Call for proposals

Preparatory Action - “Digital Transformation of European Industry”

Objective and description

The European Commission adopted on 28 April 2017 a work programme for 2017 and the financing of Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions in the field of "Communications Networks, Content and Technology".

 

The "digitisation divide" across companies of different sizes and across different industries is due to two aspects: first, smaller companies shy away from investments in new technologies if it is not clear whether these technologies turn out to be profitable. Second, they often lack the technical knowledge which is necessary to modify and implement their processes and develop new products based on new technologies.

To address both barriers, the Commission will invest ?500 million in Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) so that every industry, large or small, high-tech or not, can understand the digital opportunities and get access to knowledge and testing facilities in the latest technologies.

 

The aim of the preparatory action is to develop a coherent, coordinated and sustainable approach to enhance the engagement of all relevant stakeholders interested in the digitisation of European industry (business, academia, research organisations and civil society) and to inform, prepare and help them develop projects designed to face the new transformations.

 

The action covers those regions in Europe which have a large potential to benefit from industrial digital transformation and do not have a digitisation program or plan yet and those for which industry capacity needs to be improved. It targets the identification of the industrial competitive advantages and the potential for digital specialisation in regions at sector-level across all EU Member States.

 

The action will be based on an inclusive and interactive bottom-up process in which participants from different environments (business, academia, policy etc.) will discover information about and generate strategies towards possible new activities. They will identify opportunities that emerge through this interaction, while policymakers assess outcomes and ways to facilitate the realisation of this potential. The action is planned to help establishing a framework for continuous collaboration between businesses and researchers in partnership with policy.

 

The core of a DIH (Digital Innovation Hub) is a competence centre located in a technical university or research organisation. They will provide companies, in particular SMEs, with access to facilities for experimenting and testing digital innovations. Apart from this technological support, such hubs also supply innovation services such as advice on potential sources of financing for upscaling the experiment to real production and roll out. They can also support industry in training its staff and improve their digital skills, or in their efforts to enter new markets.

 

So a Digital Innovation Hub provides both technological support (through a competence centre) as well as more general innovation support.

 

This preparatory action will build on the concept of DIH and use them as a vehicle for collaboration of businesses, research entities and public authorities in order to reap the benefits of digitisation. 

 

Eligible activities

The beneficiary should support the development of the establishment and scaling-up of at least 25 regional DIHs in at least 12 different EU member states in regions, which show so far limited activity in the uptake and adoption of digital technologies. Each targeted DIH should address at least three different sectors that are important for the region.

It is required that a number of regional DIHs (at least 5) is already being identified at the level of the proposal while for the remaining ones, the applicant will have to describe in its proposal the methodology that will be used to identify them in the regions.

 

The beneficiary will help the selected Digital Innovation Hubs by carrying out the following activities in a period of at least 9 months:

1. Understand the type of services that the DIHs in the catalogue have developed to help SMEs and mid-caps with their digital transformation, and understand which ones would be useful for the companies in the DIH's region or sector;
2. Organise a kick-off workshop with all the selected DIHs to start a comprehensive mentoring and coaching activity:, see activity 3 and 4.
3. train the DIH in business development skills, developing a basic sector-specific approach to business models and business plans in order to identify local companies, manage a pipeline of opportunities, provide a professional service and to promote the regional Digital Innovation Hub model of continuous cooperation between business, academia, Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) and government;
4. train the DIH in building a sustainable activity, which includes identification of regional and national funding opportunities with a special focus on the regional Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) and the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), understanding costs and charging models and the value of a multi-funding and a balanced approach to financial management;
5. Organise together with the regional DIH a 1 day workshop for engaging the regional ecosystem, and better understanding of their needs and possible barriers for their participation. The regional DIH will prepare the workshop (agenda, invitations, speakers, participants, etc.) and manage the discussion with the support of the contractor. Costs related to the following activities and items must be borne by beneficiaries:
   • Cost of renting the location and providing catering during the workshop;
   • Printing and distributing relevant information material for speakers and participants.
   • Travel and subsistence costs of the speakers and participants does not need to be covered;
6. Develop together with the DIH a concrete action plan, including a business case, for the establishment of a DIH. This should be based on the needs of at least 3 SME companies in the region or sector and engage local policymakers to assess this outcome and find ways to facilitate the realisation of the potential;
7. Participate with the Hubs in at least one event organised by the European Commission for dissemination purposes, for instance the DEI Stakeholder forum. The travel and subsitence costs of the DIHs needs to be covered by the beneficiaries.

Eligible applicants

Only applications from legal entities established in the EU Member States are eligible.

 

Applications may be submitted:

– by a single legal entity;

– by a consortium made up of several legal entities; or

– by one applicant, whether established specifically or not for the action, which is formed of several legal entities complying with the eligibility, non-exclusion and selection criteria set out in this call for proposals, and implementing together the proposed action, provided the application identifies the said entities.

 

Budget and duration

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 1.494.000.

 

The Commission expects to fund one proposal.

 

The grant will be defined by applying a maximum co-financing rate of 90% to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the beneficiary and its affiliated entities.

 

A large part of the total financial resources of this action (up to 75%) should be devoted to support the development of activities of the regional DIH, including a mentoring and coaching programme.

 

The maximum duration of projects is expected to be 18 months.

 

Deadline for proposals’ submission

The deadline of this call is 31 January 2018, 17:00 ((Brussels time).

 

Applications must be submitted in the correct form, duly completed and dated. They must be submitted in four copies (one original clearly identified as such, plus three copies) and signed by the person authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation.

 

Applications must be submitted:

• Either by post. In this case the postmark will be proof of compliance with the deadline.
• Or by Courier. In this case the deposit slip of the courier office will constitute proof of compliance with the deadline.
• Or by Hand Delivery. In this case Proof of receipt, signed and dated by the official in the central mail department who takes delivery will constitute proof of compliance with the deadline.

 

Post or Courier Services:   European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology   Directorate Digital Industry (unit Photonics – A.4)   For the attention of the Head of Unit 1049 Brussels, Belgium

Hand delivery:   European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology   Directorate Digital Industry (unit Photonics – A.4)   For the attention of Head of Unit Avenue du Bourget 1 B –1140 Brussels (Evere), Belgium

 

Please include the following marking on the envelope: "DIG TRANS"

 

Further information

Please find attached the call documents.

 

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/preparatory-action-digital-transformation-european-industry  

 

Kind regards,

Flora

 

Flora Stavropoulou
Junior Officer

European Office of Cyprus

Rue du Luxembourg 3, 2nd floor

B-1000, Brussels

Tel/Fax: +32 (0) 2 280 22 85

E-mail: eoc.brussels2@ucy.ac.cy

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GREEK TRANSLATION IS PROVIDED AT REQUEST OF ANY INTERESTED MEMBER (based on the decision of 22.12.2016 of the EOC Administrative Council).