Empowering Smart Cities – Approaches to Action for European Networking (#connectedinEurope)

European municipalities are testing a variety of digital instruments for sustainable, integrated and public welfare-oriented urban development. However, there has been a lack of structured bundling and support for the participation of German municipalities in European networks, projects and initiatives for digital transformation, especially at the national level. Small and medium-sized municipalities in particular have hardly participated in the initiatives so far - despite pronounced needs with regard to the development of their digital competences and strategies.

The European Green Deal and the Digital Europe programme will play a central role in the implementation of European regulations and the design of funding instruments in the coming years. The ultimate goal is the development of European municipalities into smart cities. This requires a European exchange of institutional stakeholders and municipalities on how the digital transformation can help to achieve the goals of sustainable, integrated and common good-oriented urban development at European and national level.

The research project "Empowering Smart Cities - Approaches to European Networking", in short #connectedinEurope, addresses the need in the thematic field of "Digital Transformation and Urban Development" for structured bundling and support for the participation of (small and medium-sized) municipalities in European networks, projects and initiatives for digital transformation.  It supports European cities and municipalities in shaping the digital transformation in connection with sustainable and integrated urban development.

The core activities of the #connectedinEurope project are information, qualification and empowerment of German and European municipalities for European networking. To this end, the consortium, consisting of adelphi, the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) and the Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, provides municipalities with practical tools and knowledge to build up and consolidate their own networking activities through peer learning and specialist workshops. At the same time, the project develops national and European networks on digitisation and urban development and promotes networking between the ministries responsible for urban development and digitisation as well as institutional stakeholders at EU level and established networks and initiatives.

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is responsible, among other things, for researching, analysing and passing on knowledge about EU programmes and European funding. We will also provide information on the opportunities for the networking of municipalities through the current funded projects on the Smart City Dialog website from summer 2022 onwards.

Further information:

• Funding: Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development
• Duration: 06/2021 – 12/2024