Working Group Leaders
Representatives of Brussels-based offices leading the work of the Smart Cities Working Group.
Smart Cities
The objective of the Working Group is to act as a platform to offer early information on priorities and funding opportunities linked to Smart Cities, with a focus on the EU Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. The WG aims to facilitate sharing of experiences and support matchmaking to develop new partnerships and projects. The WG targets the smart city topic from an integrated and holistic approach, addressing issues such as citizen engagement, data-driven policy and smart governance models, while exploring synergies between the areas linked to smart cities as addressed by the ERRIN WGs on Energy and Climate Change, Transport and ICT.
ERRIN Contact
Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030
The Smart Cities WG has taken an active role in shaping the Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 - one of the five mission areas under Horizon Europe - and is closely following the implementation of the mission. Visit our dedicated Cities Mission page to learn more about our work on this.
Future Related ERRIN Working Group Meetings
Cities Mission – focus on sustainable urban mobility
The meeting organised by the Transport and the Smart Cities WGs will focus on the proposed mobility strategies in the Climate Cities Contracts and the measures needed to reduce emissions.
Previous Related ERRIN Working Group Meetings
Artificial Intelligence related strategies at local and regional level – ICT WG Meeting
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
Policy & Smart Specialisation WGs meeting: Widening in FP10 and impact on cohesion policy post-2027
The topic of widening gathers high attention in the discussions around the next European Framework Programme for R&I, raising questions with the potential to influence not only the Widening sub-
Policy WG meeting: Role of EU Missions in FP10
ERRIN has been closely involved in the design and implementation of the EU Missions since their inception. Missions remain one of the network's priorities and were one of the four main areas of focus
WG Related Events
5GSC Community Conference
On 11 October (9:30 to 16:30), the 5G for Smart Communities Support Platform is organising the 5GSC Community Conference in Brussels, bringing together key stakeholders, including mobile network operators, alternative operators, equipment manufacturers, and public authorities, to foster a dynamic exchange of ideas, insights and best practices.
EWRC: From reactive to proactive cities on citizens' terms
The cities of Helsinki, Ghent, and Eurocities will hold a European Week of Cities and Regions session to shed light on what opportunities a proactive city can offer citizens. The session will take place on 11 October from 09:30-11:00 at the Jacques Delors building, Brussels.
Climate-neutral cities by 2030: delivering results through multi-stakeholder engagement
ERRIN, together with the MOSAIC project and the European Commission, will host the session ‘Climate-neutral cities by 2030: delivering results through multi-stakeholder engagement’ at the European Week of Regions and Cities 2023. The session, taking place at SQUARE Brussels Meeting Centre, Room 210 on 10 October at 14:30 CET, aims to explore the power of co-creation as a catalyst for social innovation on the path to climate neutrality.
European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC)
The European Week of Regions and Cities is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement European Union cohesion policy, and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance.
ERRIN event: Organising a regional innovation ecosystem
This in-person ERRIN event on 4 October, organised in line with the Management Board priority on widening and deepening engagement in R&I, invites all ERRIN members to share and explore the ways to develop their regional innovation ecosystems going beyond any specific initiatives or funding opportunities. The event will enable informal mutual learning and exchanges of practices between network colleagues from across Europe in an interactive way.
NEB Task Force: Local bottom-up approaches to New European Bauhaus
Following the Commission's proposal to create a New European Bauhaus Mission, the ERRIN Task Force is organising an event focusing on the bottom-up approaches to NEB. The output of this meeting will be used to develop an ERRIN answer to the ongoing NEB consultations.
WG Documents
ERRIN Year in review 2022
The ERRIN Year in review 2022 is out! Read the report to see the numerous activities ERRIN and its members have been involved in throughout the year.
Letter on Cities' Concerns: Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities
The Smart Cities WG leaders developed a letter directed towards the Mission Manager and the Mission Secretariat of the Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, as a follow-up from the Smart Cities WG meeting on the Cities Mission and the Expression of Interest in November 2021.
Handbook on implementation and adoption barriers of urban living labs developing nature-based solutions
Developing Urban Living Labs is a relatively novel approach in urban areas, and consequently, there are many challenges and barriers that cities face during ULL adoption. This handbook, developed by the UNaLab project, aims to identify and explore some common barriers to the adoption of Urban Living Labs, and provide cities with a tool and an understanding of how to strategically address these barriers.
ERRIN Input to the City Mission Implementation Plan
Please find attached ERRIN's input to the Implementation Plan of the Mission on climate-neutral and smart cities.
