Testing innovative solutions on local communities’ demand (CSA)

Deadline: Oct 21, 2021  
CALL EXPIRED

Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Increased societal uptake of new technologies and knowledge-based solutions, achieved through better understanding of societal needs and higher societal acceptance;
• Increased place-based innovation and experimentation, through testing of up to 100 innovative new solutions in partnership with cities and local communities, research and industry, drawing on local characteristics and strengths;
• Increased innovation capacity across Europe, through new models of co-creation and exchange of good practises and learning from experimentation, so that innovative solutions are shared and adapted to the needs of local communities (avoiding ‘one size fits all’).

This action will promote the uptake of research-based technological and non-technological solutions in cities and local communities by responding to concrete, citizen driven, demand for testing and experimentation. By addressing the local societal demand for innovative solutions and bringing forward R&I to match communities’ needs, the action will contribute to implementing the European Green Deal’s aim “to involve local communities in working towards a more sustainable future, in initiatives that seek to combine societal pull and technology push”. By matching needs to (candidate) new solutions stemming from EU R&I, and testing these solutions in a transparent and socially inclusive way, the action will contribute to technology uptake with citizen engagement, in line with the aims of the European industrial strategy.

Within the scope of this action is to co-create and test societal solutions, so that R&I developed in Europe can be tested in Europe, jointly with local communities. The scaling up of the effective solutions is not within the scope of this action, and could be facilitated through other programmes and initiatives (public and/or private). The core concept lies in collecting, and then matching, needs of cities and communities with supply of possible solutions from research results, involving adaptation to local needs, testing in real environments (cities/communities as testbeds) and ensuring benefits for all parts of society.

Main beneficiaries of this action will be the participating cities and local communities, together with the research and business partners involved in the testing and further uptake of the innovative solutions. The action may engage planners, designers, architects, artists, climate scientists, policy makers, investors, social innovators, local professionals and small businesses. It will draw on the diversity of the local environments and their needs and concepts for societal transformations and facilitate the sharing of experiences and lessons learned. The consortium may provide financial support to third parties. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000. The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be applied.

Socio-economic science and humanities