The ScaleTHENGlobal programme, developed by the EIT Urban Mobility has opened a new call for participants. A total of 5 startups will be selected from around the globe to take part in the activities, which will promote global outreach for urban mobility startups based outside the European Union.
Welcome2Europe will host 5 international startup companies targeting Europe, and will give them the opportunity to be introduced to investors and local hub partners. This activity will foster engagement between startups, small and medium-size enterprises, original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, public administrations and potential investors. Preparation workshops will facilitate the selected startups to boost their future presentations and networking with potential customers.
We offer:
Participation in networking events (online due to COVID) with key stakeholders (such as startups, SMEs, original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, potential investors, and public administrations) for the urban mobility startups participating.
Participation in workshops and mentoring sessions with international experts.
Access or participation to Smart City Expo World Congress
Introduction to the local ecosystem
Access to the EIT Urban Mobility network and ecosystem.
Deadline for the submission of proposals: 20 August 2021
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 ruggedized rickshaws were designed for handicapped and reduced mobility passengers 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. In the RIS region, not just special projects have been done, but also our network has been strongly extended to be locally present in the RIS countries in this challenging time.
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 a 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 EIT RIS Programme 2022 focused on our City Challenge Areas. All activities of the RIS programme have the mission to connect all innovation talents in Europe and support them to work together. If the talents are working in more challenging innovation ecosystems of the RIS countries the RIS programme should help them to have the same chances for success. Accordingly, the RIS call is focusing on all activity areas of EIT Urban Mobility Innovation, Education, and Business Creation.
In RIS Innovation we have a special programme to connect RIS and non-RIS stakeholders on everyday project activities, this is called RIS Innovation Twin Projects. Innovation projects on the four innovation focus areas: Active Mobility. Sustainable Logistics, Energy and Mobility and Future Mobility, can have twin projects with RSI stakeholders, who are working on the same topic. The RIS twin project must have a high added value to the innovation project.
Besides the RIS Innovation Twin projects are projects focusing on the RIS specific innovation needs, education, and business creation also welcome.
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.
Main features of the call (Aim and segments)
The First Call for proposals for RIS for the BP2022 – 2024, the RIS programme will address the following main areas:
RIS Innovation
Looking for new products/services or business models developed in or for RIS countries.
1.a) RIS Innovation Twin Projects are projects in strong link to projects of the Innovation call. The RIS twin project members (non-KIC member RIS stakeholder) are working for the same goal, with the same team, have clear added value to the innovation project, with which they are linked. RIS Innovation Twin Projects have a clear preference in the RIS innovation portfolio.
RIS Innovation Twin Projects are working on the topics defined by the Innovation call:
Active Mobility
Active mobility is regular physical activity undertaken as a means of transport. It includes travel by foot, bicycle and other vehicles which require physical effort to get moving. The expected outcome would be higher levels of use of active mobility in target demo cities.
Future Mobility
The expected outcome would be new services and disruptive technologies which have the potential to reshape the way in which we will live and work and how we move within the city.
Sustainable city logistics
The expected outcome would include new vehicles, new procurement/ purchasing models, new consolidation solutions, new hub services, new production models (e.g. so that goods are produced “close-to-home”), new software solutions for optimising freight, new solutions for managing loading/ unloading etc.
Mobility and Energy
Increased use of cleaner fuelled vehicles in one or more European city. The measure implemented should have the potential for replication and scaling in other European contexts.
1.b) RIS Innovation projectsfor specific RIS needs are innovations reacting on special needs of the RIS region. As result of the project an innovative product must be introduced on the market with high scale up potential. Pilots with city involvement are strongly preferred.
2) RIS Education
Supporting cooperation in the RIS education activities,
Offering new courses or special professional education programs for RIS professionals,
University-city cooperation to raise awareness for new local challenges and connected possible innovative solutions of young talents
3) RIS Business Creation
Systemic approach to integrate all RIS start-up support and other business creation activities to a harmonised international system for better efficiency,
introduce best practice of business creation activities to adapt them in the RIS regions,
cover uncovered RIS areas for urban mobility business creation with a long-term financial sustainability concept.
