On 29 April 2026, EURADA hosted a meeting of the EURADA WG on Digitalisation. The first meeting of 2026 took place online to discuss ‘’Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Public Administration: Advantages, Opportunities and Challenges” and brought together regional development agencies to share insights, best practices, and the lessons learned from early AI adoption.

The meeting highlighted AI’s transformative potential in public administration, but emphasized the need for human oversight, ethical frameworks, and regional adaptation. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing are key to addressing disparities in AI competence.

The first session by EURADA members highlighted AI’s integration in enhancing regional governance. Scottish Enterprise demonstrated how AI tools accelerate internal decision-making by analyzing past project data, improving efficiency while maintaining human oversight. Meanwhile, ADRAL showcased the use of AI to streamline administrative tasks, freeing up staff to focus on core regional development priorities. A key takeaway: AI requires targeted training, whether in-house or with external support, to unlock its full potential.

During the second session Annika Jaansoo underscored AI’s growing role in funding programme design, proposal writing, evaluation, and implementation. While AI tools are increasingly used to draft proposals and support programme management, challenges remain, particularly in distinguishing AI-generated content from human input and ensuring consistent quality. The trend is clear: AI is becoming a staple in future programme preparation and selection processes, but its integration must be carefully managed.

Finally, Christian Saublens and Mathieu Doussineau presented their work on “A strategic and methodological approach from South Moravia” and Adam Bîlek offered his regional perspective and feedback to the approach. This work combines due diligence, competitiveness intelligence, and constraints analysis, though human validation remains essential.

The discussion revealed critical challenges for regions adopting AI, such as:

• Training and capacity building: critical for effective AI adoption (in-house vs. external support).
• Data governance: confidentiality, ownership, and quality of data shared with AI systems are top concerns.
• Ethical and practical balance: AI must align with regional goals and avoid becoming a standalone technical initiative.

More Information on EURADA Digitalisation Working Group page.