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
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
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. 74 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 Agnieszka Wieczorek Jetha
Call for regional examples: New European Bauhaus
Following the announcement on an NEB mission the ERRIN Task Force is organising an event focusing on the bottom-up approaches to NEB that have been developed during the last few years and their role in the Mission’s development.
- By Rodolphe Doité
Living-in.EU launches survey to identify political priorities
The Living-in.EU movement has launched a survey, open until 15 September, to co-create the political priorities of this digital transformation movement.
- By Lucy Hammond
EU Missions: The European Commission publishes its first mid-term review
On 19 July, the European Commission (EC) published a Communication on the assessment of the EU Missions after two years of implementation. The EC details the Missions' successes but also recognises the need to address challenges related to governance, budget, citizens and private sector engagement. The EC also proposes to add a sixth Mission on the New European Bauhaus.
- By Heidi Johansson
DUT Call 2023 to open in September
The second call of the European Partnership 'Driving Urban Transitions' (DUT) will open on 1 September 2023. The call topics, grouped into three themes on Positive Energy Districts, the 15-minute City and Circular Urban Economies, can already be consulted on the DUT website.
- By Alis Socea
Piatra Neamt Municipality is seeking a city to partner with for the European Urban Initiative City-to-City exchange call.
Piatra Neamt Municipality is seeking a city to partner with for the European Urban Initiative City-to-City exchange call. The deadline for expressing interest is 21 July.
- By Karim Hassan Hosny
Smart Cities Expo '23 Brokerage event
(Hybrid) Acció is looking for European municipalities with Open Innovation Challenges for the Smart Cities Expo World Congress '23. The deadline for registration is 30 August.