Cities and municipalities now get the chance get support to set up data spaces for smart communities.
But how can cities and municipalities benefit from data spaces for smart communities?
The data space for smart communities is an interoperable, trusted IT environment for data processing. It integrates fragmented data from various public and private sources. Furthermore, a set of legal and administrative rules regulates the access to and processing of data.
So, what data do those spaces include and how can it supports local policy-making?
The data space for smart communities focuses on data related to critical city infrastructure such as energy supply and consumption, water management, waste management and traffic information. Thereby, the data spaces can support local decision-makers to work towards the Green Deal goals and Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the data spaces facilitate cities and municipalities to implement measures to increase resilience of vulnerable infrastructure or develop smart infrastructure such as smart grids.
Digital Europe Call
The Digital Europe Programme opened a call for proposals to support data space for smart communities. In doing so, the Programme aims at supporting 10 to 12 cross-sector pilots across the EU that make use of common data sets. Furthermore, the call addresses a consortium of relevant supply and demand-side stakeholders. Together, they should develop pilots that cooperate in their impact assessment and generate a common understanding of progress towards the Green transition. Likewise, the pilots should be compatible with the principles of the New European Bauhaus.
The action will then support pilots, using data available from the data space for smart communities. Thereby, the action creates added value by combining data from at least two of the areas specified below (but can also include other related domains):
- predictive traffic management/sustainable mobility planning, exploiting synergies with the data available on the mobility data space and with the data available on transport National Access Points and making use of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators;
- data-services related to extreme weather events to facilitate climate change adaptation, risk prevention and disaster resilience;
- management of energy flows in a city/community specific context and in conjunction with other sectors;
- targeting zero pollution (e.g. air, water, soil pollution or waste).
The action should also establish links to those Horizon Europe missions that work with communities and cities as key implementing partners (e.g. Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change), which would provide significant opportunities to test, experiment and up-scale the input to and use of the data space with local partners.
The deadline for submission is 24 January 2023.
Would like to know more? Join the Info Day!
If you are curious about the action, you can join the Info Day on 18 October 2022. Find out more about the action and get the chance to discuss open questions. More information and the registration link are available here.
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