4) RIS community building
Actions to support the integration of local RIS innovation communities in the innovation community,
Actions for strengthening the local innovation community and local knowledge triangle integration.
Call summary
First call for proposals for RIS for BP2022 – 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
Business Plan 2022 – 2024 first call for proposals for RIS 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
RIS Innovation Looking for new products/services or business models developed in or for RIS countries.
1.a) RIS Innovation Twin Projects are projects with strong links to projects of the Innovation call. The RIS Twin Project members (non-KIC member RIS stakeholder) are working for the same goal, with the same team, have clear added value to the innovation project, with which they are linked. RIS Innovation Twin Projects have a clear preference for the RIS innovation portfolio.
RIS Innovation Twin Projects are working on the topics defined by the Innovation call:
Active Mobility: Active mobility is regular physical activity undertaken as a means of transport. It includes travel by foot, bicycle and other vehicles which require physical effort to get moving. The expected outcome would be higher levels of use of active mobility in target demo cities.
Future Mobility: The expected outcome would be new services and disruptive technologies which have the potential to reshape the way in which we will live and work and how we move within the city.
Sustainable city logistics: The expected outcome would include new vehicles, new procurement / purchasing models, new consolidation solutions, new hub services, new production models (e.g. so that goods are produced “close-to-home”), new software solutions for optimising freight, new solutions for managing loading/unloading etc.
Mobility and Energy: Increased use of cleaner fuelled vehicles. The measure implemented should have the potential for replication and scaling in other European contexts.
1.b) RIS Innovation projectsfor specific RIS needs are innovations reacting on special needs of the RIS region. As a result of the project an innovative product must be introduced on the market with high scale up potential. Pilots with city involvement are strongly preferred.
2) RIS Education Supporting cooperation in the RIS education activities, Offering new courses or special professional education programmes for RIS professionals, University-city cooperation to raise awareness for new local challenges and connected possible innovative solutions of young talents.
3) RIS Business Creation Systematic approach to integrate all RIS startup support and other business creation activities to a harmonised international system for better efficiency, Introduce best practice of business creation activities to adapt them in the RIS regions, Cover uncovered RIS areas for urban mobility business creation with a long-term financial sustainability concept.
4) RIS community building Actions to support integration of local RIS innovation communities with the innovation community, Actions for strengthening the local innovation community and local knowledge triangle integration.
Evaluation criteria
For the Strategic Fit Evaluation: Contribution to the challenges and target defined at the EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Agenda and EIT Core KPIs Fitting with BP 2022 RIS Call strategic goals. Addressing the concept of Knowledge Triangle Integration
For the Full proposal evaluation: Excellence, novelty and innovation Impact and financial sustainability Quality and efficiency of the implementation, including sound financial management. Geographical balance of RIS coverage
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 makes 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 threats
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 our buses and metros, to ensure we got home safely.
It has been 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 financial beneficial and contribute to sustainable growth.
In 2021, we launch a call for the Innovation Programme 2022 focused on our City Challenge Areas. This year we will focus on four simple areas: Active Mobility, Sustainable Logistics, Energy and Mobility and Future Mobility. 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.
Main features of the call (aim and segments)
The overall purpose of the Innovation Programme is to take innovative ideas, improves them, and puts them into practice. EIT Urban Mobility aims to ensure safe urban transport, provide better data exploitation, increase modal shift, drive take-up of active transport, promote community self-help, and facilitate behavioural change.
By emphasising market-oriented business solution, innovation, can provide valuable evidenced based data from demonstrations and living labs to support regulatory, policy and behavioural changes to improve urban life quality.
