Urban Mobility has gone through unexpected and momentous changes in 2020. COVID-19 ripped through our nations and cities bringing individual, community and societal upheaval and turmoil. Density and proximity, the very two things that make our cities the economic, cultural, intellectual, political, and innovative beating hearts of our society, were also the weakest points when faced with a new and deadly threat.
Wise medical advice led to lockdowns that inevitably saved millions of lives while freezing personal mobility. Who we are today, how we relate to each other, and how we perceive and move around our cities has changed. Maybe forever. EIT Urban Mobility was privileged to play a small role in Covid Response Initiatives. Inclusive logistics projects protecting the elderly and vulnerable were rolled out in Budapest touching thousands. New ruggedised rickshaws were designed for handicapped and reduced mobility passenger in the hilly cities of Bergamo and Bilbao. As road space was taken back for public space, citizens in 5 cities were able to design and manufacture their street furniture for their own public spaces. New nanotech sprays covered the surfaces of our buses and metros, to ensure we got home safely.
It has been an unforgettable year that has shaped our thinking on where EIT Urban Mobility needs to go. We learned we could move fast and innovate at pace. We learned that the right thinkers and doers are there – you just need to find them. We learned that innovation can be financially beneficial and contribute to sustainable growth.
In 2021, we launch a call for the Business Creation Programme 2022 focused on our City Challenge Areas. This year we will focus on five simple areas: Active Mobility. Sustainable Logistics, Energy and Mobility, Future Mobility and Creating Public Realm. We expect great things from our own EIT Urban Mobility community and hubs. Moreover, having seen how our community responded to COVID with rapid, agile, and impactful projects – we expect more. Higher. Faster. Better. And as the saying goes “Don’t tell me how it cannot be done. Tell me how it can”.
We look forward to receiving your applications for inclusion in the Business Plan 2022 – 2024.
Main features of the call (aim and segments)
The overall purpose of the Business Creation programme is to resolve challenges facing European cities to improve citizens lives, by taking innovative ideas and putting them to the test in real life.
The Business Creation programmes helps entrepreneurs grow their successful business ventures. It does so by providing a new-business-friendly environment, offering start-ups and scaleups training, advice, funding and opportunities for networking.
For the Business Plan 2022, Business Creation specifically looks for actions to continue and improve content, formats and business models of the Accelerator Programmes and SME Hub. The Business Creation call in 2022 is focusing on two areas that reflect the different stages of maturity and needs of startups and SMEs: Acceleration and the SME Hub.
Call summary
First Call for Proposals for Business Creation for BP 2022 – 2024: Main Features
| Dates | Call opening: 19 March 2021 Call closing: 18 May 2021 Eligibility and admissibility check: End of May 2021 Evaluation of proposals: June 2021 Communication of results: beginning of July 2021 |
| Budget allocation | Up to 2.1 million EUR |
| Link to submission portal | PLAZA platform – OPEN NOW! |
| List of documents to be submitted | Application form available on the PLAZA platform |
| List of documents to take into consideration | Business Plan 2022 – 2024 first call for proposals for Business Creation EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Agenda 2021-2027 (link below) Call Guidelines for applicants (link below) Appeal Procedure (link below) Eligibility of expenditures (link below) List of KPIs (link below) Monitoring and reporting (link below) Frequently Asked Questions – First Calls for BP2022-2024 (link below) Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement |
| Short summary of the topics to be addressed | Accelerator Programmes Accelerator Programmes provide support for innovative mobility solutions by nurturing start-ups. There are two programme intakes per year. These include participation in Living Labs and business coaching as well as urban-mobility-specific expertise such as technology or market validation, product-market fit or market entry. SME Hub Programme The SME Hub Programme provides support for innovative mobility solutions by boosting growth of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Programme participants will be exposed to city pilots and international networking opportunities. |
| Evaluation criteria | For the Strategic Fit Evaluation: Contribution to the challenges and target defined in the EIT UM Strategic Agenda and EIT Core KPIs. Fitting with BP 2022 Call Area and Topic under which the programme proposal has been submitted. Addressing the concept of Knowledge Triangle Integration. For the Full proposal evaluation: Excellence, thought leadership and results-focus. Impact and financial sustainability. Quality and efficiency of the implementation, including sound financial management. |
Find all the information about this call below!
Supporting documents:
NEW! Additional document:
Contact details
| Type of contact | |
| General | call2022@eiturbanmobility.eu |
| Specific for Business Creation | businesscreationcall2022@eiturbanmobility.eu |
Events-Webinars
You can find the calendar on the main events here.
