Empowering public authorities through education and capacity building is at the core of the Living-in.EU concept. Our vision is to cultivate a connected and digitally literate society, well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Led by ENoLL (European Network of Living Labs), the Education & Capacity Building working group is dedicated to equipping public officers with the skills and methodologies necessary to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

 

Our Mission and Commitments:

Our mission aligns with a number of key commitments that guide our efforts:

1. Enhancing administrative capacities: We aim to empower public administrations to harness digitalisation effectively, avoiding technology or vendor lock-in.

2. Skills identification: We support the identification of new skills required by public authorities, facilitating workforce upskilling accordingly.

3. Citizen-centric design: We promote citizen-centric design approaches as a vital competence for public sector intermediaries and policymakers.

4. Co-creation and participation: We develop a culture of co-creative, participative and cross-sector approach to designing and implementing smart and sustainable local solutions.

5. Digital education access: We strive to provide citizens with access to platforms that facilitate digital education and skills development, enabling them to benefit from smart city solutions and participate in decision-making processes.

6. Knowledge sharing: We facilitate and coordinate activities focused on knowledge sharing, communication, dissemination, and consultancy. Our goal is to scale successful digital solutions through a participatory, cross-domain approach.

7. Collaborative acceleration: We seek to leverage opportunities and exchanges with projects that can accelerate deployment, including collaboration with Digital Innovation Hubs.

 

Work Plan Priorities for 2025:

In 2025, our key priorities include:

1. Identify & facilitate workforce upskilling

2. Knowledge sharing through use cases

3. Collaborative acceleration & partnerships

4. Engage more signatories

The Living-in.EU movement serves as a hub for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and mutual learning in the context of the digital transformation of European cities, communities, and regions. We stress the central role of capacity building and the Living Lab approach within the Living-in.EU ecosystem.

As the coordinator of the Education & Capacity Building sub-group, ENoLL is committed to fostering citizen-centric and collaborative approaches to digital solution development in urban living labs. We emphasize active citizen involvement, local authority leadership, open innovation processes, and city-to-city collaboration to drive digital transformation and create smarter, more sustainable environments.

Have a look at our work plan for 2025!

Education & Capacity Building tools:

European Interoperability Framework for Smart Cities and Communities (EIF4SCC):

Austria	Belgium - NL	Belgium - FR	Belgium - DE	Bulgaria
Croatia	Cyprus	Czech Republic	Denmark
Estonia	Finland	France	Germany
Greece	Hungary	Ireland - GA	Ireland - EN
Italy	Latvia	Lithuania	Luxembourg - DE	Luxembourg - FR
Malta	Netherlands	Poland	Portugal
Romania	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden

 

The Education and Capacity-building Working Group Chair

Neeltje Pavicic

 

Neeltje is a firm believer in the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing. Over the past few years, she has become increasingly aware that while there are numerous excellent initiatives across Europe, many organizations remain unaware of each other's activities and fail to benefit from them. As the chair of the Education & Capacity Building working group, Neeltje aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and lessons learned, thereby enhancing efficiency in Europe's innovation journey and accelerating the adoption of innovative solutions.

Relevant links: