💰 Funding Details

Innovative, AI-based solutions for urban planning and management (HORIZON-MISS-2025-04-CIT-02)

Overview

* Programme: Horizon Europe – Mission "Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities"

* Type of action: HORIZON-IA (Innovation Action) – Lump-Sum Model Grant Agreement

* Indicative budget per project: up to €24 million (EU contribution at 100 % of eligible lump-sum)

* Call opens: 06 May 2025 Deadline: 04 Sep 2025, 17:00 Brussels time (single stage)

* TRL at start/end: Typically TRL-5 → TRL-7/8 for Digital Twin components

Policy & Strategic Fit

The topic underpins:

* European Green Deal – climate neutrality by 2050

* Cities Mission – 112 frontrunner cities targeting neutrality by 2030

* Digital Decade & Data Spaces – fostering interoperable Local Digital Twins (LDT)

* Synergies with LDT-CitiVERSE-EDIC, DUT Partnership, Built4People, LIFE and Digital Europe programmes

Expected Outcomes

1. AI-powered Digital Twin (DT) suites deployed and validated in each participating city.

2. Operational guidelines for integrating DT outputs in urban planning and policy workflows.

3. Capacity-building assets (open-source code, AI-on-Demand modules, tutorials, peer-learning).

4. Exploitation & replication roadmap with market analysis for scalability across European cities.

5. Participatory visualisation layer enabling citizen co-creation and feedback.

6. Multidisciplinary community of practice linking IT experts, planners, service operators & authorities.

Eligibility Snapshot

* Consortium minimum: 3 beneficiary cities from 3 different Member States/Associated Countries (your country).

* Mission City: ≥ 1 city must belong to the 112 Cities Mission cohort.

* Partners must combine *local authorities*, *urban/transport/energy planners*, *IT/AI SMEs*, *research organisations*, *citizen-engagement NGOs*, and *data space operators*.

Funding Particularities

* Lump-sum: the EU pre-approves a detailed cost breakdown; reporting is output-based, simplifying financial audits.

* Co-funding ratio: 100 % of the accepted lump-sum.

* Linked action: mandatory collaboration (MoU) with the Cities Mission Platform (NetZeroCities FPA).

Evaluation Weights

* Excellence (33 %) – scientific credibility, state-of-the-art AI, robustness, ethical & security-by-design.

* Impact (33 %) – contribution to Climate City Contracts, replication potential, market uptake, citizen value.

* Quality & Efficiency of Implementation (33 %) – consortium competence, lump-sum logic, risk & data management.

Why Apply?

* Access to sizeable lump-sum funding with reduced administrative burden.

* Strategic positioning in the emerging European market for urban Digital Twins (~€2.5 bn by 2030).

* First-mover advantage in shaping EU standards for AI-enabled urban governance and data spaces.

📊 Evaluation Criteria

How proposals will be scored (Horizon Europe standard IA)

1. Excellence (0-5) – technological novelty of AI/Digital Twin, robustness, alignment with state-of-the-art.

2. Impact (0-5) – quantified GHG reduction potential, replication market size, citizen engagement, contribution to Mission objectives.

3. Quality & Efficiency of Implementation (0-5) – work-plan credibility, lump-sum logic, risk management (incl. AI ethics & cybersecurity), partner capacity.

📝 Application Strategy

Strategic Application Guide

1. Build a Mission-aligned Consortium

1. Anchor Cities

*Select at least three complementary cities (your country) differing in size, climate zone and governance maturity; include one Mission City with an approved Climate City Contract.*

2. Quadruple-helix Partners

• Urban Planning Agencies

• AI / DT tech SMEs & research labs

• Utility & mobility operators (provide real-time data streams)

• Civil society & citizen science groups (ensure participation)

2. Craft a Compelling Technical Narrative

* State-of-the-Art Review – map current DT tools (e.g., EU_LDT toolbox, SIMPL) and highlight gaps.

* Modular Architecture – federated micro-services for data ingestion, AI analytics, generative scenario engine, and XR visualisation.

