On 11 September 2023, Living-in.EU financial subgroup welcomed its members to an online webinar to discover the Multi Country Projects and the objective and role of the European Digital Infrastructure Consortiums (EDICs).  

A brief of the session, as well as speakers' presentations and the recording, are now available. 

Multi-Country Projects and the role of cities, regions & communities 

As part of the “Path to the Digital Decade” policy program, the European Commission has set up a mechanism for Multi-Country projects with Member States. Their objective is to achieve the targets for the digital transformation of the Union and the EU’s industrial recovery. By pooling EU, national and private resources, Multi-Country projects aim to facilitate investments in various areas, such as Common data and Infrastructure, deployment of 5G corridors, High-Performance computing, Local Digital Twins and several more.  

During the online webinar, Serge Novaretti, policy officer and programme manager at the European Commission, explained the key features of the EDICs, the main steps needed to set up multi-country projects and key requirements. 

For instance, it is important to notice that an EDIC should composed of at least three Member States (MSs). For cities to join the EDICs, it is necessary for their MSs to be part of the EDICs or for their MSs to have sent the pre-notification to set-up an EDIC. Another opportunity for cities to join the EDIC is to be nominated by the MSs to be part of the EDICs Assembly. Other possibilities for cities to join the EDICs are currently being discussed.  

The EDIC on Networked Local Digital Twins towards the Citiverse 

Serge Novaretti also gave specific insights into the EDIC on Networked Local Digital Twins towards the Citiverse. The objective of this EDIC is to establish a network of digital twins that operate among them and across borders. Many cities and communities are experimenting with Local Digital Twins, but federated solutions would allow them to implement much more efficient tools that could better tackle societal and environmental challenges at EU scale.

The example of the EDIC on Local Digital Twins demonstrates how multi-country projects and EDICs could support cities, regions and communities, in pooling resources, accessing common resources and capacities, sharing know-how, acquiring new skills, competences and contributing to European projects.  

Local Perspective on the EDICs and on Local Digital Transformation 

A local perspective on the EDICs and local digital transformation was provided by Ernesto Faubel from the city of Valencia and Alexandre Chaffotte from “Banque des Territoires”.  

Currently, the city of Valencia together with the city of Barcelona is co-leading the launch process for EDIC on LDT towards Citiverse, together with the support of the Spanish Government, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and digital transformation, and the Spanish network of cities (RECI). As highlighted by Ernesto Faubel, the LDTs developed under this EDIC could be seen as an evolution of geographical information system in 3D HQ modelling with simulation scenarios and real-time data, and with a strong focus on standardization and interoperability.  

Interoperability and standardization are also two fundamental aspects of the digital transformation programs developed under the France 2030 programme for boosting local digital transformation. As presented by Alexandre Chaffotte, the French National public agency is currently funding several innovative projects, to define standardisation principles and to co-create interoperable solutions in which local governments, private sector and academic actors are encouraged to participate.  

Advantages of EDICs for Member States, Regions and Cities 

EDICs represents a key instrument for public authorities to collaborate for the development of innovative and interoperable digital solutions. They would allow to gather essential resources such as toolkits, dataspaces, and project groups which will become available and reusable among public authorities in Europe. Moreover, they would allow to explore synergies among various initiatives, optimizing knowledge exchanges and fostering innovative approaches in cities and communities.  

As discussed during the webinar, the EDICs are currently being set up, and therefore, the discussions around their governance and modalities are still ongoing. Living-in.EU gives the possibility to its signatories to stay updated on the evolution of these significant opportunities for cities. If you are not yet a Living-in.EU signatory, you can easily join the movement without any financial commitment required, by signing the declaration here.  

Living-in.EU signatories can access all the presentations from the session and the recording on the Living-in.EU platform in the financial subgroup here (login required).