Call: Initial Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs
Programme | |
Acronym | DIGITAL |
Type of Fund | Direct Management |
Description of programme "Digital Europe" |
The general objectives of the Digital Europe Programme shall be to support and accelerate the digital transformation of the European economy, industry and society, to bring its benefits to citizens, public administrations and businesses across the Union, and to improve the competitiveness of Europe in the global digital economy while contributing to bridging the digital divide across the Union and reinforcing the Union’s strategic autonomy, through holistic, cross-sectoral and cross-border support and a stronger Union contribution. The Programme shall be implemented in close coordination with other Union programmes as applicable, and shall aim:
It will reinforce EU critical digital capacities by focusing on the key areas of artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, advanced computing, data infrastructure, governance and processing, the deployment of these technologies and their best use for critical sectors like energy, climate change and environment, manufacturing, agriculture and health. Thus, the Programme shall have five interrelated specific objectives:
The Digital Europe Programme is strategic in supporting the digital transformation of the EU industrial ecosystems targeting upskilling to provide a workforce for these advanced digital technologies. It supports industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and public administration in their digital transformation with a reinforced network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH). The Programme will accelerate the economic recovery and drive the digital transformation of Europe. Specific Objective 1- High Performance Computing The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 1 – High Performance Computing shall pursue the following operational objectives:
Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence shall pursue the following operational objectives:
Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust shall pursue the following operational objectives:
Specific Objective 4 – Advanced Digital Skills The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 4 – Advanced Digital Skills shall support the development of advanced digital skills in areas covered by the Programme in order to contribute to increasing Europe’s talent pool, bridge the digital divide and foster greater professionalism, especially with regard to high performance and cloud computing, big data analytics, cybersecurity, distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain), quantum technologies, robotics, AI, while taking gender balance into account. In order to tackle skills mismatches and to encourage specialisation in digital technologies and applications, the financial contribution shall pursue the following operational objectives:
Specific Objective 5 – Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacities and Interoperability The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 5 – Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacities and Interoperability shall pursue the following operational objectives while bridging the digital divide:
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Link | Link to Programme |
Call | Initial Network
of European Digital Innovation Hubs |
Description of call "Initial Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs" | Objective: Select the initial Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) from all candidate entities designated by Member States. Upgrade these entities to provide the complete set of services of an EDIH, including the necessary infrastructure, in a specific geographical area, covering the needs of the local SMEs, small mid-caps and/or public sector organisations with respect to their digital transformation. Network these EDIHs with each other and with other projects selected in Digital Europe Programme developing capacities in High Performance Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Advanced Digital Skills and accelerating the best use of technologies. Scope: Each EDIH will provide services based on a specific focus/expertise, which will support the local private and public sector with their digital and green transformation. This specialisation can be strengthened over time, and should make use of existing local competencies in this area. The services will be provided on an open, transparent and non-discriminatory basis and will be targeted mainly to (1) SMEs and small-midcaps and/or (2) public sector organisations conducting non-economic activities. Each EDIH will act as an access point to the European network of EDIHs, helping local companies and/or public actors to get support from other EDIHs in case the needed competences fall outside their competence, ensuring that every stakeholder gets the needed support wherever it is available in Europe. Reversely, each EDIH will support the companies and public actors from other regions and countries presented by other EDIHs that need their expertise. The EDIHs will be active in networking with other hubs, sharing best practices and specialist knowledge, in bringing companies into contact with other companies of their value chain, and in seeking synergies with innovators and early adopters - including artists, designers and other creatives that test solutions in novel experiments and can foster the adoption of digital technologies in working and business environments in a more human-friendly way. EDIHs will also play a brokering role between public administrations and companies providing e-government technologies. In all the networking activities, EDIHs will be supported by the Digital Transformation Accelerator (described in topic 1.3 of the workprogramme), and therefore it is compulsory that EDIHs participate actively in the relevant support activities of the Digital Transformation Accelerator, such as matchmaking, training and capacity building events. Each EDIH will make available the relevant experimentation facilities related