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The first LORDIMAS Report is out

Gabriela Ruseva — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 13:23:31 +0000

The first LORDIMAS Report is out

Check how local and regional authorities are advancing on digital transformation

Gabriela Ruseva 19 March 2025

The first LORDIMAS report has been published recently. Developed by ESPON, this report leverages LORDIMAS data to provide an initial assessment of the digital maturity of subnational public administrations across Europe. The findings contribute to a better understanding of digital transformation trends at the local and regional levels.

The report is based on 99 responses from local, metropolitan and regional authorities across Europe collected from the launch of LORDIMAS in October 2023 until the end of 2024. This first report offers a comprehensive overview of digital maturity levels in European sub-national public administrations.

Key takeaways from the LORDIMAS report

The report highlights that:

Digital transformation is accelerating but remains uneven. While some cities and regions are advanced, others need additional support in terms of funding, capacity-building, and policy guidance.
Engagement in EU initiatives is a key driver of digital maturity. Cities and regions involved in EU projects and networks (such as Living-in.EU) tend to demonstrate higher digital maturity levels, underscoring the importance of active participation in European collaboration frameworks.
Future iterations of LORDIMAS should address participation gaps. To ensure a more balanced and representative assessment, future versions of LORDIMAS should aim for broader participation, particularly from smaller municipalities and underrepresented regions.

The LORDIMAS report serves as a baseline assessment of digital maturity in European cities and regions, paving the way for further analysis and targeted support mechanisms. Living-in.EU will continue to work closely with ESPON, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Commission and other stakeholder to refine and expand the tool. The Monitoring and measuring working group will continue to involve local and regional authorities to ensure that LORDIMAS remains relevant and beneficial for them. You can read the full report here.

Living-in.EU in the creation and uptake of LORDIMAS

The Living-in.EU Monitoring and Measuring Working Group, led by ERRIN, supported the creation and implementation of the tool. Since January 2023, the members of the group have been involved in:

Shaping the maturity assessment questionnaire
Engaging in ALPHA and BETA testing, providing feedback from end-user perspective to refine the tool.
Launching a Call for Experts to co-design the next phase of LORDIMAS alongside local and regional representatives engaged in the digital transition. The call is now closed and applications are currently being evaluated. Experts will be contacted soon.

Smart Communities Network Meeting – 20 February 2025

Lucia Garrido — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 12:34:33 +0000

Smart Communities Network Meeting – 20 February 2025

Meeting report

Lucia Garrido 18 March 2025

Introduction

On 20 February 2025, the Smart Communities Network held an online meeting, bringing together 43 participants from across the European Union.

This network, composed of associations and organisations with a local outreach, focuses on digital transformation in all 27 EU member states (Hungary not represented in the network yet). Its unique value? An EU-wide initiative driving local digital progress. Ensuring that municipalities can access and use new digital tools effectively is key to fostering inclusive digital transformation. The network is a vital platform for collaboration, capacity-building and sharing practical solutions from a local perspective across the EU.

The February meeting aimed to:

exchange best practices between network members on organising dissemination and training sessions on digital transformation for local governments
discuss the role of the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (LDT CitiVERSE EDIC) in fostering future cross-border collaboration on digital projects
highlight the tools at hand to support local authorities in their digital steps.

Key discussions

1. Welcome & purpose of the meeting

The European Commission opened the meeting, emphasising the importance of knowledge-sharing and collaboration in supporting local governments in their digital transition.

2. Sharing experiences: dissemination & training

Members from different countries shared insights and challenges in organising dissemination and training sessions. Best practices were presented by:

Bulgaria – successful strategies in both dissemination and training.
Denmark, Lithuania, Portugal, Germany and Spain – focused on training initiatives.

Key takeaways for effective sessions included:

Using the local language to ensure accessibility.
Clearly communicating the benefits for participants.
Tailoring content to the specific needs of local communities (via prior consultation).
Incorporating local speakers and context for relevance. 1
Leveraging project support staff and involving speakers from other countries.
Recognising that digital topics may not always be a priority for every municipality.
Making sessions interactive using tools like Slido and Mentimeter.
Ensuring solid logistical preparation (technical checks, venue visits, pre-designed templates).
Keeping training sessions close to dissemination events to maintain engagement.
Hosting separate, hands-on workshops for specific tools like LORDIMAS (digital maturity assessment).

