The third EUI-Innovative Actions (EUI-IA) Call for Proposals is now open and will close on 14 October 2024 at 14.00 CEST, with an allocated indicative budget of EUR 90 million ERDF. Each project can receive up to a maximum of EUR 5 million ERDF co-financing and project implementation should take place within a maximum period of 3,5 years.

Cities interested in applying are invited to begin developing their project proposals as early as possible utilising the various resources available on this call page. The following steps are recommended to start with:

• Read the third EUI-IA call topics descriptions;
• Develop a project idea in line with one of the topics answering local challenges in your city;
• Set up your project partnership by establishing contacts with relevant entities, e.g. public and private partners, NGOs, universities, SMEs, etc.
• Start co-designing your project work plan framework with your project partners and stakeholders.

Find more information and resources on this page. 

Following the launch of ESD Talks as part of the Erasmus+ Centres of Vocational Excellence project ,TEACH4SD is thrilled to announce ESD Talk #2, which will examine the health sector from the skills side. The healthcare sector is currently struggling with the increasing elderly population and its consequences (e.g., age-related diseases), which outweigh other requirements on the future workforce.

In this second edition, TEACH4SD is proud to welcome Claire Nassiet, Head of Innovation Adoption & Healthcare Transformation, EIT Health, and Matilda Åberg-Wennerholm , Partnership /Collaboration Lead, EIT Health Scandinavia. Claire Nassiet and Mathilda Åberg-Wennerholm will present Pact for Skills for Partnership for the European Health Industry with a view on skills needed in the future and the green transition.  

Addtionally, there will be a panel debate with different perspectives on the implementation of ESD in the Healthcare Sector. Panelists are Susanne Jastrup, Head of Education for the nursing programme at VIA University College, Sigrid Amalie Beierholm, student ambassador for SDG Ambassador corps at VIA University College, and Birgitte Woge Nielsen, educator at VIA University College. 

The panel discussion is moderated by Jeppe Kiel Christensen from VIA University College. 

The webinar is hosted by the Erasmus+ project TEACH4SD and marks the second edition of four annual sessions during the four-year project. Join them as they address the current European state of art on green skills in education with our fellow EU partners.  

To learn more and register, click here.

The EU’s Framework Programme (FP) for Research and Innovation is a political instrument to achieve specific EU goals, in particular the Green Deal. The integration of social sciences and humanities (SSH) in transdisciplinary research is a necessity to reach these goals, which has been emphasized in previous FPs. However, further integration of SSH is considered a priority and the seminar will address this issue.
 
The seminar will focus on best practices and tools to reach a higher level of integration of SSH, in particular for climate- and health-specific issues:

•  How can the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation address that true integration of SSH into transdisciplinary research may require dedicated resources?
• How can work programme calls be outlined to be attractive to include SSH researchers?
• How can the evaluation criteria and process for different instruments be developed to further support the inclusion of SSH in funded projects?

The Panel will be led by the Stockholm Trio for Sustainable Action addressing complex sustainability challenges through the use of transdisciplinary approaches in collaboration with key stakeholders. 

You can register via this link. Further details on the seminar will be available soon. 

For more information, please contact Johan Schuber jschuber@kth.se. 

The 'EU Sparks for Climate' initiative is organising a series of online hackathons in several countries to facilitate the collaborative creation of innovative technological and social solutions by teams of citizens and researchers in support of the EU Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and the EU Mission for Adaptation to Climate Change.

To participate, citizens must first propose a climate challenge relevant to their community, city or region, while researchers must bring their expertise to work with citizens to develop the solutions.

Hackathons will be held on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons, as well as on Saturdays (full day). All hackathons will be virtual.

Each hackathon is facilitated by a local host. There are local hosts in 18 Member States and 4 associated countries. The winners of each local hackathon will have access to a dedicated training and coaching programme aimed at honing their skills and preparing them for the EU final.

At the EU final, three winning teams will be selected to receive €5,000 per team, access to the Angel Investors Network, tailored mentoring, support to commercialise the solution, support for a crowdfunding campaign and support to scale the solution.

