The European Commission launches the Digital Cities Challenge

TheEU Digital Cities Challengewent on-line on 10 October, inviting European city leaders to express their interest!

The Challenge will run into two phases:

Cut-off dates for applications:

-       24 November 2017 (for a first set of 7-9 cities)

-       25 January 2018 (for a second group of 7-9 cities)

The Challenge was officially launched by DG GROW, DG REGIO and the Committee of the Regions during the EWRC 2017 – at the workshop “Supporting cities and regions to become successful digital ecosystems".

The Digital Cities Challenge enables European cities to put advanced technologies at the service of their citizens.

“The question is how quickly the cities will change and embrace digital technologies... is not anymore whether they will. With the Digital Cities Challenge, the European Commission is challenging city leaders to make their cities better places to live, more productive, and more innovative" said Markku Markkula, First Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions at the Plenary held during European Week of Regions and Cities.

With the challenge, the European Commission is inviting cities in Europe to improve the life of their citizens through the development and implementation of digital policies.

The Challenge will select 15 cities with strong will to change and unreleased potential to receive support from high-level experts with local and international experience in designing and implementing digital transformation strategies, free of charge and in their local language for 14-18 months to achieve their goals for improving citizens’ lives.

Whether equipping local talent with the digital skills needed to prosper in a changing workplace, developing a collaborative economy to springboard social cohesion and innovation, or implementing a smart parking policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic, the challenge will cover it all!

In addition to the 15 winning cities, the Challenge supports a broader community of cities that wish to participate using their own resources. They will all benefit from the knowledge, networking opportunities, strategic recommendations, data-driven tools, implementation roadmaps and innovative trainings.

Find all the information at DigitallyTransformYourRegion.eu.