Open Call for Pilots

Round 3 (upcoming)

About

Aim of the Call for Pilots

The deployment action for the European data space for smart communities, and its Call for Pilots, aims to advance the development and implementation of data spaces.

This effort is aligned with the policy priorities of EU cities and communities, focusing on the green-digital transformation supported by secure and sovereign data infrastructure. 

The open call for pilots, which comes in three rounds, builds on and evolves the governance and technical blueprint. The blueprint was established by the DS4SSCC preparatory action, which comes out of joint efforts of the Living-in.EU movement.

The awarded pilots will build on and evolve the governance and technical blueprint, established by the DS4SSCC preparatory action, which comes out of joint efforts of the Living-in.EU movement.

Why Apply?

Be placed at the forefront of innovative smart community development in Europe.

Enter into an expansive network of European  communities, experts and policymakers.

Be recognised as leading examples of sustainable and smart urban development.

Receive support and guidance in aligning with the DS4SSCC blueprint and federating with other data spaces in Europe.

Directly contribute to the shaping of Europe’s green and digital future.

Who is it for?

Local and regional public administrations in the EU and partners (e.g., companies, academia, civil society organisations) working with them.

The eligible consortia must be cross-sectorial & cross-border:

At least two local administrations from different EU Member States and/or Digital Europe Programme associated countries.

Entities must not be controlled by an ineligible country due to security reasons. If there is a risk for such case, entities will be offered an opportunity to provide a guarantee.

Scope and Pre-conditions

The pilot consortia must create new data services from the data sharing across at least two heterogeneous areas specified below, but can also include other European Green Deal domains:

Predictive traffic management / sustainable mobility planning.

Data-services related to weather, climate and extreme weather events

Management of energy flows in a city/community specific context

Zero pollution actions
(e.g. air, water, soil, pollution or waste)

Any other domain falling under the New European Bauhaus initiative (urban design, building management, public services, nature-based solutions, amongst others).

Successful applications must meet specific pre-conditions, indicated below.

LEGAL

At least two local or regional public administrations from different EU member states and/or Digital Europe Programme Associated countries.

All entities are subject to restrictions due to security reasons.

An entity can only be awarded once as Lead Partner.

FINANCIAL

At least 50% direct co-funding*.

Max 1 500 000 euros per pilot.

Max 1 000 000 euros per entity.

Total EU contribution 15.3 million euros
(for around 12 pilots).

TECHNICAL

Cross-sectorial (and -border, if feasible) data sharing.

Sufficiently digitalised - a data platform, digital twin or emerging data space already in place in the city/community.

Compliance with MIM1, MIM2 and MIM6.

Alignment with Data Spaces Building Blocks & recommended standards and implementations.

BUSINESS & ORGANISATIONAL

Business case is sufficiently elaborated.

Clear value proposition.

ETHICAL

Alignment with ethical principles, demonstrated in the Ethical and Data Protection Self-Assessment.

Legally compliant.

  • *Applicants need to bear at least 50% of the project costs, as direct co-financing. 

  • For further details, please refer to the Open Call for Pilots Manual.

This approach ensures shared investment and commitment from both the EU and the applicants, reflecting partnership and joint responsibility. Co-financing must be monetary and specified in the pilot budget. All activities must comply with regulations, including state-aid rules and avoiding double funding.

Submissions and Timeline

The open Call for Pilots is organised in three rounds, according to the expected schedule below.

  • Number of funded pilots may vary based on the submitted proposals quantity and quality.

  • Applications will first undergo an eligibility check. Eligible applications will then be evaluated by experts using pre-set criteria and scoring mechanisms. The evaluation process for each submission round will take about 4 weeks after the submission deadline.

  • Resubmission of project applications is permitted for the following submission rounds.

  • A reserve list is created from each application round in case the selected projects do not meet the requirements after financial and legal checks.

What to Submit & How

Before submitting your proposal for the Call for Pilots, we recommend you review all relevant documentation, including the DS4SSCC blueprint: 

The following documentation is required from the applicants:

  • Application Form (.docx)
    Application form template with instructions. Application form must be submitted in PDF format.
    Note that images, graphics, and figures are allowed, but all text within them will count toward the character limits.

  • Pilot Budget Template (.xlsx)
    Budget template with instructions. Budget sheet must be submitted in Excel format.

    Please present your full budget per each partner within the Digital Europe Programme cost structure, considering also that the reimbursement rate is up to 50%. Please also consider the necessary budget for providing a Certificate on Financial Statements with your final report, carried out by an external auditor. Further, please consider the necessary effort for participating in the Pilot Support programme.

  • Letter of Commitment (.docx)

    Letter of Commitment template for local public administrations to declare their commitment to act as Pilot Sites and confirm their co-financing (minimum of two Pilot Sites per pilot). Letters of Commitment (LoC) must also be prepared and submitted by other consortium members covering the pilot project’s co-financing.

  • Ethics and Data Protection Self-Assessment (.xlsx)
    Applicants must fill in and submit the Ethics and Data Protection Self-Assessment which contains questions that measure the maturity of the pilot with regards to ethics and data protection challenges. This list should inspire applicants to prioritise which challenges require more attention in the proposal. After completing the questionnaire, applicants must answer questions in the Application Form (Section 3.8: Alignment with Ethical Principles). Reviewers will compare to what extent ethical or legal responsibilities are incorporated in the pilot proposal task descriptions. If ethical or legal challenges exist that are not addressed in tasks or deliverables, this will negatively impact the scoring of the ‘Implementation’ criterion.