Learn more about the exact dates of the nationally-led online hackathons on the dedicated website and register here.

The ICT Working Group is looking for examples from local and regional authorities having adopted, or being in the process of adopting, a strategy on Artificial Intelligence. The examples would be presented in an upcoming meeting on “AI-related strategies at regional and local level ”, which will take place on Wednesday 12 June 2024 (14:00 to 16:00 CEST).

We are specifically looking for:

• Existing, or almost finalised strategies related to Artificial Intelligence at the local and regional level
• Open consultation processes organised to consult different stakeholders from digital innovation ecosystems in creating or implementing such strategies
• Challenges or needs identified for support in developing such strategies at the local and regional level

The examples should focus on the added value of AI-related strategies for supporting public authorities, the challenges identified in creating or implementing such strategies (in relation to stakeholders’ engagement, for instance) and what would be needed to support this work further in the future. The European Commission representative will be invited to react to the example presented during the meeting.

To support actors from back home to get engaged in the discussion, the presentation can be done online.

ERRIN members interested in sharing their first reflections during the upcoming meeting, are invited to reach out to rodolphe.doite@errin.eu by Wednesday 29 May 2024, with a short description of the proposed example.

You may find more details about the meeting and register here.

The Nordic capital regions of Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm are hosting a EU Green Week partner event on urban sustainable water solutions on 30 May from 10:00-12:00 at Rue Guimard 7, 1040 Brussels.

The impact of climate change, pollution and challenges of management has put pressure on water resources all around Europe and is affecting the way of life for citizens. The Nordic capital regions of Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm all have significant coastlines, archipelagos, and waterways connected to the sea. Water resilience is therefore a topic that is highly relevant from a Nordic perspective.

Join on 30 May to discuss how to tackle key challenges in sustainable water management.

Please see more information and register here.

Agenda

10.00     Welcome by moderator.
                  Ms. Louise Coffineau, Senior Policy Advisor Environment, Eurocities

10.05     Keynote.
                  Ms. Silvia Bartolini, Head of Unit Marine Environment and Clean Water Services, DG
                  Environment

10.25     How to manage a rising sea level and lake water within a city.
                  Mr. Peter Svärd, Project Director and Ms. Lisa Jacobsson, Deputy Project Director, from the project “The New Slussen”.
 

10.45    PFAS challenges and solutions from a regional perspective.
                  Mr. John Flyvbjerg, Chief Consultant Environment, Capital Region of Denmark

11.00    Best practices and challenges from Helsinki region
 

11.15    Actions and investments for a clean and healthy Oslofjord where citizens can engage in outdoor activities.
                   Ms. Solveig Schytz, Councilor for planning, cultural heritage, climate and environment,                                   Akershus County

11.30     Panel discussion and Q&A.

11.55     Concluding remarks by moderator.
                  Ms. Louise Coffineau, Senior Policy Advisor Environment, Eurocities

12.00     Networking lunch.

In December 2023, the Council and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the AI Act, setting out rules for the development and usage of AI in Europe. With AI's growing importance and related challenges, the ERRIN ICT WG will organise a meeting on regional digital strategies related to AI.

The event will be organised on Wednesday 12 June 2024 (14:00 to 16:00), both online and in-person. It will, therefore, present an excellent chance for actors back home to get engaged in the discussion. A draft agenda of the event is available on this page.

The event will allow the ICT WG to explore how regional actors can benefit from generative AI while protecting privacy and facilitating discussions on how regions and cities can benefit from AI, for example, through regional AI strategies.

This meeting will aim to:

• Present the AI Act implementation for local and regional governments and provide information on the European Commission's establishment of the AI Office.
• Communicate on existing projects and initiatives, providing concrete opportunities and tools related to AI.
• Open the floor to ERRIN members' use cases, allowing the initiation of a structured dialogue with the European Commission on local and regional needs and challenges related to Artificial Intelligence.

