European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC)
With the launch of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) on July 10th 2012, the European Commission aims to boost the development and use of smart urban technologies.
The European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities EIP-SCC, which was established within the Europe 2020 Strategy, does not represent a new funding instrument, but a network, respectively a platform for innovation, which shall bring public and private actors together in order to develop action plans, activities and projects and eventually to implement them.
The European Commission aims with this instrument to better coordinate and bundle investments in urban areas in order to support lighthouse projects in the field of energy, transport, information and communication technologies (ICT). Thus, urban regions are placed at the centre of this innovation.
Through EIP-SCC, the energy, transport and ICT industries are invited to work together with cities to combine their technologies in order to address the needs of urban regions. Innovative, integrated and efficient technologies will be able to roll out and enter the market more easily. Public funding has been made available by both EU Member States and the European Commission.
In the course of the EIP-SCC process, the European Commission issued an open invitation to all interested persons and institutions/organisations to bring in and exchange with other actors their current or future plans and intentions (“commitments”) for actions at the intersection of energy, transport, ICT and infrastructure. As part of the Call for Commitments (lasting from February until June 2014), 441 ideas were submitted, of which 370 were selected and grouped into six Action Clusters. These were defined as follows:
- Business Models, Finance and Procurement
- Citizen Focus
- Integrated Infrastructures & Processes (including Open Data)
- Policy & Regulations / Integrated Planning
- Sustainable Districts and Built Environment
- Sustainable Urban Mobility
Within the Action Clusters, concrete initiatives have been defined, which shall then lead to concrete projects through the interaction of relevant stakeholders. In this respect, the EIP-SCC Market Place builds up a platform for Smart City projects throughout all development stages, regardless of the type of financing received (EU/national/regional/local, private or through alternative financing mechanisms).
How is Austria involved and how can I participate?
Experts from the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology are part of this initiative as members of the European Commission’s high-level steering group. Austrian enterprises, research institutions, cities and associations have therefore the possibility to follow the process and give feedback to different materials, which then can be taken into consideration on European level.
Furthermore, interested persons, organisations or institutions can also join an existing Action Cluster or Initiative.
Overview on current developments and activities within EIP Smart Cities and Communities
- 12th of October 2017: EIP-SCC General Assembly Brussels
- July 2017: Release of the Roadmap for EIP-SCC Market Place
- 24th of May 2016: EIP-SCC General Assembly in Eindhoven
- 21st of May 2015: EIP-SCC General Assembly in Berlin
- 9th of October 2014: Action Cluster Kick-Off, Brussels
- 15th of June 2014: Deadline for submitting a “Commitment” for EIP-SCC
- 28th of February 2014: Brokerage Event in preparation for the Call for Commitments
- December 2013 until Spring 2014: Development of an Operational Implementation Plan, first draft online
- 27th of November 2013: EIP-SCC presentation during the Austrian Smart Cities Week in Vienna
- 26th of November 2013: EIP-SCC Launching Event in Brussels
- July 2012 until Autumn 2013: Establishment of a governance structure consisting of a High-Level Group and a stakeholder platform; development of a strategic plan for implementation for EIP-SCC
- September 2013: Information Day for member states about EIP-SCC
- Presentation Paul Timmers, European Commission, DG CONNECT
- Presentation Hans-Günther Schwarz, Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology
- July 2012: Launch of EIP-SCC by the European Commission
- November 2011: Establishment of SCC Stakeholder-Plattform
- June 2011: Start of the “Smart Cities & Communities Industrial Initiative”, a precursor of the EIP-SCC, which encompasses the fields of energy and transport