Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Digital Europe Programme is the first EU programme that aims to accelerate the recovery and drive the digital transformation of Europe.
Worth €7.6 billion (in current prices), the Programme is a part of the next long-term EU budget, (the Multiannual Financial Framework), and it covers 2021 to 2027. It will provide funding for projects in five crucial areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society.
The Programme is fine-tuned to fill the gap between the research of digital technologies and their deployment, and to bring the results of research to the market – for the benefit of Europe’s citizens and businesses, and in particular SMEs. Investments under the Digital Europe programme supports the Union’s twin objectives of a green transition and digital transformation and strengthens the Union’s resilience and strategic autonomy.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Set-up the Initial Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) from all designated candidate entities resulting from the Expression of Interest (1.1). 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 these technologies.
Detailed Call Description
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. 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. 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 artist, designers, architects 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.
EDIH should become an interface for 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.
Targeted stakeholders: companies with digital transformation experitse (especially SMEs and small midcaps) and/or public sector organisations, research & technology organisation (RTO) or university labs offering technology services, expertise lies in business development, public sector innovation or training such as for example chambers of commerce, industrial clusters, industry associations, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), incubators, vocational training centres or others.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
Simple Grants: 50%
Thematic Categories
- Information Technology
- Justice - Security
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Chambers
- Large Enterprises
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
- Training Centres
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
- non-EU countries:
- listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europen Programme (associated countries) or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.
Consortium composition-Proposals must be submitted by:
candidate European Digital innovation Hubs whose coordinators have been designated by Member States following the expression of interest described in the work programme. A candidate EDIH can be composed of a consortium or a single legal entity.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
It will be announced soon.
(Publish Date: 19/11/2021-for internal use only)