To select ERRIN use cases and examples, a noticeboard for the Call for regional examples has been published here. In this call, we are looking for concrete examples of local or regional strategies created or being prepared to integrate Artificial intelligence into public authorities’ activities and processes.

ERRIN members and their stakeholders interested in sharing their first reflections during the upcoming meeting are invited to reach out to rodolphe.doite@errin.eu by Wednesday 29 May 2024, with a short description of the proposed example. 

An open discussion will follow to exchange questions and reflections. A representative from the European Commission and DG CNECT Unit on AI Policy will be invited to react on those use cases and challenges.

If you wish to participate on-site, you can register to the event through this event page (Register button on the right).

If you wish to participate online, you can register through this link.

The Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) Conference 2024 will take place this year on 11-12 December in Rimini, Italy, organised by DG REGIO and S3 CoP Secretariat, in partnership with Emilia-Romagna Region and with the support of the Municipality of Rimini and Palacongressi di Rimini. 

The flagship event for S3 stakeholders from across regions in EU Member States will be centred around three pillars:  

• Successful S3 design and implementation: fostering place-based innovation, enabling sustainable and resilient economic developmen: challenges, capacities, and policy mix. It will explore how S3 can foster place-based innovation while ensuring resilience and strategic autonomy in the territories and EU as a whole.
• S3 and interregional collaboration: We will learn from many experiences related to interregional collaboration, exploring challenges, opportunities, and mechanisms to align different instruments with regional strategies and capacity building tools. 
• Smart Specialisation and its role for connecting Regional Innovation Valleys in key thematic areas identified in the New European Innovation Agenda, namely: green, digital, food, health, energy, raw materials, and manufacturing. Examples from regions and the newly launched RIV projects supported by I3 and EIE.

Applications to present at the conference are currently open for all interested regional/national policy makers, S3 partnerships, practitioners and researchers. Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals for one of the pillars described above, including speaker and topic details, by 30 June. The conference if free of charge, but participants and speakers are expected to cover their travel and accommodation expenses.

Learn more about the event and find the application form to present at the conference here. We encourage all ERRIN members to apply.

For any queries, please contact the S3 CoP Secretariat at contact@s3-cop.eu .

Save the date for the Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) Conference 2024, which will take place this year on 11-12 December in Rimini, Italy. The flagship event for S3 stakeholders from across regions in EU Member States is organised by DG REGIO and S3 CoP Secretariat, in partnership with Emilia-Romagna Region and with the support of the Municipality of Rimini and Palacongressi di Rimini.

S3 practitioners, experts, policymakers, and other key stakeholders will come together to engage in this bottom-up event to network, discuss S3 policy and implementation issues and exchange information and good practices. In addition, the S3 Conference will bring together regions recognised as Regional Innovation Valleys under the New European Innovation Agenda flagship action.

The S3 Conference 2024 will be centred around three pillars:  

• Successful S3 design and implementation: fostering place-based innovation, enabling sustainable and resilient economic developmen: challenges, capacities, and policy mix. It will explore how S3 can foster place-based innovation while ensuring resilience and strategic autonomy in the territories and EU as a whole.
• S3 and interregional collaboration: We will learn from many experiences related to interregional collaboration, exploring challenges, opportunities, and mechanisms to align different instruments with regional strategies and capacity building tools. 
• Smart Specialisation and its role for connecting Regional Innovation Valleys in key thematic areas identified in the New European Innovation Agenda, namely: green, digital, food, health, energy, raw materials, and manufacturing. Examples from regions and the newly launched RIV projects supported by I3 and EIE.

While the S3 Conference will be a one-day event (11 of December), there will be a set of side events on the next day (12 of December). The conference if free of charge, but participants and speakers are expected to cover their travel and accommodation expenses.

Applications to present at the conference are currently open for all interested regional/national policy makers, S3 partnerships, practitioners and researchers. Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals for one of the pillars described above, including speaker and topic details, by 30 June.

More details about the conference and the application form to present at the conference can be found here.