With smart city projects, municipalities are using digitalization and its many possibilities to invest in future-proof, liveable cities and regions. However, many projects and ideas remain on the back burner, for example due to a lack of financial or human resources. This applies not only to cities and municipalities in Germany, but throughout Europe.
Increased cooperation at European level makes it possible to exploit synergies and implement smart city or smart region projects more easily with the help of experience from other countries. The European Union can not only provide financial support through various funding programs. An externally guided exchange between European cities and municipalities also helps to develop joint smart city solutions and take advantage of tenders.
aconium GmbH supports the implementation of various transnational digitization projects for regional development, e.g. via the funding channels of the Interreg programmes.
For example, the project “Data for All” project brings together 19 partners from different areas and sectors in the North Sea Region (NSR) to exchange knowledge and experience in dealing with municipal and regional data and to promote innovative solutions for its use. The pilot projects are being implemented in a wide range of areas relating to the use of municipal data, such as mobility, climate neutrality and economic development. The aim is to create a digital exchange and training platform, the “Data for All Roadmap”.
For many municipalities, the implementation of smart city measures is closely linked to the availability of funding. There is a large selection of calls for proposals from the EU, the federal government and the federal states on the topic of smart cities, but smaller municipalities in particular find it difficult to meet the requirements. Funding is usually provided for specific “model projects” or “model regions”, less often for smaller, low-threshold exchange programs or networking projects. In addition, the experience gained in the pilot projects has not yet been rolled out widely enough.
The funding app from aconium GmbH also offers support here. The app offers current calls for funding, relevant events and news from the world of funding. It is individually configurable and can transfer important deadlines and dates directly to a personal calendar.
When it comes to developing and implementing smart city projects, municipalities across Europe usually face the same challenges. Moderated exchange programs between small and medium-sized European municipalities tend to be an exception in the funding landscape. However, networking not only promotes the European idea of cross-border cooperation, but also facilitates practical implementation – whether for open data, digital twins, the use of sensors such as Lorawan or digital citizen participation formats.
One example of this externally guided exchange is the #networkedinEurope program initiated by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development at the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBSR). Smart City Program #networkedinEurope or #connectedinEurope. The project partners, the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), are moderating and documenting the dialog between the participating EU municipalities from Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Poland, Romania and the Netherlands.
At annual networking events, the peer learning tandems share the results of their work to date and learn about calls for funding from the EU. As a result, not only can project statuses be presented or general implementation challenges discussed, but new projects and joint project outlines for funding applications can also be developed. This creates a division of labour, saves costs and time: while one municipality pre-formulates the project outline and checks the requirements of the call for funding, the other municipality focuses on specifying the content of the joint project and recruits additional project partners. This also makes it easier to meet the formal requirements for participation in EU calls for proposals.
The #connectedinEurope smart city program shows that there is a great deal of overlap in terms of content between the participating EU municipalities. It also gives smaller municipalities in particular access to international smart city networks, which they could hardly establish on their own. Many municipalities also face the challenge that they do not have their own teams or specialized personnel to sift through the large number and often very broad selection of funding calls across different departments and apply in a timely manner.
With the networking of European municipalities and the support of experienced project partners who moderate and document the discussions, keep the bilateral exchange going and know the EU funding landscape, draw attention to calls for proposals and provide advice on joint applications, more smart city ideas can be realized. Ultimately, it is the people on the ground who will benefit most from this digital transformation with the aim of sustainable, integrated urban development geared towards the common good.
For more than 15 years, aconium GmbH has been supporting the development of project ideas at European levelincluding the application for EU funding and the implementation of projects on site. We support projects with our technical expertise and our European network in the fields of digitalization, energy, mobility and education as well as our many years of experience in initiating and coordinating projects with European partners. We look forward to your request.