Collaboration and scaling: The next steps for municipalities and civil society

The national conference of the Collaboration, held in mid-November, drew significant attention from stakeholders. Two hundred people attended in person, with over 350 more participating online.

"We've observed a notable shift during the project - the focus has moved from technology itself to benefits and value creation. When we began, many discussions centred on defining artificial intelligence. Now, the conversation has shifted to its practical applications," says Lönnroth, adding:

"The conference discussions, both on stage and among participants, highlighted concrete benefits such as significant time savings, reduced fall incidents, support for individuals showing signs of problem gambling, and other tangible outcomes. Having these kinds of very specific and clear examples creates a good foundation for continued work focusing on the use of artificial intelligence and how broad scaling across all municipalities in the country can be achieved."

Iwona Carlsson, Chief Digital Officer in Kungsbacka municipality and member of AI Sweden's and SKR's joint AI Council, sees the discussions during the conference as validation of the council's recommendations:

"It's about continuing to work locally, continuing to apply AI, while also fulfilling our obligation to support colleagues across municipal Sweden by sharing knowledge and learning from each other."

Fredrik Edholm, digitalization strategist at Skaraborg Municipal Association and fellow AI Council member, adds:

"To facilitate knowledge sharing, we in the AI Council have, among other things, initiated work on the Municipal Portal. We need leading municipalities, like Kungsbacka, as well as government agencies that take responsibility for AI in their sectors and guide the municipalities."

Rebecka Lönnroth notes that many of the challenges mentioned during the day were familiar. They involve legal issues, skill shortages, and wheels being reinvented over and over.

"What is new, however, is that there are now examples of how to address these challenges in a concrete way," says Rebecka Lönnroth.

She highlights the work that Helsingborg, Värmdö, and Uddevalla are doing with language models in social services, Kungsbacka's and Tjörn's collaboration on competence as role models, and how civil society organizations work together in several projects within Collaboration for AI in Municipalities and Civil Society.

"We're also hearing from municipalities, civil society organizations, and suppliers about the need for new forums where stakeholders and technical experts can collaborate to create value through artificial intelligence. AI Sweden, with our partner network, has a significant role to play in facilitating these connections," Rebecka Lönnroth concludes.