From over more than 250 urban mobility challenges identified by European cities, a grouping of 9 “Challenge Areas” were identified and refined over 6 months open discussion with core EIT Urban Mobility partners and a wider public audience.
For the Call for Proposals 2022, four challenge areas will be supported directly by Innovation: Active Mobility, Sustainable City Logistics, Future Mobility and Mobility & Energy. Additionally, there is one restricted area for the continuation of existing projects. Other Challenge Areas may be included in proceeding annual Calls for Proposals or addressed by other EIT Urban Mobility thematic areas.
Call summary
First Call for Proposals for Innovation 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
Business Plan 2022 – 2024 first call for proposals for Innovation 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
Active Mobility Active mobility is regular physical activity undertaken as a means of transport. It includes travel by foot, bicycle and other vehicles which require physical effort to get moving. The expected outcome would be higher levels of use of active mobility in target demo cities. Future Mobility The expected outcome would be new services and disruptive technologies which have the potential to reshape the ways in which we live, work, and move within the city. Sustainable City Logistics The expected outcome would include new vehicles, new procurement / purchasing models, new consolidation solutions, new hub services, new production models (e.g. so that goods are produced “close-to-home”), new software solutions for optimising freight, new solutions for managing loading/unloading etc. Mobility and Energy Increased use of cleaner fuelled vehicles. The measure implemented should have the potential for replication and scaling in other European contexts. Continuation Proposal from BP2021 Existing proposals from EIT Urban Mobility Business Plan 2021 requesting a full 12-month or short 3-month extension into BP2022 are NOT required to complete a CfP2022 proposal on the PLAZA system.
Evaluation criteria
For the Strategic Fitevaluation: Contribution to attaining mandatory EIT Core KPIs, Fitting with BP 2022 Call Challenge Area under which the proposal was submitted, and Provides additional EIT UM specific KPIs. For the full proposal evaluation: Excellence, novelty, and innovation, Impact and financial sustainability, and Quality and efficiency of the implementation, including sound financial management.
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 Innovation Programme 2022 focused on our City Challenge Areas. This year we will focus on four simple areas: Active Mobility, Sustainable City Logistics, Energy and Mobility and Future Mobility. 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)
As cities in Europe and worldwide are bouncing back stronger and more resilient after the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing momentum to rethink our cities and promote more sustainable and healthy urban living by building beautiful, sustainable, inclusive places to live together after the pandemic. New research shows that the rediscovery of proximity provides a window to shift faster from a target of increasing mobility to one of enhancing accessibility by revisiting public space, urban design and planning. We are yet unsure about how the near post-pandemic future will look like, however, this crisis has undoubtedly changed our relationship with city streets, the public realm and local facilities.
The transformation of our cities has started already in many ways. Some of the most forward-thinking cities, small and big, have set out ambitious strategies and plans to cater for the growing demand for housing and travel in urban areas, reduce the impact of transport on societies and the environment, and make cities more attractive places where to live and work. And there are also a growing number of examples of grassroots movements for shaping urban environments. The citizens and local communities in Europe and worldwide are reclaiming the streets and public infrastructure to create vibrant neighbourhoods by implementing placemaking and tactical urbanism projects that have a remarkable impact on public spaces.
Cities that have successfully put people and the environment at the centre of planning have a vision for great public space. But space is a scarce resource especially in dense urban centres and there are many competing demands for the little public space available. City stakeholders need to navigate the competing demands to offer inhabitants liveable spaces, free of pollution, where nature can retake its place for environmental benefits and benefits of the city’s inhabitants while providing inclusive opportunities for social exchange.
The goal of this call for projects is to generate social innovation by improving and transforming streets and public spaces with tactical urbanism and street experiments as part of a city-wide approach for liveable cities, and building on adopted mobility strategies and plans in cities.
Projects will implement pilots for inclusive, safe and accessible public realm design in a city or town, and build momentum for long-term policy change in communities – especially in disconnected and less central neighbourhoods – to help improve liveability for all local residents.