to its specialisation. SMEs, small mid-caps and the public sector will be able to test the technologies proposed, including where relevant their environmental impact, and the feasibility of applying these technologies to their business before further investing in it. Furthermore, they will act as a multiplier and widely diffuse the use of all the digital capacities built up under the different specific objectives of the Digital Europe Programme on High Performance Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Advanced Digital Skills and Accelerating the best use of technologies. For this purpose, the EDIHs will participate in a “Train the trainer” programme where the specialists of the digital capacities train the EDIHs on how to use the capacities, so that the EDIHs can help their stakeholders to make use of them. It should be avoided that there is duplication of actions of the High Performance Computing competence centers and the Cybersecurity centers and the EDIHs, and therefore working arrangements will be agreed among them, where the focus of the EDIHs will be on their role as multiplier and reaching out to all regions in Europe. The “Train the trainer” events, together with other events for the network of EDIH, will be organised by the Digital Transformation Accelerator. EDIHs should foresee active participation in those events. EDIHs will maintain structured long-term relationships with the relevant local actors like regional authorities, industrial clusters, SME associations, business development agencies, incubators (including European Space Agency Business Incubators, the ESA BICs), accelerators, chambers of commerce, and partners of the European Enterprise Network (EEN). Specifically, EDIHs will offer a seamless service with EEN and Startup Europe, e.g. by offering joint investor-related events, organising common trainings, workshops or info days, directing SME from EEN to EDIHs and from EDIHs to EEN as needed. It is expected that local EEN nodes that team up with a local EDIH will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to regulate their collaboration. Finally, EDIHs will act as interface with the European Commission to support the implementation of specific sectorial policies, SME policies and eGovernment policies. This will imply that EDIHs specialised in a specific sector could be consulted on policies related to their sector of competence, and could participate in specific actions, such as the New European Bauhaus initiative, where EDIHs for which it is relevant might be asked to help accelerate the take up of results and the emergence of lead markets. Another example is the “Adopt AI” programme that is currently under development as a result of the White Paper on AI. The Digital Transformation Accelerator will also have the role to report on overall Key Performance Indicators of the network, and therefore each EDIH will provide to the DTA the necessary information. Proposals have to include a price list of the services to be provided to SMEs and public sector. This is necessary to compute the value of the State aid passed on by the EDIHs, even when the services will be offered for free or at a discount, as explained in the work programme chapter “4.2 Annex 2 – State aid”. In case the price list will be modified in terms of e.g., new services, updated prices or discount conditions, the new price list will be included in the periodic report. Expected Outcome: Each selected project will contribute to the digital transformation of local SMEs, small mid-caps and/or public sector organisations, in their geographical area and for the technologies of their competence. EDIHs provide services such as testing before investing, training and skills development, support to find investments, networking and access to innovation ecosystems. Projects will also contribute to building a network of EDIH, covering all regions in Europe, addressing the needs of the public and private sectors, including all economic sectors, offering a wide range of specialised digital transformation services. |
Link | Link to Call |
Thematic Focus | Digitisation, ICT, Telecommunication, Research & Innovation, Technology Transfer & Exchange, Community Integration, European Citizenship, Shared Services, Administration & Governance, Capacity Building, Cooperation Networks, Institutional Cooperation, Justice, Safety & Security, Clustering, Development Cooperation, Economic Cooperation, Green Technologies & Green Deal |
Funding area | EU Member States Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) Iceland / Ísland Israel / ישראל / إسرائيل Liechtenstein Moldova Norway / Norge Serbia / Сpбија Turkey / Türkiye Ukraine / Україна Oukraïna |
Origin of Applicant | EU Member
States Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) Iceland / Ísland Israel / ישראל / إسرائيل Liechtenstein Moldova Norway / Norge Serbia / Сpбија Turkey / Türkiye Ukraine / Україна Oukraïna |
Eligible applicants | Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, SMEs (between 10 and 249 employees), Other, Enterprise (more than 250 employees or not defined), Public Services, Research Institution, Microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees), University, NGO / NPO |
Applicant details | In order to be
eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
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Project Partner Details | Proposals must be submitted by:
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Project duration max | 36 months |
Further info |
Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:
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Type of Funding | Grants |
Financial details | The available call budget is EUR 240,930,000. This budget might be increased by maximum 20%. Funding rate: 50% Budget is allocated separately for each Member State and Associated Country. Each project will be funded from the budget of the corresponding Member State or associated country. |
Submission | Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal. Paper submissions are NOT possible. |
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