Representatives of Brussels-based offices leading the work of the Smart Cities Working Group.
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.
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.
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
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-
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an opinion "Towards an integrated EU policy approach to support place-based innovation for the green and digital transition". Interested stakeholders are invited for a thematic consultation and exchange of views on 3 October 2023 from 10:00-12:00 at the CoR premises. Registration is possible by 29 September.
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership is organising an event for the launch of European Hydrogen Observatory, on 29 September 2023 from 10:00 - 12:00 CEST.
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.
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.
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.
Please find attached ERRIN's input to the Implementation Plan of the Mission on climate-neutral and smart cities.
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.
The latest version of the interim report by the Mission Board on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.
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.
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.
In view of the annual strategy workshops that we will organise with all the Working Group (WG) and Task Force (TF) leaders in the second half of November, all members are invited to provide input on priorities, topics, and activities that should be addressed in 2024. The input can be provided by 31 October 2023.
Lyon Métropole would be interested in joining a consortium as a partner working on the topic of urban pollution and population exposure. The consortium would work to better understand the scope of the problem and contribute to identifying actions that could be promoted to better protect both its population and environment.
The NetZeroCities project, in which ERRIN is a partner, has through its Twinning Programme matched 40 Twin Cities from across Europe with the 53 Pilot Cities that were selected earlier this year. ERRIN is pleased to see that 13 of the selected Twin Cities come from ERRIN member regions.
On 19 September 2023, the European Commission published the list of actions that Member States and Associated Countries to Horizon Europe are so far undertaking or planning to undertake in support of one or more of the five flagships of the New European Innovation Agenda, including Flagship 3 closely followed by ERRIN. 20 countries have so far reported 169 actions in total, with their scope ranging from regional, through national to European.
The NetZeroCities project, in which ERRIN is a partner, has selected 26 additional cities from 16 countries to take part in its Pilot Cities Programme. ERRIN is delighted to note that 12 cities from ERRIN member regions have been chosen, including Riga and Lyon, both supported by ERRIN’s NetZeroCities Climate Neutral Cities Advisors.
NetZeroCities has opened its third and final call for cities to join the two-year Pilot Cities Programme. The call is open only to Mission Cities who are not yet part of the Pilot Cities Programme. The deadline for applications is 18 March 2024.
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.
The Transport Working Group is looking for two new co-leaders to join Ile-de-France, Stuttgart and Aragon in steering the WG activities and priorities. Apply by Wednesday 24 January!
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).
SINTEF has been the host of a national private-public-research partnership in Norway on risk reduction through climate adaptation of buildings and infrastructure in the last 8 years. Now SINTEF is interested in participating in a European partnership for further development of innovations and knowledge from this research centre.