Partners
For the 2022 Public Realm Call, any EIT Urban Mobility partner, including new potential project partners can be the Lead Applicant or participate in the call. A minimum of two cities and at least one other type of partner from the private sector, academia and research can form a consortium.
Call summary
First Call for Proposals for Public Realm 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
Business Plan 2022 – 2024 first call for proposals for Creating Public Realm 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
Projects shall be complementary actions within a city-wide system of public spaces and add additional social value to existing ongoing local initiatives in implementing sustainable urban mobility measures (e.g., SUMP), masterplans, spatial development and urban transformation plans. Tactical urbanism activities should deliver healthy and accessible public spaces. They should contribute to increasing citizen participation by improving the quality of urban areas, especially the neighbourhoods, and making urban areas more attractive and thereby attract more resources. The projects should demonstrate that wider social and environmental benefits -such as more physical activity, less pollution and traffic, safer mobility – can be achieved by providing universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible, green and public spaces, or scaling approaches and solutions for wider citizen participation to reach new communities and neighbourhoods hence improving urban liveability and wellbeing.
The activities should contribute to: Improving the quality of the existing public infrastructure for safe and healthy mobility (walking and cycling networks). Encouraging sustainable travel habits and a reduction of car dependency for short trips by improving local accessibility including to public transport. Boosting recreational and business purposes by respacing city streets, widening sidewalks and refurbishing the public realm. Embedding local improvements in urban design to make street spaces friendlier and enjoyable places (e.g., healthy and complete street approaches).
Evaluation criteria
For the Strategic Fit Evaluation: Contribution to the challenges and target defined in the EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Agenda and EIT Core KPIs Fitting with BP 2022 Call Area and Topic under which the project proposal has been submitted. Addressing the concept of Knowledge Triangle Integration
For the Full proposal evaluation: Excellence, novelty and innovation Impact Quality and efficiency of the implementation, including sound financial management
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 makes 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 EU’s collective efforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, through the ‘EIT Crisis Response Initiative’ launched by EIT. 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 five cities were able to design and manufacture their street furniture for their own public spaces. New nanotech sprays covered the surfaces 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 and that solutions can be tested involving citizens and end-users. We learned that the right thinkers and doers are there – you just need to find them. We learned that innovation can be financial beneficial and contribute to sustainable growth and to more liveable, healthy and safe places to live for the citizens.
In 2021, we launch a call for the Citizen Engagement 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 Public Realm. We expect great things of our own EIT Urban Mobility Community and Hubs. Moreover, having seen how our community responded to COVID-19 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)
Citizen engagement projects, focusing on:
Testing or implementing innovative methodologies, tools, business models or processes through which citizens are involved or empowered in co-defining the mobility challenges and in co-creation processes.
Events to be implemented in at least two cities from different Innovation Hubs, targeting or involving citizens aiming to creating awareness about the role citizens and end-users can play in improving mobility for more liveable urban spaces.
Please note that there will be a Call Info Session with a dedicated part focusing on the Citizen Engagement Call for Proposals, scheduled for 23 March at 14.00-16-00 CET. You can find more information in the agenda here.
Call summary
First call for proposals for Citizen Engagement 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
Business Plan 2022 – 2024 first call for proposals for Citizen Engagement 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
Citizen engagement projects, focusing on: Testing or implementing innovative methodologies, tools, business models or processes through which citizens are involved or empowered in co-defining the mobility challenges and in co-creation processes. Events to be implemented in at least two cities from different Innovation Hubs, targeting or involving citizens aiming to creating awareness about the role citizens and end-users can play in improving mobility for more liveable urban spaces.