3. Support services

The meeting highlighted important digital tools that are available to help local authorities in their digital steps:

LORDIMAS – A tool to assess digital maturity, find out more via this link
Procurement templates – 15 standardised templates for digital procurement are uploaded on the Living-in.EU website in three categories: infrastructure (hardware), platforms (front-end software) and application services (back-end software).
Online Procurement helpdesk – A support center to guide municipalities in developing tailored digital roadmaps. Express your interest here.

4. Looking ahead

The Smart Communities Network will meet again in May or June 2025.
In the long term, the idea is that the network could evolve into the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC, a newly established ecosystem for smart city development. An EDIC (European Digital Infrastructure Consortium) is a collaboration between multiple European countries to develop digital projects. CitiVERSE EDIC is an initiative that connects local digital twins across European cities, enabling better urban planning through real-time data and AI-driven simulations. Officially launched on 12 December 2024, CitiVERSE EDIC is still in the process of being fully developed operationally. The Smart Communities Network will be consulted to help shape its implementation. Currently, CitiVERSE EDIC brings together 14 EU countries and continues to expand, with the goal of making cities smarter, more efficient and more sustainable.

Conclusion

The local level is key in the EU’s sustainable digital transformation. The unique Smart Communities Network, spanning the entire EU, is key in bringing them onboard. Thanks to the tools developed by the European Commission’s Local Digital Twin projects, local authorities can use practical and free instruments in their digital steps. In the future, the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC will be the hub for digital transformation, fostering cross-border collaboration between the local, regional and national level.

European Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs Plus) - (Intermediate) Version 7.5

Sophie Meszaros — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 15:14:23 +0000

European Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs Plus) - (Intermediate) Version 7.5

Towards a new framework

Sophie Meszaros 13 March 2025

Many public sector organizations struggle with high costs and inefficiencies when trying to integrate different digital systems. Complex procurement rules, a lack of standardization, and resistance to change often make it difficult to connect various platforms and data sources. In fact, research shows that more than half of local governments’ ICT budgets go toward simply integrating existing software—leaving little room for innovation and new digital services.

To help solve this, the Living-in.EU initiative has been working through its Technical Working Group to develop the MIMs Plus framework—a set of European Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms that make it easier for public sector systems to work together. This process includes annual updates, with additional improvements rolled out as needed.

Now, in 2025, the MIMs Plus have reached a new milestone: a framework that presents the MIMs Plus in a logical an usable manner. The framework introduces two distinct types of MIMs—‘fundamental’ and ‘application-based’. The fundamental MIMs focus on the data journey, while the application-based MIMs address common complex challenges like personal data or local digital twins. By creating a more structured and practical approach, the new MIMs Plus framework - packaged as MIMs Plus Version 7.5) aims to reduce costs, simplify integration, and support digital transformation in the public sector—helping governments spend less time wrestling with technology and more time delivering better services.

For more information check out the Technical Working Group.

Check out the MIMs Plus Version 7.5 here.

LORDIMAS – a tool to assess digital maturity and bring more relevance to EU and national policymaking

Michelle Gonzalez Torres — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 07:30:46 +0000

LORDIMAS – a tool to assess digital maturity and bring more relevance to EU and national policymaking Michelle Gonza… 3 March 2025

LORDIMAS - Local and Regional Digital Maturity Assessment- is a tool developed by ESPON in cooperation with the European Committee of the Regions, European Commission, Living-in.EU supporters and signatories and the Go Li.EU consortium.

Since the launch of LORDIMAS at the EU Week of Regions and Cities in October 2023 and subsequent promotion at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona, 130 cities, metropolitan areas and regions from all over Europe have already received their “digital snapshot”. This includes an overview of their strengths and gaps across seven main dimensions critical to a properly functioning smart city or community, i.e., Governance, Service design, Data management, Interoperability, Service delivery, Technology and Networking.

What’s in it for local, metropolitan and regional governments

LORDIMAS can act as a “conversation starter or accelerator” of internal alignment between business, IT and Procurement units or departments, leading to a common vision and a long term investment plan for digital infrastructure shared across the organisation. This plan should not only address new infrastructure needs, but also consider the implications for their sustainability and maintenance over time.
Access to other EU-funded opportunities, like the Online Procurement Helpdesk for Smart Cities and Communities: up to 150 cities that complete LORDIMAS can receive fully-funded consultancy services under the Digital Europe Programme to continue their evaluation of IT core capabilities towards a local digital platform and digital twin. At the end, cities and communities receive a roadmap tailored to their starting point, and support that includes procurement guidelines and templates that are compliant to MIMs and open standards to ensure future interoperability.
Leveraging the results to align with other national, regional or local efforts: the digital maturity scores can be used to inspire more fit-for-purpose adaptations in the action plans of municipalities, to better align with sustainable urban development and EU Green Deal goals, and any existing national strategies for the digital transformation at regional or local level. For example, Portugal is supporting, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), the development of urban data platforms across various city domains/verticals. To that end, the Portuguese government recommends the creation of Local/Regional Action Plans based on a framework that suggest the completion of LORDIMAS to infer about the “as-is” situation of municipalities.

