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
New Bauhaus Stories, Episode #1: Co-design of regeneration schemes
The NEBULA project is organising a series of peer learning activities to share experiences and insights about the New European Bauhaus. The first episode is entitled: “Co-creation of regeneration schemes’. It aims to discuss how two ongoing urban regeneration schemes are being co-designed in collaboration with citizens and various stakeholders from the construction value chain.
2nd European Mission Forum
The second edition of the European Mission Forum, taking place on 7 March in Brussels and co-organised by the TRAMI project under the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, will showcase EU Mission-related achievements and present outcomes of nearly 2 years of TRAMI project activities. ERRIN's director, Pirita Lindholm, will speak at the session on national, regional and European Mission Governance.
CrAFting Tomorrow's Cities
Join 100 city representatives and policymakers from CrAFt Cities and the NEB Alliance to delve into the potential of local stakeholder collaboration to shape the future of climate-neutral cities.
Policy WG: Towards FP10 – internal member exchange
The Policy Working Group is organising an internal member exchange to discuss the regional activities planned around the next European Framework Programme for R&I, as well as the structuring and focus of ERRIN’s input to FP10. The event will take place in person at the ERRIN premises on 22 February from 14:30-16:00, with welcome coffee from 14:00.
#EURegionsWeek 2024 kick off meeting
The 22nd edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities will take place on 7-10 October 2024. The kick-off meeting for potential partners will take place on Thursday, 22 February, from 10:00 - 11:30 at the European Committee of the Regions. It is also possible to follow this meeting online.
High Level Conference: Research Perspectives on the Health Impacts of Climate Change
The European Commission is hosting a 2 day high-level conference, “Research Perspectives on the Health Impacts of Climate Change”. The event will bring together climate change and health researchers, funders and policymakers to reflect on the current challenges, priorities and needs for research and researchers in this area. The conference will take place online and in person on 19-20 February.
WG Documents
Proposal for the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership
Attached is the approved concept for the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership.
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.
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
Third Call for Proposals EUI - Innovative Actions
The third EUI-Innovative Actions (EUI-IA) Call for Proposals is launched now 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 5 million EUR ERDF co-financing and project implementation should take place within a maximum period of 3.5 years.
The Forward-Looking Survey - European Urban Initiative
The European Urban Initiative (EUI) has launched a forward-looking survey to gather vital insights from urban practitioners and policymakers across Europe. This survey, hosted on Portico, aims to identify key trends, challenges, knowledge gaps and support needs in European sustainable urban development. The survey will be open from 6 June until 12 July.
ERRIN two-pager for European decision-makers
ERRIN is pleased to share a two-pager for the incoming European decision-makers, aiming to present the network and our value to the new MEPs, raising a voice for the importance of place-based R&I in the changing landscape. We encourage all ERRIN members to share the document with their MEPs to introduce ERRIN and the value of place-based R&I.
Over 70 ERRIN member regions announced as Regional Innovation Valleys
On 19 June, the Commission announced the 151 regions identified as Regional Innovation Valleys following the call for EoI and calls for proposals in 2023. 75 successful regions come from ERRIN members. RIVs will aim to strengthen the regional innovation ecosystems, bridge the innovation gap and improve Europe's overall innovation performance. New calls for proposals under Horizon Europe are expected in 2025.
EIB's Circular City Centre (C3) initiative continues: support to thrive the circular transition in cities
The European Investment Bank is launching a new support phase of their Circular City Centre (C3) scheme. The C3 targets cities and the public sector promotors on their behalf and offers advice on their circular economy agenda and investment projects. Cities can benefit from guidance documents, resources, circular city advisory and capacity building workshops and project advisory services.
ERRIN at the Cities Mission Conference and EURESFO 2024
This year, the Cities Mission Conference will take place in Valencia, Spain, on 25-26 June. ERRIN will participate in the conference as a partner in the NetZeroCities project, which manages the Cities Mission Platform. As the event is partly organised in collaboration with the European Urban Resilience Forum this year, ERRIN will also be there to promote its two Mission Adaptation projects: RESIST and Pathways2Resilience.
Latest Updates
- By Lucy Hammond
Second set of calls for proposals under CEF Digital programme launched
The European Commission has launched the second set of calls for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility Digital programme, with a budget of €277 million. The deadline to apply is 23 February 2023. One of the calls that could be of particular interest to ERRIN members is the '5G for Smart Communities'.
- By Ewa Chomicz
DT4REGIONS Award: Submit your solution for digital transformation - deadline extended!
The DT4REGIONS Award, an initiative of the Digital Transformation for Regions project in which ERRIN is a partner, is now open for submissions until 30 November. The call is open for AI or Big Data based, currently implemented solutions for digital transformation of public services. Selected winners will bring recognition to their initiatives across Europe.
- By Agnieszka Wieczorek Jetha
European Urban Initiative – Innovative Actions: First call open
The European Urban Initiative (EUI) has officially launched its first Innovative Actions Call to support the New European Bauhaus demonstrators. The call for applications is open until 19 January 2023.
- By Gaia Ialisa Marotta
What is the future of Europe’s sustainable mobility strategy? Well, maybe ask our youth!
On 11 October, the ERRIN transport WG co-organised with POLIS network, Stavanger, Berlin, Turku and Ile de France regions, a panel as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities. The event discussed how young people’s voices can be elevated in the future of sustainable urban mobility and how our future transport systems can cater to their needs.
- By Aija Konisevska Azadi
The Danish University of Applied Science, UCN - Department of Information Technology is looking for cooperation on call HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-05
The Danish University of Applied Science, UCN - Department of Information Technology is looking for cooperation on call HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-05. At UCN we aim to optimise production to increase productivity and manufacturing competitiveness and have developed a scalable software system demonstrator for data analysis.
- By Anonymous
Partner search for LIFE-call HEATPUMPS
The City of Ghent is searching for 6 European partners in 2 locations for the LIFE call HEATPUMPS. Since 2021, the City of Ghent has been running a heat pump demonstration project in the district of Mariakerke which aims to make the individual dwellings fossil-free.