Evaluation criteria
For the Strategic Fit Evaluation: Contribution to EIT Urban Mobility strategic objectives (EIT UM Strategic Agenda), to the Citizen Engagement approach (Pillars Connect, Exchange, Empower) and EIT Core and EIT Urban Mobility specific KPIs. Fitting with BP 2022 Call Area and EIT Urban Mobility challenges at which the project proposal has been submitted. Addressing the concept of Knowledge Triangle Integration
For the Full proposal evaluation: Excellence, novelty, and innovation. Impact and financial sustainability. Quality and efficiency of the implementation, including sound financial management.
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
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.
One year ago, uncertainty spread all over the world, forced lockdowns, a flood of unsettling COVID-19 news, infection curves were rising, and the pandemic spread all over the globe, spreading the fear and reducing mobility in turn. This last year mobility has been one of the most impacted areas by this global crisis, with serious concerns raising, such as:
What will happen with plummeted use of public transport, and the worrying trend of consumers back to private cars?
Will shared mobility keep growing, or it will stall?
What are the challenges for urban mobility as we realise what it takes to adapt to the “new normal”?
In this context, the CommINSAFE project –standing for CommutINg with ShAred mobility covid-FrEe- was one of the eleven selected COVID19 projects of the EIT Urban Mobility Covid-19 call of 2020. The project has now come to an end after 6 months, and the results are really promising.
The challenge addressed focused on facing a severe decrease in the use of public transport, with concerns as to the ability to keep physical distance and ride safely, while at the same time private car usage remains high.
The team identified that dependency on private vehicles for reaching industrial zones or business parks located in an interurban area is the root of many problems for the companies:
Office space: related to the need to use (or we should rather say waste) a huge area for parking space in their headquarters that could be better used for other purposes.
Talent retention: related to the challenge to attract and retain talent due to the problems for commuting, where time spent on road congestion and the cost of car use are real stoppers for employees.
They realised they need to react quickly to the spotted needs, and within a very short time, organise and deploy the corporate mobility service described just before the arrival of the second COVID-19 wave.
The solution developed, and piloted: a corporate, on-demand mobility service based on a technological platform that allows employees working at different companies based in the same business area to book their virtual seat in the more convenient pick-up point and timetable for their daily journey to their workplace.
CommINSAFE’s proposal combines the efficiency and flexibility of an on-demand mobility service, which was tailored to corporate mobility requirements, in close cooperation with a few companies that helped us recruit users among their employees. The deployed service has great potential for scaling, as commuter trips account for more than 60% of the overall mobility in metropolitan areas such as Greater Barcelona. These are its main components and features:
On-demand: the Ne-Mi application for providing and managing a flexible transport service which includes virtual pick-up points in tailored and flexible routes that connect urban areas (where employees live) with the workplace of each employee.
Corporate: the design of the service is adapted to companies that are established in areas that are underserved by the public transport system, such as suburban areas or business parks located away from the city centre, with the particularity that it is tailored to be used by several different companies in the same area, as it is possible to design routes with several stops to drop-off passengers.
COVID-free: to make the service even more convenient, especially in the context of the pandemic, the service also includes a disinfection system based on modules that diffuse ultraviolet lamps with light at a 222 nm wavelength, which although germicidal is totally harmless to humans. Being harmless, this light can be used while travellers are inside the vehicle.
The pilot test covered the itinerary connecting Barcelona city centre with “Can Sant Joan” business park located in the city of Sant Cugat del Vallès. With more than 12,000 employees who work in the headquarters of international companies, Can Sant Joan is the largest business park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, and so it generates a large number of daily journeys, even though current mobility restrictions and teleworking recommendations have significantly reduced mobility. The pilot targeted commuters from Barcelona city centre residential areas who work in one of the several companies located in the business park, and lasted for 2 months under real-world operating conditions.
The corporate on-demand bus service connecting Barcelona and Sant Cugat del Vallès has raised the interest of more than 10 companies and a total number of 96 users, most of which were previously commuting using their private vehicle.