Informing EU policymaking on the main gaps and funding needs of cities and communities

The topics covered under LORDIMAS and the Smart cities agenda have direct linkages with the Digital Europe Programme, the EU programme providing funding to help digital transformation of governments at all levels of governance. For this reason, gaining a deeper understanding of the critical digital infrastructure gaps and financing needs of cities and communities may inform future EU policies and new funding calls.

Do you want to find out about your city or community level of digital maturity? Go to LORDIMAS_EN and complete the assessment. It takes on average 30min to complete.

Do you want to receive free-of-charge consulting services to design your city digital transformation roadmap towards a data platform and digital twin, and get procurement support? Go to Online Procurement Helpdesk for Smart Cities and Communities and submit the Expression of Interest on behalf of your city administration.

Towards an EU Roadmap for an inclusive and sustainable CitiVerse

Gabriela Ruseva — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:39 +0000

Towards an EU Roadmap for an inclusive and sustainable CitiVerse Gabriela Ruseva 21 February 2025

CitiVerse integrates the physical and digital cityscape, enabling real-time interactions for urban planners and citizens to make informed decisions that enhance city services.

The report EU pre-standardisation roadmap for an inclusive and sustainable CitiVerse is the result of the contribution by several experts, as well as an open consultation with the Living-in.EU community members and beyond.

It highlights the enabling technologies and key principles, such as openness and security, firmly rooted in EU values.
The ultimate goal is to guide governments, standardization organizations, and technology companies in developing human-centric technologies for future standardisation endeavours.

Citiverse: Designing digital public infrastructure for future cities

Mrs Danae Pantelide — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 07:32:01 +0000

Citiverse: Designing digital public infrastructure for future cities

1st UN Citiverse Challenge

Mrs Danae Pantelide 19 February 2025

The 1st UN Citiverse Challenge invites students and startups to reimagine and design innovative solutions that leverage the transformative potential of the citiverse and digital public infrastructure to address pressing global challenges. By focusing on three critical themes—access to public services, sustainability and resilience, and tourism and digital culture—participants will develop bold ideas and prototypes to shape the cities of tomorrow.

The UN Citiverse Challenge is directly aligned with the vision of the Pact for the Future and the principles of the Global Digital Compact (GDC), emphasizing inclusive, sustainable, and equitable approaches to digital transformation. Participants have the opportunity to lead the way in advancing the GDC’s goals by exploring how cutting-edge technologies can foster a more connected and resilient world.

This challenge champions a transformative approach to urban innovation, harnessing digital public infrastructure alongside technologies such as AI, metaverse, digital twins, and open-source solutions to reimagine cities as inclusive, resilient, and sustainable hubs of progress.

This challenge is a call to action for visionaries, innovators, and changemakers to collaborate in building an equitable and sustainable digital future. Join the 1st UN Citiverse Challenge and help redefine the digital public infrastructure of future cities in alignment with global priorities outlined in the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact.

Let’s shape the citiverse—a future where technology bridges divides and empowers all.

Find out more here.

Introducing the New Visionaries Leading the Living-in.EU Digital Assembly!

Michelle Gonzalez Torres — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 09:14:27 +0000

Introducing the New Visionaries Leading the Living-in.EU Digital Assembly! Michelle Gonza… 12 February 2025

The Living-in.EU movement is pleased to announce the appointment of two new co-chairs to lead its Digital Assembly:

Ivan Goychev, Deputy Mayor for Digitalization, Innovation, and Economic Development of the City of Sofia, Bulgaria
Lluïsa Moret, President of the Barcelona Provincial Council and Mayor of the City of Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain

The Living-in.EU Digital Assembly serves as the political advisory body of the movement, providing strategic direction to support the digital and green transformation of European cities and communities. Meeting annually, the Assembly brings together mayors, regional presidents, and key stakeholders to discuss policy priorities and foster collaboration.

Both co-chairs bring a wealth of experience and strong leadership in digital transformation, urban innovation, and citizen engagement. Their commitment to inclusive digitalisation, data-driven governance, and sustainability will be key to driving Living-in.EU’s mission forward.