* Standards & Interoperability – align with CIM, CityGML, IDS-RAM, and Common European Data Spaces.

* AI Ethics & Trustworthiness – incorporate Explainable AI, bias assessment, cybersecurity, and energy-efficiency KPIs.

3. Maximise Impact & Replicability

* Climate-Neutrality Use-Cases – demonstrate at least three cross-sector scenarios (e.g., nature-based cooling, zero-emission logistics, RES integration).

* Market Analysis – segment end-users (city sizes, service providers) and provide a pricing & service model.

* Exploitation Pathway – commit to open-source core + premium value-added services; leverage Smart City networks (e.g., EUROCITIES, Living-in.EU).

4. Plan Robust Implementation

* Work Packages

1. Governance & Mission Platform liaison

2. Data Space & Infrastructure setup

3. AI Model development & calibration

4. DT deployment in pilot cities

5. Citizen co-creation & visualisation

6. Replication, business modelling & standardisation

7. Impact, communication & exploitation

* Lump-Sum Milestones – tie payments to tangible outputs (e.g., DT v1.0 live, city policy workshop held).

* Risk Register – include dataset gaps, compute footprint, legal compliance (GDPR, IP), political turnover.

5. Budgeting Tips (Lump-Sum Logic)

* Provide *granular* cost narrative per WP before submission; revisions post-award are inflexible.

* Allocate ~5 % for Mission Platform collaboration, ~3 % for ethics & security audits, ~7 % for citizen engagement.

6. Submission Excellence

* Respect 70-page limit (Part B).

* Use infographics to explain DT stack and value chain.

* Insert a one-page Climate City Contract alignment matrix.

7. After Submission

* Prepare for *consensus hearing* (Q4 2025).

* Have the MoU draft with Mission Platform ready.

* Line up city council political approvals for swift GA signature (Q1 2026).

💡 Success Factors

Mission City Lighthouse

Position the Mission City as a **showcase for accelerated deployment**, providing KPIs, governance templates and procurement blueprints other cities can clone.

Data Governance by Design

Implement **federated data governance** compliant with GDPR, IDS-RAM and local ordinances, ensuring secure cross-domain interoperability from day one.

Explainable & Trustworthy AI

Embed **XAI dashboards, bias monitoring and cybersecurity audits**, addressing the evaluator requirement for ‘robust, reliable and explainable’ AI.

Integrated Capacity-Building Package

Couple software deliverables with **MOOC modules, city staff secondments and GitHub repos**, boosting replication and long-term sustainability.

Synergy Portfolio

Show concrete collaboration tracks with **DUT projects, CitiVERSE-EDIC sand-box, EUI ‘Technology in Cities’, and SIMPL**, illustrating EU added value.

Early Market Engagement

Conduct **stakeholder roadshows, investor days and regulatory sandboxes** before project end to accelerate post-grant commercial uptake.

❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring Lump-Sum Rigor

Under Horizon lump-sum grants, **cost breakdowns are locked at submission**. Applicants often leave placeholders or rough estimates, leading to cash-flow issues once payments are tied to undeliverable milestones.

Token City Participation

Including cities merely as *test beds* without real planning authority involvement results in weak impact scores. **City councils must commit political, data and staffing resources** and show linkage to their Climate City Contracts.

Over-engineering the Digital Twin

Consortia frequently propose monolithic, all-encompassing DT platforms. Evaluators favour **lean, modular architectures** targeting explicit climate-neutrality scenarios rather than futuristic bells and whistles.

Neglecting Data Space Interoperability

Failure to map project data flows to the **Common European Data Spaces** (Smart Communities, Mobility, Green Deal) is penalised under impact and implementation criteria.

Superficial Citizen Engagement

A single survey or workshop is insufficient. The call expects **ongoing participatory processes enabled by the DT’s visual layer**, feeding back into scenario optimisation.

Underestimating AI Energy Footprint

No cost-benefit analysis of compute-intensive models can trigger ethical concerns. Proposals must include **mitigation actions (model compression, green data centres)**.

Innovative, AI-based solutions for urban planning and management

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