Context

As recently emerged in a series of interviews with Living-in.EU signatories published by Eurocities, to ensure participation of local and regional authorities in European funding programmes, more direct and innovative sources of funding are needed.  

In this context, the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) is an innovative funding mechanism recently set up by the European Commission. Differently from other funding instruments, the EDICs involve various sources of funding, EU, national and private sources, across multiple countries in Europe. Its objective is to facilitate investments in various areas, such as European Data spaces, deployment of 5G corridors, High-Performance computing, and Local Digital Twins development.  

The EDICs should include at least three Member States (MSs), whose national authorities can be directly represented in the consortium. Other public authorities, such as cities and regional authorities, can also participate in the consortium, if officially nominated by their MSs to be part of the EDICs.  

EDICs represents key instruments for public authorities to collaborate for the development of innovative and interoperable digital solutions, as in the EDIC on Local Digital Twins. They would also allow useful resources to become available and reusable among public authorities in Europe, maximizing synergies and innovative approaches.  

Focus of the session  

• What are EDICs? What differentiates them from other funding instruments, and which are its most recent updates?  
• What is the objective of the EDIC on the Local Digital Twins Citiverse? Which opportunities does it offer to local and regional authorities? 
• Are there examples of EDIC-related initiatives undergoing? What topics can be covered by the EDICs? 

Registration & Draft Agenda 

Tuesday, 19 November, 14:00 – 15:15 CET

• 14:00-14:05 – Welcome | Viviana Demonte, Project Officer, Eurocities

• 14:05-14:25 – Introduction to the EDICs: What differentiates them from other funding instruments? Which are the most recent updates? | Beata Bartosova, Programme Manager, Multi Country Project Accelerator, DG CNECT, European Commission

• 14:25-14:40 – Presentation and latest developments on the LDT Citiverse | Ernesto Faubel, Chair of the EDIC on LDT, Valencia City Council; Jordi Ortuno Ribe, Deputy Chair of the EDIC on LDT, Barcelona City Council

• 14:40-14:55 – Presentation of the EUCAIM project | Luís Martí Bonmatí, Chair of the EUCAIM project, Director at La Fe Polytechnic & University hospital, Valencia

• 14:55-15:15 – Q&A and Discussion

We look forward to welcoming you at the event!