Thirty-eight partners from twenty countries spent two days in Madrid working through where AI4Gov-X stands and where it goes next. The agenda was full, and most sessions ran past their scheduled end times.

The meeting was a chance to take stock. Each partner presented what they have been building, thinking got challenged in the room, and the consortium aligned on the next phase of work. Universities, public administrations, research institutes and GovTech organisations from across Europe are approaching the same questions from very different angles, and there is something about having everyone in one room that no call or shared document quite replicates.

Plenty of the useful exchange happened outside the formal agenda too, over coffee breaks and dinners. A partnership spanning twenty countries does not run on project management tools alone.

The meeting closed with a public event at IE Tower, where MagiX was announced to a wider audience for the first time. A year into the work, there is a great deal built and a great deal still ahead.

Our thanks to the IE Center for the Governance of Change for hosting, and to every partner who made the trip.