Dave Fitch from Edinburgh Napier University and Sheila Apicella from esd-toolkit/Porism presented the Smart Cities project at the 8th European Information Society Conference in Bilbao Spain. The theme of conferences since 2005 has been the implementation of the Digital Local Agenda (DLA), a strategic plan for good governance and local/regional development of the Information Society in European municipalities, cities and regions.

EISCO 2010 assessed the progress made by the DLA in Europe since 2005, and discussed, with the participation of the European Commission, the new challenges that public administrations must face in the future decade. The conference showcased different pilot implementations throughout Europe connected to the DLA and how effective they have been to modernise administrations and serve citizens using ICT-enabled solutions.

Smart Cities partners presented the key lessons the project is learning, including the importance of innovation, the need to deliver better e-services, the tension between technological and organisational change, and the need to better understand the needs of citizens and how to best reach them.