Ivan Goychev has outlined two key priorities for his mandate: advancing data spaces for enhanced collaboration and engaging citizens in urban innovation. He emphasized the importance of fostering open-source solutions and fair data access policies, stating:

"Data spaces are vital for fostering innovation and driving the digital transformation of cities and industries. By combining data from diverse sources, we can accelerate the development of new solutions in urban planning, healthcare, and transportation."

Furthermore, he highlighted his vision of positioning cities as dynamic platforms for pilot projects:

"Engaging citizens in the innovation process fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment, leading to more sustainable and impactful outcomes."

Lluïsa Moret has reiterated her commitment to ensuring equitable digitalisation and a human-centered digital society. Her priorities for the next mandate include inclusive access to digitalisation, climate neutrality through digital technologies, and data-driven policymaking.

"For this new mandate, it is important to continue fostering a digital transformation that is close to its citizens, democratized, and human-centered. Digital technologies should be a tool to create a fairer and more sustainable future for all."

She also highlighted the importance of participatory governance, citing initiatives in Sant Boi de Llobregat, such as digital mentoring programs and citizen engagement platforms like Decidim.

"We must continue to prioritize transparency, accessibility, and openness of digital solutions to ensure that digital transformation leaves no one behind."

Their leadership will provide Living-in.EU with valuable insights and strategic guidance to drive a more inclusive, connected, and innovative Europe.

Living-in.EU Stakeholder Forum Meeting, 29 January 2025

Mrs Danae Pantelide — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 08:44:55 +0000

Living-in.EU Stakeholder Forum Meeting, 29 January 2025

Presentations & Other Material

Mrs Danae Pantelide 6 February 2025

The Stakeholder Forum Meeting of the Living-in.EU initiative took place on 29 January 2025. The meeting brought together close to 100 participants, including around 40 from local, regional and national government, and 60 from networks, research organisations and companies. It provided an opportunity for our community of signatories and supporters to hear about the developments and updates from the EU level, such as the new MIMs framework, the LORDIMAS call for experts, the city of Riga digital strategy, the LDT CitiVerse EDIC, the Committee of the Regions report on AI, as well as the two pilot projects from the European Data Space for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities - city of Kranj and city of Porto.

Below you can find the agenda along with the material/presentations shared for its subject:

09.30 - 09.35: Welcome, Sophie Meszaros, OASC

09.35 - 09.45: Initiative overview, Gabriela Ruseva, Eurocities

Call for experts LORDIMAS, Rodolphe Doite, ERRIN

Knowledge Base, Danae Pantelide, ENoLL (add your own content on the Knowledge Base here)

09.45 - 09.50: City of Riga – WG Chair, Inga Barisa

09.50 - 10.00: AI and GenAI adoption by local and regional administrations, Anke Schuster, Comittee of Regions

10.00 - 10.10: Minimal interoperability mechanisms (MIMs) Plus, Sophie Meszaros, OASC

10.10- 10.20: Introducing EDIC, Jordi Ortuño Ribe, City of Barcelona

10.20 - 10.35: The European Local Digital Twin procurement templates, Eliana Gerardi, Intellera

10.35 - 10.45: UrbanMind Data Space, Tomaz Lanisek, Kranj City

10:45 - 11:00: Traffic Flow Data Space, Diogo Silva, Joao Bastos, Porto Digital

The EU Cities Mission extends its support to all cities in EU and Horizon-associated countries

Gabriela Ruseva — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 08:54:47 +0000

The EU Cities Mission extends its support to all cities in EU and Horizon-associated countries Gabriela Ruseva 20 January 2025

About the EU Cities Mission

EU Missions aim to bring concrete solutions to some of our greatest challenges, such as climate change.They are a novelty of the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme 2021-2027.

Since climate mitigation is heavily dependent on urban action, the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, in short the EU Cities Mission, helps local authorities, regional and national authorities to:

1) Make 100 EU cities climate-neutral and smart by 2030

2) Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.

About NetZeroCities

NetZeroCities is the EU-funded project managing the EU Cities Mission Platform. NetZeroCities supports the 112 European cities known as Mission Cities in drastically reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality.

NetZeroCities provides services by world-class practitioners to help cities overcome the current structural, institutional and cultural barriers they face to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.

Building on this work, we are now extending some peer-learning opportunities and access to online resources via the NetZeroCities Portal to all cities across Europe and Horizon-associated countries aiming to advance their climate neutrality journey.

