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
Co-creation in EU Missions
The MOSAIC project, in which ERRIN is a partner, is organising the event ‘Co-creation in EU Missions’ in Brussels on 21 and 22 November. The two-days event will be an opportunity to learn how to make use of the several citizen engagement tools that MOSAIC makes available to support cities in starting their own co-creation processes, as well as network and exchange with the European Commission and other cities on the challenges around citizen/multi-stakeholder engagement and receive support during the participatory workshop.
ERRIN Extraordinary General Meeting
The ERRIN Extraordinary General Meeting will take place on 16 November 2023 from 14:00-16:00 CET in the ERRIN premises, with participation possible online. This Meeting is organised to make the necessary changes to the ERRIN Articles of Association following requirements by the new code for Belgian companies and associations. A minimum of 2/3 of the ERRIN members must be represented at the Meeting, and therefore engagement of each member is of crucial importance.
ICT WG Meeting - Digital and cybersecurity skills
The next ICT WG meeting on 15 November will be an opportunity to discuss and exchange good practices regarding digital and cybersecurity skills with representatives from the European Commission and different initiatives implemented in the field.
Living-in.EU: Monitoring and Measuring Subgroup meeting #3 - Presentation of LORDIMAS
The Monitoring and Measuring subgroup of Living-in.EU is organising its third meeting in 2023 on 27 October 2023, from 10:30 to 12:00 (CEST). LORDIMAS, a digital maturity assessment, will be presented to Living-in.EU signatories and other interested cities and regions.
Smart Cities & Bioeconomy WG: Nature Restoration Law - Innovations for the creation of greener cities
The Smart Cities and Bioeconomy Working Groups are organising a meeting on the Nature Restoration Law, taking place on 26 October between 10:00-12:15 CEST in Brussels. The European Commission will present the current state of play of the Nature Restoration Law as well as funding opportunities for cities and regions to create greener cities. Three ERRIN members will present examples of innovative solutions that urban areas can adopt to fulfil the requirements of the law.
Sustainable Economy in Horizon Europe: International matchmaking & networking (INSE)
On October 25-26, 2023, the second edition of Sustainable Economy in Horizon Europe: International matchmaking&networking (INSE) will take place in Warsaw. Sustainable Economy in Horizon Europe is a unique opportunity to establish direct contacts between scientists/researchers and entrepreneurs.
WG Documents
ERRIN Input to the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership Consultation
ERRIN provided input to the public consultation to shape the European Partnership on Driving Urban Transitions.
Proposal for the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership
Attached is the approved concept for the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership.
ERRIN Contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities
Please find attached ERRIN's contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.
ERRIN Draft Contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral Cities
Please find attached ERRIN's first draft contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral Cities.
Policy Recommendations - Regional R&I Ecosystems: Contributing to a competitive Europe
Going towards FP9, several reports - including the Lamy report - underlined the necessity to address the challenge of turning research knowledge into innovation and growth.
WG Related Content
Gearing up for the Regional Innovation Valleys call for proposals under Horizon Europe
The planned launch of the Regional Innovation Valleys call for proposals under Horizon Europe is approaching on 17 May 2023. ERRIN is happy to share a recap of the latest insights and dedicated activities organised with the aim of supporting network members interested in applying to the call.
NetZeroCities Call for Twin Cities is now open
The NetZeroCities project, in which ERRIN is a partner, has opened the Call for Twin Cities. The Twinning programme is a tailored learning programme for knowledge sharing and transfer of good practices between the upcoming selected Twin Cities and the cities that were selected to join the NetZeroCities’ Pilot Cities Programme in March 2023. The deadline for applications to become a Twin City is 30 June 2023.
EU Missions creating new markets: the crucial role of the triple helix collaboration
ERRIN is collaborating with the TRAMI project to organise a Mutual Learning Event on the Wednesday 17 May from 9:00-12:30, exploring the role of industry, academia and public authorities in achieving the objectives of the five EU Missions through triple helix collaboration.
DT4REGIONS Award- Voting now open for Public's Favourite Award
In response to the call for applications for the DT4REGIONS Award, 34 AI and Big Data solutions have been submitted. A dedicated jury has selected 12 solutions on the basis of five criteria. Voting for the Public's Favourite Award is open until 12:00 on 19 May.
Angers Loire Métropole is looking for a Consortium Coordinator and partners on transformative solutions to protect critical infrastructure from climate change, mainstreaming nature based solutions (HORIZON-MISS-2023-CLIMA-01-02)
Angers Loire Metropole (France, 310 000 inhabitants), is looking for a Consortium Coordinator and partners (including regions/agglomeration from Southern Europe for heat and drought related topics) for the call of the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change "Testing and demonstrating transformative solutions to protect critical infrastructure from climate change, mainstreaming nature based solutions" - HORIZON-MISS-2023-CLIMA-01-02
ERRIN Spring AGM 2023
Save the date for ERRIN’s 2023 Spring Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will take place on 22 June from 14:30-18:00 CET, followed by a networking reception. We are happy to announce that this year the event will be held in person with online streaming available, and will be hosted at Scotland Europa Office in Brussels.
Latest Updates
- By Heidi Johansson
European Commission publishes Horizon Europe Work Programme for EU Missions
The European Commission has published the Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2021-2022, including the Work Programme for the five EU Missions. As a result of a budget increase, 19 new calls dedicated to the roll-out of the EU Missions have been announced.
- By Ewa Chomicz
Take part in a survey and shape the future DT4REGIONS platform - deadline extended!
ERRIN’s DT4REGIONS project is gaining pace. We invite all regional and local administrations with an interest in digital transformation to take part in a survey as part of DT4REGIONS stakeholder mapping and capacity building efforts, carried out in collaboration with the Living-in.EU initiative. Gathered input will contribute to shaping the future DT4REGIONS platform.
- By Hilary Webb
ERRIN members preparing for Cities Mission co-creation activities with MOSAIC
Last month, ERRIN’s project MOSAIC ran an open call to find cities and regions preparing for the Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, interested in collaborating with MOSAIC on their citizen engagement activities. ERRIN is pleased to share that 14 ERRIN members are being engaged under this initiative.
- By Hilary Webb
NetZeroCities: contribute to the upcoming City Panels
The NetZeroCities project is now preparing two City Panels, which will give cities a chance to provide direct input and help shape NetZeroCities' products, services and processes. Any city is eligible to apply to participate in the panels, where they will be able to share their experience and expertise, crucial for ensuring the success of the NetZeroCities platform. Deadline: 4 February 2021.
- By Allan Nordby Ottesen
Boosting Mental Health - Horizon Europe: HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-01
The ambition of this project is to contribute to more equality in health by working on ways to secure that marginalized citizens and vulnerable people with one or more chronical disease profit from prevention care and interventions increasing their individual health literacy. To reach this ambition, the project aims for two general goals: • Increasing organizational health literacy among relevant public or private actors delivering public services to marginalized citizens. • Increasing the individual health literacy of marginalized citizens with one or more chronical disease. Digital tools and services are used as a tool to reach the ambition of the project with the underlining assumption, that the use of digital tools and services support the increase of organizational as well as individual health literacy. The project is innovative in taking on the perspective of the citizens and investigating ways of using digital tools and services to break from the existing hierarchical organization in
- By Hilary Webb
Cities Mission: Call for Expressions of Interest now open!
The European Commission has launched its call for Expression on Interest for the Horizon Europe Mission on Climate-neutral and Smart Cities. Applications are open until 31 January 2022.