Municipality of Breda empowers employees to thrive, embracing innovation and rapid tech evolution with Microsoft Copilot

“At the Municipality of Breda, our mission is to strengthen and increase the resilience of the city. To achieve this, we’ve had to adopt an innovative mindset that incorporates new technology such as AI.”

Gert-Jan Zandbergen, Digital Innovator at the Municipality of Breda, is explaining why the organization needs a forward-thinking approach to discovering and trying new solutions to streamline internal operations and improve public services.

The Municipality of Breda has always been keen to explore new technology and was among the first to explore generative AI when ChatGPT was introduced back in 2022. “While many governments chose to ban tools like ChatGPT, we decided to educate employees on its risks and opportunities and leverage it in a safe way. Through workshops and knowledge sharing sessions, our employees took their first steps in using tools like ChatGPT,” says Zandbergen "When we encounter transformative technology, it's difficult for us to ignore it.

“We’re always looking for ways to use technology to solve problems. One of our main obstacles as a public sector organization is that our civil servants are often faced with heavy administrative workloads limiting their ability to address complex policy issues while providing quality services to residents and entrepreneurs within our city,” he continues. “We needed to find a way to complete more tasks with the same amount of people while ensuring job satisfaction.”

The municipality had already embarked on a digital journey, but to address workload challenges, the organization turned to AI solutions, such as Microsoft Copilot, to explore its capabilities and enhance efficiency and productivity. In 2022, they participated in a roundtable for municipalities at Microsoft, where they were inspired by the possibilities and innovations. During the Covid pandemic, the municipality was able to continue their work thanks to the flexibility of Microsoft Teams and OneDrive. They could work in any place, anytime, anywhere, because they no longer had a complex existing environment. Teams was introduced on time, so the foundation was already in place and adoption was seamless. This allowed them to pilot Microsoft 365 Copilot at an early stage.

The municipality faces operational challenges

Nestled in the Brabant region in the south of The Netherlands, the City of Breda is home to around 188,000 citizens. Its municipality’s 3,600 employees all work towards a clearly outlined vision that addresses urgent societal issues such as climate change, energy transition, the circular economy, accessibility and housing.

“We aim to grow as an international and national hub that’s a desirable location for businesses and a place for connection and collaboration with partners inside and outside the municipality,” says Lieke Hendrix, Secretary and General Director at Municipality of Breda. "The strength of Breda lies in its greenery, where the city and villages come together. We strive for more green neighborhoods and districts, and our ambition is to have more green business parks and meeting places."

“But there’s operational challenges that must be addressed to enable us to work towards these goals,” explains Hendrix. “Our civil servants are time-poor, and the tight labor market may lead to staffing shortages, meaning we need to do more with less.”

To address these challenges, the Municipality of Breda has focused on their organizational development with 'FIT for the future' since 2023. They are doing this through three layers: investing in employees, strengthening their basic working methods, and driving innovation and renewal. 

 A key aspect of this approach involved leveraging innovative technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the municipal services. 

Like most public sector organizations, the Municipality of Breda also has tight budgets and staffing shortages. As of 2026, the recalibration of the Municipal Fund, aimed at better aligning financial resources with the current tasks and needs of municipalities, results in the so-called Ravine Year. The Ravine Year refers to the situation in which the municipal budget comes under such pressure that drastic cuts or other measures are needed to prevent financial deficits.

Nationally, municipalities are missing out on more than €3bn due to the restructuring of the Municipal Fund, causing budgets to come under considerable pressure. The municipality needed to find ways to help improve efficiency and productivity so employees could focus on providing quality citizen services. This is also where innovative technologies come in.

The next step of the digital transformation is realized

The municipality’s enthusiasm towards exploring new technology has long set it apart from other public sector organizations which, traditionally, are slower to adopt innovation. Its digital transformation started during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the need for hybrid working accelerated its efforts. 

“We’ve been using Microsoft 365 for a few years now and it’s helped us to create meaningful interactions and engagement between employees which facilitates our citizen services,” says Zandbergen. “We were aware of the benefits that AI technology could provide in the workplace, so we were keen to explore its capabilities.”

The municipality partnered with Microsoft to deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot. “With the rapid pace at which new technologies are emerging, flexibility is crucial,” says Zandbergen. “It requires a different approach compared to traditional project-based improvements. Alongside Microsoft, we implemented new processes and technology using a cycle of experimentation, evaluation, and adoption. 

“Our entire pilot is themed around travel,” continues Zandbergen. “We have various travel groups (personas) who plan their itineraries with the travel agency. Together, we identify different excursions (use cases where we test Copilot). The travel plans are shared with customs (our privacy and security officers) to ensure everything is carried out in a compliant manner. Once we get the green light from them, the travel group is guided by the steward and the cabin crew, who answer their questions and provide feedback throughout the journey. The pilot results will be shared in a travel report with the union of Dutch municipalities (VNG), detailing our approach, the results of our journeys and excursions and our souvenirs (lessons learned).”

