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.
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
COP 26: How to turn a city into a smart and net-zero city?
A European Union side event at the COP 26 conference will discuss how to implement smart solutions for urban energy, mobility and water systems. European and international city projects alike will share and discuss essential issues concerning the decarbonisation of urban areas.
Smart Cities WG meeting: Call for Expressions of Interest for the Cities Mission
This Smart Cities WG meeting aims to assist ERRIN members in preparing their Expressions of Interest for the Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, by inviting the Mission Manager to present the call for Expressions of Interest and answer open questions related to its content and process. Additionally, the NetZeroCities and MOSAIC projects will present how they can support ERRIN members in their activities related to the Cities Mission.
EWRC 2021: Innovation and cohesion for a resilient, green and digital transition
The workshop will highlight different regional best practices, which will showcase from multiple angles how cohesion funds support citizens by placing them centre stage. The common objective at the subnational level is to enable the transition towards a sustainable and digital society.
EWRC 2021: Sustainable, inclusive and beautiful urban areas – how can the New European Bauhaus boost holistic green transition?
This workshop brings together urban actors to exchange inspiring examples of holistic design and to explore how NEB can help urban areas to boost their green transition and to integrate the values of NEB - sustainable, beautiful and inclusive.
European Week of Regions and Cities 2021
The 19th edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities will take place as a mostly digital event this October under the theme 'Together for Recovery.'
Small and medium-sized smart Cities and Communities
Small and medium-sized smart Cities and Communities is Halmstad University's Innovation Conference 2021, a digital conference that requires registration (by September 9). The focus is small and medium-sized cities and the development, challenges and opportunities of the smart city. Compared to big cities and megacities, the small and medium-sized cities normally have their own specific conditions to consider, which requires specific investigations and solutions.
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
Exploring Synergies between European Partnerships and EU Missions – Mutual Learning Event
ERRIN and the TRAMI project are organising a Mutual Learning Event aiming to explore synergies between European Partnerships and EU Missions. The event will take place on Wednesday 7 February from 9:00 to 12:00 (CET) at the NCBR Brussels Office, Rue Belliard 40, Brussels.
Innovation Fund calls to drive net-zero technologies open until April 2024
With a budget of €4 billion, the Commission has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting innovative projects that contribute to the EU’s green transition goals. The Innovation Fund 2023 calls covering sectors including decarbonisation, hydrogen, cleantech manufacturing, and maritime and energy-intensive industries are open until 9 April 2024, 17:00 (CET).
Scalable Cities Action Grant: third call for proposals open
The third call for proposals of the Scalable Cities Action Grant is open until the end of January 2024. The grant aims to financially support cities and ad-hoc partnerships that wish to replicate measures that were successfully implemented through Smart Cities and Communities projects to facilitate the transition towards climate neutrality.
The European Heritage Hub project is looking for good practices
The European Heritage Hub is collecting good practices to share throughout Europe and beyond! Administrations of a city or region are asked to submit highlights of their work in heritage in the context of the ‘triple transformation ’ – green, digital and social – of our society. Ten practices will be selected for publication and promotion through the European Heritage Hub. Cities whose good practices are selected also get the opportunity to host a peer learning visit with a delegation of 20 participants funded by the project (3 peer learning visits will take place between Q2 2024 and Q1 2025).
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.
Latest Updates
- By Hilary Webb
MOSAIC launches call for cities & regions to collaborate on Cities Mission citizen engagement activities
Through its new call for Expressions of Interest, the MOSAIC project aims to select a group of cities for collaboration in their citizen engagement activities within the context of their involvement in the Horizon Europe Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.
- By Hilary Webb
Info Kit for Cities published ahead of Cities Mission call for EoI
The European Commission has published its Info Kit for Cities, ahead of the call for Expression of Interest for the Mission on Climate-neutral and Smart Cities.
- By Anonymous
Expression of interest to join Horizon Europe projects: Widening and Cluster 6 topics (WP 2022)
The Research Institute INAECU (Madrid Region) is interested in joining project proposals in Widening and Cluster 6 call topics (Horizon Europe). INAECU could provide expertise in the development of statistical methodologies & scientometric analysis, analysis of innovation and knowledge transfer between science and technology and carry out studies on sustainability and the SDGs.
- By Ewa Chomicz
ERRIN annual survey: Provide input on ERRIN’s 2022 priorities and share feedback on activities!
To start planning Working Group activities for 2022, the Working Group leaders will take part in the annual strategy workshops at the end of November. To inform these workshops, ERRIN members are invited to take part in an annual survey – an opportunity to provide input on the network’s future priorities and reflect on past activities.
- By Ewa Chomicz
Call for proposals for projects to experiment, prototype and demonstrate ideas for the New European Bauhaus
The JRC is inviting cross-boundary proposals for projects to experiment, prototype and demonstrate ideas for the New European Bauhaus. The ELSA Reaction Wall and the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory will serve as a collaboration platform to stimulate creativity and innovation in the built environment.
- By Helga Aunemo
Search for partners: Housing policy and planning governance: new knowledge - sharing, methods and tools delivering the European New Bauhaus vision of “beauty, sustainable, together”
Rogaland County Council in Norway is running a new project on housing policy and planning governance in the Stavanger region, South-Western Norway, and is now looking for European partners or established consortia who would be interested in project cooperation on topics related to housing policy and planning.