2.  WHAT PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION MODELS HAVE PROVEN MOST EFFECTIVE SO FAR? IN WHICH AREAS?

In the service sector, when projects reach significant scale, the most common forms of public-private collaboration are public concession tenders and public-private partnerships.

In a public concession tender, the administrative process is entirely managed by the public authority, which plans the intervention, defines technical, functional, and economic requirements, and sets the award criteria, publishing a call open to competition.

Conversely, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), a well-established tool for Italian Municipalities, is a particularly effective cooperation model between public entities and private operators. It enables the integration of financial resources, technical expertise, and organizational capabilities. It allows public administrations, with full transparency, to innovate and implement high-quality technological infrastructures and services without bearing the full initial costs, sharing with the private sector the risks and responsibilities of design, implementation, and management. Moreover, PPP facilitates the flow of private capital into strategic initiatives, freeing up public resources for other purposes. This creates a functional balance between public interest and private initiative, aiming to maximize overall efficiency and the social value of projects.

Municipia plays a leading role in this process, supporting local administrations in their digital evolution and in developing projects that fully meet citizens’ needs.

4. WHAT ARE THE MOST COMPLEX CHALLENGES IN SCALING AUGMENTED CITY PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED MUNICIPALITIES?

Scaling Augmented City projects in small and medium-sized Municipalities faces significant challenges, both economic and organizational.

Limited financial resources and a lack of specialized internal skills make it difficult to sustain ongoing digital investments. Inadequate technological infrastructure and administrative fragmentation can hinder integration across departments and services.

Difficulty in ensuring long-term maintenance and updates may compromise project sustainability, as can the complexity of interoperability between heterogeneous systems.

Cultural resistance to change and lack of citizen engagement may reduce the effectiveness of implemented solutions. Moreover, what works in larger urban contexts is not always replicable in smaller realities due to scale and available resources. Limited access to funding and technological partnerships further slows development and diffusion.

To overcome these issues, a collaborative and sustainable approach is key. Aggregation among local authorities allows for shared platforms and costs, promoting economies of scale.

Several projects, like those developed by Municipia, have followed this model. The use of modular digital solutions and “as-a-service” models reduces the burden of initial investments and ensures flexibility.

Standardization and platform interoperability prevent fragmentation and simplify integration. At the same time, internal skills must be strengthened through targeted training and capacity-building initiatives.

Activating PPPs and leveraging European, national, and regional funding opportunities is also essential. Finally, involving citizens in innovation processes builds trust and encourages adoption of new solutions, ensuring long-term sustainability of Augmented City projects.