“Since introducing the solution, we’ve created around 25 use cases to pilot the technology,” says Zandbergen. “Each time we begin a new use case, we start with an analysis to identify challenges and opportunities. We then develop prototypes and pilot projects, testing and refining based on feedback. We also collaborate with external partners and experts to integrate new insights and technologies.”

The team then creates training programs to help employees understand the new technology, including hands-on sessions and continuous support. “It’s crucial that everyone knows how to maximize the potential of the technology,” says Zandbergen.

“My colleagues Peter and Cora are responsible for conducting conversations with colleagues, identifying their needs and problems, and translating how we can address these with Copilot,” explains Zandbergen. “Throughout the journey, they serve as a point of contact, offering advice on how to better utilize Copilot or improve prompts. They are also responsible for training staff in the use of Copilot and effective prompting. This is achieved through the development and delivery of training sessions, follow-up group meetings, weekly tips and tricks videos, and activating our pilot group in a Teams community. The prompt buddy also plays a role in this. Here, we and our colleagues share prompts that have worked for us, serving as inspiration for the rest of the organization.”

The municipality pilots AI-driven use cases

Using Microsoft Copilot has proved successful, with several use cases already providing benefits to the organization. “Microsoft Copilot supports civil servants in processing information, drafting documents and managing emails,” says Zandbergen. “This AI tool helps employees focus more on complex policy issues and better utilize their talents, in light of staffing shortages.”

More than 150 colleagues participated in the pilot – the initial results are promising. With the help of Copilot, Breda works more efficiently and effectively, and it proves to be a valuable addition to various departments and tasks. Many tasks saved multiple hours per month, up to 28 hours per employee. Additionally, there was a clear improvement in the quality of work supported by Copilot. Employee satisfaction with the operation of Copilot is also positive, and the pilot participants were very enthusiastic about the tool. 

For the organization, working with data has become essential and provides advancements in areas such as accessibility, safety and sustainable living.

“We joined forces with Microsoft partner Heroes to build a Digital Twin data platform in a year-long project that helped us to adopt a lighthouse approach, offering a glimpse into the future of Breda, says Zandbergen. “By building a replica of the city, we can simulate the effects of traffic and mobility measures such as noise pollution, air quality and traffic flow.”

Another key use case is the City Host initiative, whereby the municipality aims to help migrants navigate their rights and responsibilities. “We want to ensure that labor migrants feel welcome and informed in The Netherlands by providing all the information they need in multiple languages or as audio versions. This contributes to better integration and a fairer labor market,” continues Zandbergen.

“Using Copilot, we’ve created a testing ground for a national model of information provision and services that’s accessible to all,” says Zandbergen. “We also use Azure OpenAI to ensure everything we do is both safe and compliant. The results of this pilot will be evaluated and could potentially lead to a national roll-out.”

Putting security at the forefront of innovation

While building its use cases, the municipality must use AI in a secure environment where the data remains secure. “Deploying Microsoft Security Copilot has enhanced our ability to detect threats quickly, mitigate risks and summarize information more efficiently. By converting complex security alerts into concise summaries, Copilot enables faster incident response times. Since April 2024, Microsoft Security Copilot has helped us with 717 incidents by summarizing large amounts of information,” says Peter Snoeys, Cyber Security Analyst at Municipality of Breda.

Microsoft Security Copilot has also assisted in reverse-engineering scripts, translating them into comprehensible language and making them accessible to all administrators. “Copilot’s guided response feature offers step-by-step guidance for incident management, including triage, investigation and remediation actions,” adds Snoeys.

“We’ve been using GitHub Copilot since November 2024. GitHub Copilot has proven to be highly valuable for the ICT DevOps team in Breda,” says Snoeys. ” We use GitHub Copilot Chat to find errors in the code or ask for solutions. For instance, if I need code for a module, such as an Azure resource, GitHub Copilot provides suggestions. It completes and proposes solutions, enabling us to work better, more accurately, and faster. It also assists us in deploying Azure resources."

Building a future-ready city using generative AI

Looking ahead, the Municipality of Breda hopes to focus on setting up vital processes like governance and a data catalogue. It hopes to foster the adoption of new technology and support its employees in becoming data-literate. 

The organization also intends to continue in its partnership with Microsoft to explore how technology can help it to work towards its goals. “Throughout the process, Microsoft has been more than just a vendor," says Zandbergen. “The team has helped us to navigate challenges and optimize the AI tools to help us achieve the best outcomes.

“We now see generative AI as an inevitable yet valuable development for addressing the municipality’s diverse systems and processes,” adds Zandbergen. “Through the adoption of innovative technologies like Microsoft Copilot, the Municipality of Breda can now demonstrate how innovation and technology can work together to create a flexible, secure, integrated, and future-ready organization.”