Promising results encourage the CommINSAFE team to scale the on-demand corporate mobility solution:
Round-trip: the on-demand service app piloted revealed that users generally do not use the commuting service for round-trips, which is a lesson learned and aspect to consider for a future service design and implementation in other locations.
CO2 emission savings: comparing this service to a regular bus line and considering that the previous means of transport used by employees was mainly private cars, we have estimated that the piloted service has saved 158Tn of CO2, proving to be a sustainable alternative to private mobility with great potential to contribute to the Green Deal objectives, when scaled.
High user acceptance: the level of satisfaction from the users was revealed through excellent scores in all the assessed attributes, as shown in the following figure:
Companies’ feedback: the decision-makers of companies involved in the pilot have stated that they are very interested in continuing the service operation after the project lifetime, as it is an important asset to retain talent while improving the accessibility of their employees to their workplace. In addition, the average willingness to pay for this service by companies is around 2€ per journey and per employee. This is an interesting aspect in order to develop the go-to-market strategy after the project lifetime.
Disinfection systems: the bacteriological tests performed before and after UVC disinfection showed a reduction of more than 97% in the Staphylococcus aureus strain on the contact points for continuous disinfection.
User testimonials
“Very good alternative, above all, because it took much less time to get to the workplace, and due to the comfort of not having to make several transfers in public transport”
“I really liked the bus service, it is very comfortable, fast and the booking application is easy to use”
CommINSAFE’s team expects that on-demand mobility services will play a key role in future mobility, and effective solutions developed at corporate level can become very relevant.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) welcomes the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and EU Member States on its legal basis and its new Strategic Innovation Agenda 2021 – 2027.
Trilogue negotiations have now concluded, pending the final approval of the legal texts by the European Parliament and the Council.
Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel said: ‘I welcome the political agreement on the future of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, which is an integral part of the new Horizon Europe programme 2021-2027’.
I particularly welcome the improvement made in the EIT to ensure a greater geographical reach of the EIT to tackle the innovation divide, and the fact that the EIT will launch two new Knowledge and Innovation Communities in the coming years, one operating in the field of the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries and one on Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems. Both fields of activity are important for the Commission given their contribution to addressing existing and future societal challenges.’
Chair of EIT Governing Board, Gioia Ghezzi said: ‘We will boost the EIT Community’s impact, including in higher education, regional development, and by setting up two new EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities.’
The proposals adopted will align the EIT with Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme for 2021 to 2027, delivering on the EU’s commitment to further boost Europe’s innovation potential. With a budget of nearly EUR 3 billion, representing a 25% increase or an EUR 600 million compared to the previous funding period, the EIT will drive the recovery of the economy as well as the green and digital transition to build a more sustainable and resilient society. The EIT will boost innovation increasing the impact of its activities and by helping 750 higher education institutions become more innovative, supporting 30 000 entrepreneurial students, bringing 4 000 innovations to the market and powering 700 start-ups.
The EIT brings leading companies, universities and research centres together across Europe in Knowledge and Innovation Communities. With its new strategy, the EIT will put increased emphasis on its regional dimension: the strengthened Regional Innovation Scheme will provide targeted support to countries who lag behind in innovation performance. Also, a new pilot initiative will increase the entrepreneurial and innovation capacity of higher education institutions. Finally, the EIT will scale up its collaboration with the European Innovation Council (EIC), which will help boost Europe’s overall innovation capacity.
Background:
The EIT is one of the three components of the ‘Innovative Europe’ pillar of the Horizon Europe programme. Horizon Europe provides the funding for the EIT under the EU’s long‑term budget 2021-2027 and defines its rationale, added value, areas of intervention and broad lines of activity. The legal basis of the EIT remains the EIT Regulation that sets out its mission, its key tasks and the framework for its functioning. The Strategic Innovation Agenda 2021-2027, in turn, outlines the strategy and priorities of the EIT for the next programming period, its objectives, key actions, activities, mode of operation, and expected impacts.