Extended support

Other EU and Horizon-associated cities can now learn from Mission Cities, drawing on their experiences and strategies to achieve climate neutrality. Interested cities will be able to access exclusive peer-learning opportunities, such as twinning programs, online discussion groups and study visits with Mission Cities.

A suite of tools, resources, and collaborative services is available through the NetZeroCities Portal. These will empower city practitioners to work cross-domains and overcome barriers to climate action, starting with the Climate Transition Map, a strategic tool guiding cities across sectors to overcome challenges and achieve climate neutrality. A series of Support Pathways has also been designed to help your city identify the starting point for your journey, depending on your specific local context. One of these pathways is on implementing technological solutions and innovation to achieve climate neutrality.

Being involved in both Living-in.EU and NetZeroCities, you will have access to a complete package of support on the technological side, making sure that the solutions you develop are technologically sound and follow high standards of data security and interoperability, and at the same time, choosing the right solution for achieving your climate neutrality goals.

How to get started

NetZeroCities provides a dedicated Helpdesk to help cities as they navigate tools, resources and peer-learning opportunities available. To find out more on how to get started, please refer to NetZeroCities’ step-by-step guide. Living-in.EU promotes the Online Procurement Helpdesk, which provides tailored support and guidance on the procurement of digital technology.

We encourage you to seize this opportunity and engage with the Mission Platform to unlock resources and learning, accelerating your city's path towards climate neutrality.

LORDIMAS Call for experts - Contribute to the future of digital maturity assessment

Rodolphe Doité — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:13:30 +0000

LORDIMAS Call for experts - Contribute to the future of digital maturity assessment Rodolphe Doité 15 January 2025

LORDIMAS is an interactive tool helping local and regional governments to understand where they are in their digital transformation journey. It allows local and regional authorities to:

Evaluate – Assess your own digital maturity, based on seven dimensions, from governance to networking
Compare – Discover your results in real-time on an interactive dashboard, allowing you to compare the results with other cities and regions in Europe
Share – Share your success and challenges to promote the European way for digital transformation
Learn – Get policy recommendations to bring awareness on emerging topics and policy advice

The tool was developed by ESPON, with the support of the Living-in.EU movement and European Institutions (European Commission, European Committee of the Regions). In the frame of the Monitoring and Measuring Working Group of Living-in.EU, several activities were organised in 2023 and 2024 to co-create the tool with committed local and regional authorities. Their support and inputs have been critical in co-creating this maturity assessment tool.

In 2025, we aim to engage even more the Living-in.EU community in the future of this tool, benefitting from the expertise and experience of committed professionals in the field of digital transformation. A Call for experts is therefore launched to gather your interest in co-creating the future of digital maturity assessment.

Who can participate?

You are a practitioner, involved in Living-in.EU as a signatory or a supporter
You are willing to share your expertise and experience of digital transformation of local and regional authorities
You accept to participate in two meetings in 2025 – on sharing your good practices on digital transformation and on shaping actionable policy recommendations for the LORDIMAS Community

What’s in it for you?

Your contribution as expert recognized on the LORDIMAS webpage and Li.EU Social Media
An opportunity to shape the tool according to your needs and give your feedback directly to EU Institutions
Communication on the good practices put forward in Living-in.EU report and dedicated campaign on social media for visibility

Selection criteria

Engagement with Living-in.EU - Involvement as a signatory or supporter of Living-in.EU.
Experience in digital transformation - Demonstrated experience with digital transformation initiatives at the local or regional level.
Familiarity with LORDIMAS - Having used or being willing to use the LORDIMAS tool before the activities start.
Commitment to participation - Availability to attend two meetings in 2025 and actively contribute to discussions.
Contribution to diversity of perspectives - Representing different geographic regions or types of local/regional authorities.
Relevance of expertise - Alignment of expertise with the dimensions covered by LORDIMAS (Governance, Service design, Data management, Interoperability, Technology, Service delivery and Networking)

How can you apply?

You can apply by filling in this form before the 7 March 2025 (12:00 CET)

We will be looking for a maximum of 20 experts for this round.

We wish to keep an open and light process for this call. Evaluation of applications will be conducted by the Monitoring and Measuring Working Group Chair and coordinator:

Jordi Ortuño, Barcelona City Council, Chair of the Monitoring and Measuring Working Group
Marek Bobis and Anke Schuster, European Committee of the Regions, Chairs of the Monitoring and Measuring Working Group
Rodolphe Doité, ERRIN, coordinator of the Monitoring and Measuring Working Group

If you have any questions, please contact rodolphe.doite@errin.eu.