    To understand how to fill in the Ethics and Data Protection Self-Assessment, you can watch this recording  (minutes 9:23 – 23:43).

Cross-check the pre-submission checklist to ensure successful application submission:

  1. You have read the Call for Pilots Manual for detailed information

  2. You have familiarised yourself with the priority areas of the European Green Deal and New European Bauhaus initiative and defined at least two relevant sectors central in your project proposal

  3. You are acquainted with the Pilots Support provided during the piloting - mentoring and training (including needed budget allocation). monitoring and evaluation taking place during the execution phase

  4. You have attended the information sessions & Stakeholder Forum meetings and/or watched the recordings to learn more how to shape your proposal

  5. You have prepared all documents for the submission (in English): 

             i. Application form

             ii. Budget Sheet

             iii. Letters of Commitment

             iv.Ethics and Data Protection Self-assessment

  6. Your documents are in the right format (PDF and Excel) and answers within the character limits

  7. Your consortium has at least two local or regional public administrations from different EU Member States or DEP Associated countries on board

  8. All partners of the pilots are from the EU or DEP Associated countries, and the activity of the pilot will take place in the eligible countries

  9. You have described a cross-sectorial use case in the Application Form

  10. Your consortium does not request more than 1.5 Million Euros and will cover at least 50% of the pilot budget

  11. Your data space pilot complies with the minimal technical requirements

  12. Your data space pilot complies with relevant regulations, such as GDPR, DGA etc.

  13. You’re aware that:
    i. Your proposal must be submitted by the consortium member acting as the Lead Partner
    ii. You can submit only one proposal per pilot consortium and submission round
    iii. One organisation can apply only once as a consortium Lead Partner under each round
    iv. No limitation applies to the participation of the same organisation at the partner level

  14. Submit your application to: apply@ds4sscc.eu

  15. For any additional questions about the Call for Pilots or Pilot Support, please contact support@ds4sscc.eu

We also recommend you to check your applications against the following Eligibility Check Grid, which will be also used during pre-screening of received applications. Only eligible applications will be passed for expert evaluation.

Matchmaking

Are you looking for partners for your piloting activities? We encourage you to join the Stakeholder Forum, boasting over 300 members hailing from different parts of Europe.

The stakeholders meet regularly online (and occasionally at physical events), fostering close collaboration between the DS4SSCC-DEP consortium and Stakeholder Forum members and creating the platform for networking.

To support further matchmaking, the Stakeholder Forum members can get access to a repository of member profiles and opportunities, as well as share their own information in the hopes of joining forces for the Call for Pilots.

Please find more information and become a member here!

Important Guidance

  • Call for Pilots PDF Link
    This Manual acts as the main Call text that includes detailed information about the Call for Pilots process, including specific conditions regarding legal, financial, business and organisational, technical, and ethical perspectives.

    Note: the legal and financial framework follows the Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA). In the case of possible misinterpretations, the AGA is always the final source for accurate information.

  • Visit the Blueprint

    The blueprint for European smart communities data space was developed by the preparatory action for Data Spaces for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities (DS4SSCC). The blueprint stands for a set of guidelines and instruments for the deployment of the data space. We strongly recommend applicants to get acquainted with the preparatory action and the established DS4SSCC data space blueprint, as it will serve as the foundation for proposed solutions. All applicants need to demonstrate how they (plan to) align with the DS4SSCC blueprint to be able to federate with other data spaces.

  • Pilots Support & Assessment
    During the pilot implementation period, pilot consortia are provided with various levels of support to ensure proper delivery of solutions, both in terms of budget and timely execution. Participation in the Pilot Support programme is expected and pilot consortia should include their effort in the budget. Find an overview of the Pilot Support in this webpage and further details in the Call for Pilots Manual.

  • Annotated Grant Agreement

    The Call for Pilots Manual follows the Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA), which is a user gAnnotated Grant Agreementuide that aims to help users understand and interpret their Grant Agreements. By avoiding technical vocabulary, legal references and jargon, it seeks to help readers find answers to the practical questions they may come across when setting up or implementing their projects. All detailed terms for awarded pilots will be agreed upon in Grant Agreements.

  • Digital Europe Programme

    The deployment action for European data space for Smart Communities is part of the Digital Europe Programme. Find more information about the programme at:

    https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/activities/digital-programme.

  • Ownership Control Declaration Template Link
    All entities (except entities that are validated as public bodies by the EU countries) have to fill in and submit an Ownership Control Declaration (OCD). OCD must be self-declared at proposal time, and if the pilot is awarded, the official OCD must be provided within 14 days from the notification date. 

    If a chosen pilot consortium member is found, after assessment, to be controlled by a partner from a non-EU country, they will need to present a guarantee that will be assessed to allow or exclude participation in the pilot project. If a partner is found to be controlled by a DEP-associated country, they will also have to prepare a guarantee that will need to be assessed to allow or not allow their participation in the pilot.

    Assessment of the entities, based on the received guarantees, will be done on a case-by-case basis, looking at the legal and factual position in each individual case. 

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