ERRIN Contribution to the City Mission Interim Report and the Green Deal Call 1.2
Please find attached ERRIN's contribution to the interim report of the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and the Green Deal Call 1.2.
Report by the Mission Board: 100 climate neutral cities by 2030 - by and for the citizens
The latest version of the interim report by the Mission Board on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.
WG Related Content
Available support to regions in EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change
On 12 December 2023, the ERRIN Adaptation Task Force organised a hybrid event providing an overview of the available financial and technical support for regions and communities under the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change. Here is a summary of the opportunities provided within three initiatives running under the Mission Adaptation.
ERRIN end of year reception - 2023 Highlights
On 7 December, ERRIN celebrated the network’s achievements in 2023. Following an engaging meeting with leaders of our 15 Working Groups, all ERRIN members were invited to a cocktail reception featuring a keynote from Markus Schulte, Head of Cabinet of Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. Check out ERRIN 2023 highlights in a 3-minute video.
MOSAIC wraps up a successful co-creation journey with EU cities
In a dynamic two-day event held on 21 and 22 November, MOSAIC, project in which ERRIN is a partner, successfully hosted its final event 'Co-creation in EU Missions'. City representatives, European Commission policy officers, researchers, private sector representatives and co-creation experts converged to delve the immense potential of co-creation in addressing complex challenges, particularly those posed by the Horizon EU Missions. Learn more and discover the MOSAIC resources available for cities.
Pathways2Resilience: First Call for Regions and Communities- Deadline extended until May
Pathways2Resilience (P2R), an ERRIN project, has opened its first call for Regions and Communities for subgrant applications to co-design visions of a climate-resilient future and transformative adaptation pathways that will ensure long-term impact. The first call has had the deadline extended until 6 May 2024 12:00 CEST. Following updated guidance from CINEA, UK regions are now eligible to apply.
Test bed on NEB Food Innovation looking for consortium to join
A Testbed on NEB Food Innovation is looking for consortium to join: Transforming an old factory building into a “food experience factory” in accordance with NEB principles.
A look forward: Launching ERRIN reflections on regional dimension in R&I post-2027
Autumn 2023 marked the start of ERRIN’s targeted reflections on regional dimension in research and innovation in the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework post-2027, relating to the next EU Framework Programme for R&I (FP10) and future cohesion policy. We are offering a recap of our activities so far, first messages and planned next steps.
Latest Updates
- By Ewa Chomicz
Management Board elections 2023 – results
Following the call for nominations for ERRIN Management Board held between 20 September and 5 October, we are happy to announce the nominated Management Board members. The five nominees will be approved as new Management Board members at the ERRIN Extraordinary General Meeting on 16 November.
- By Rodolphe Doité
Release of LORDIMAS, a digital maturity assessment tool for Regions and Cities
During the European Week of Regions and Cities 2023, a dedicated session was organised to launch LORDIMAS, a digital maturity assessment helping local and regional governments to understand where they are in their digital transformation journey. The tool is now accessible online.
- By Agnieszka Wieczorek Jetha
ERRIN at the EWRC 2023
The European Week of Cities and Regions (EWRC) has come to an end. This year’s edition has been particularly rich in ERRIN’s involvement, with the Secretariat co-organising four events, promoting projects, and the Working Group Leaders participating in several panel discussions.
- By Heidi Johansson
Smart Cities WG: Call for new leaders
The Smart Cities Working Group is looking for two new co-leaders to join Turku-Southwest Finland, Cities Northern Netherlands and Stavanger in steering the WG activities and priorities. The deadline for expressing interest in this role is 16 November.
- By Gianpiero Petruzziello
Ten European cities awarded with the EU Mission Cities Label
On 12 October, the European Commission awarded the first ten European cities with the Label of ‘EU Mission Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’ for their plans to achieve climate-neutrality by 2030. The EU Mission Label symbolises a crucial milestone, not only recognising the comprehensive plans of these cities to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 but also serves as a catalyst for facilitating access to both public and private funding to support these ambitious goals.
- By Gianpiero Petruzziello
Multi-stakeholder engagement showcases the path to climate neutrality at European Week of Regions and Cities
On 10 October, a collaborative and interactive event was jointly hosted by ERRIN, MOSAIC and the European Commission during the European Week of Regions and Cities. This session brought together experts and stakeholders from across Europe to explore the significant role of multi-stakeholder engagement in advancing the journey towards climate neutrality for European cities.