city landscape.
		Robin Denton Director - Local Public Services Microsoft UK   Robin has 20 years of experience in Microsoft and local public services, with deep expertise in the local government and housing sectors. His technology background helps align emerging tech with sector priorities, driving innovation in services and resident outcomes. He has worked on many shared services and unitary council mergers, and is passionate about using AI and reform to modernise processes. Robin leads Microsoft’s Local Public Services team, driving transformation across the sector.
		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.