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
Changemakers and Pioneers
The Changemakers and Pioneers event, hosted by Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of the West of Scotland at Scotland House, Brussels is a unique opportunity to showcase projects, hear of others’ experiences and broker new partnerships. There will also be a specific session updating on the UK's association to Horizon Europe/Plan B as well as the latest funding opportunities.
The CETPartnership Joint Call 2022 Info Day
The CETPartnership Joint Call 2022 is the first annual co-funded call under the CETPartnership and is co-funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe Partnership scheme. This event, info day, is organised online.
Virtual info day for second Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital calls
The info day on the new calls launched under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital will take place virtually on 25 October from 9.30 to 13.00 CEST.
Brussels Talks: How to be an innovative region in Europe?
As part of the event series Brussels Talks, NCBR – Business & Science Poland are organising the online event 'How to be an innovative region in Europe?', with ERRIN director Pirita Lindholm as the main speaker. The event will discuss regional innovations ecosystems, how to support R&I capacities at local and regional level and how to reduce the innovation divide. Furthermore, the support offered by current EU funded programmes and initiatives will be explored.
Smart Cities WG meeting: Initiatives supporting the implementation of the Cities Mission
This Smart Cities WG meeting aims to provide an overview of initiatives that can support cities in the implementation of the Cities Mission, while exploring links and synergies between them. The Mission Secretariat will present the current state of the mission as well as its outlook in terms of funding opportunities and links to other EU initiatives and policies. Finally, the ERRIN Secretariat will give an update on its work within the NetZeroCities project. The meeting will be a physical event taking place on 20 October between 15:00-17:00.
MOSAIC's roadmap for co-creation
The MOSAIC project, in which ERRIN is a partner, is organising a workshop for its Community of Practice to introduce the MOSAIC's Roadmap for co-creation in the context of the Cities Mission. The event will take place online 20 October 2022 from 10:00 to 12:00 CEST.
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
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 Lucy Hammond
Draft Horizon Europe 2023-24 work programmes published
The European Commission has published the draft 2023-2024 Horizon Europe work programmes. The drafts have not yet been adopted or endorsed by the European Commission, but have been made available to provide potential participants with the currently expected overview of this work programme.
- By Anonymous
Raising a Digital Twin for Green Urbanisation
In this project we aim to work together with European cities that face similar challenges, and knowledge institutions and companies that know how to develop and deploy digital twins. To develop a digital twin for green urbanisation, but also to learn from each other and develop a digital twin solution that is implementable across borders. This project aims to spur the twin green & digital transition, as also underlined in the Digital Europe work programme.
- By Robin Bruck
Urgent partner search for DUT 2022 Call (15 minute city). German NGO looking for existing consortium or for partners to submit own proposal short notice
Berlin-based non-profit organization with strong expertise in the (re-)design of urban spaces is looking for a consortium to submit a proposal under the 15-minute-city call ("(Re)imagine urban public spaces and streets for vibrant, sustainable neighbourhoods") under the Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership in Horizon Europe.
- By Ewa Chomicz
ERRIN Autumn AGM 2022 – Towards the Year of Skills
ERRIN’s 2022 Autumn Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on 8 December 14:30-18:15 CET, followed by networking drinks from 18:15 CET. We cordially invite all the network members to join us – registration is now open!
- By Gianpiero Petruzziello
NetZeroCities - Call for Pilot Cities - Deadline Extension
NetZeroCities, project in which ERRIN is a partner, opened a Call for Pilot Cities on 5 September 2022. The Call was initially set to close on 4 November. However due to the massive interest from cities and the complexity of submitting an application, the decision has been made to extend the deadline to 15 November at 12:00 noon CET.
- By Gianpiero Petruzziello
ERRIN annual member survey: Shape ERRIN's agenda for 2023!
All members are invited to provide input on our priorities, topics, and activities that should be addressed in 2023. Your inputs are essential as they will provide a basis for the discussions during the workshops, and for the overall planning process for 2023, which will define ERRIN’s work next year.