#ChallengeMyCity is a programme enabling European cities to tackle their most pressing urban challenges by testing market-ready innovative mobility solutions.
#ChallengeMyCity´s objective is to test the best solutions through a six-month pilot and evaluates their social, economic, and environmental impact and estimate long-term integration into the city´s mobility strategy, to make mobility more sustainable and accessible for all.
#ChallengeMyCity 2023
This year’s edition of #ChallengeMyCity is dedicated to the cities of Braga (Portugal), Larissa (Greece), and Heraklion (Greece), and divided into 3 cut-off dates (see below Call Summary table). Each city has identified a set of mobility challenges and is seeking solutions from businesses and entrepreneurs who can provide innovative proposals to tackle them.
#ChallengeMyCity provides enterprises of all types and sizes with a market-ready solutions with the opportunity to grow their successful business ventures and scale up their products and services.
Benefits for selected solutions
- Up to €60 000 in funding to implement a six-month pilot in real conditions
- Support to implementation by EIT Urban Mobility and city officers
- Networking opportunities with public administration and other innovators
- Promotion through the Mobility Innovation Marketplace by EIT Urban Mobility
Brief description of the challenges:
The Greek cities of Heraklion and Larissa are seeking solutions to the urban mobility challenges they face. The best solutions to three challenges per city will be awarded implementation of the pilots. Find below a brief description of each challenge:
Heraklion (Greece)
- Challenge: Creating micromobility hubs through secure bicycle parkings
The city of Heraklion strives to implement safe and secured bicycle parking with the possibility of charging e-bikes, located in a strategic point where the users, after finishing their trips, can park their bike safely to walk or use the public transport. The ideal flexible modular solution could be spread around the city and accommodate (each one) a small number (10-30) of bikes and e-bikes for both spontaneous parking and charging during the day by the registered users of the scheme.
- Challenge: Management and control of parking spaces for persons with reduced mobility (PRM) and logistics
The desired solution should enable PRM residents and visitors, and truck drivers, to book a parking spot. It should also facilitate the movement of people with disabilities and encourage their integration and equal participation in the life of the city by informing them in real time about the next free parking spot. It should also facilitate the everyday work of the delivery companies and the shop owners, by avoiding illegal parking of trucks in random and not appropriate places for parking.
- Challenge: Control of motorised vehicle access in the pedestrianised area of the city centre
The city is looking for a technology solution through which it can control the city’s entry points and/or exit points of the central pedestrianised area. The solution implementing the Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVARs) should allow the city to grant the permissions to an authorized driver to enter the area during certain time slots. The control of the entry and exit points should not rely on the involvement of the police in the enforcement of the regulation.
- Challenge: Electric-powered micro-vehicle for PRM passengers’ mobility in the pedestrianised city centre
Heraklion is interested in piloting a new mobility option friendly both to people and the environment, operating in slow speed (up to 25 kilometres per hour) and allowing ride-hailing anywhere on the street. Smart or conventional telephone ordering should also be an option. This vehicle should be operated by a professional driver (city employee or employee of a private organisation, e.g. the Urban Public Transport Operator) and have capacity of 5 passengers without wheelchairs, or less passengers with wheelchairs.
Larissa (Greece)
- Challenge: Creating micromobility hubs through secure bicycle parkings
The city of Larissa strives to implement safe and secured bicycle parking with the possibility of charging e-bikes, located in a strategic point where the users, after finishing their trips, can park their bike safely to walk or use the public transport. Safe bike parking facilities will encourage more cyclists to use e-bikes, which is expected to increase the number of cyclists for long peri-urban distance trips and trips to uphill destinations.
- Challenge: Collection of environmental and traffic data
The city of Larissa is looking into the use of smart devices to be installed close to schools and hospitals and also less sensitive locations to measure and compare the level of environmental pollution (air and noise) and traffic flows. The collection of relevant environmental and traffic data by smart devices will enable the city to take informed decisions and to re-shape urban mobility based on minimizing the harmful effects.
- Challenge: Management and control of parking spaces for PRM
Unauthorized parking causes major accessibility issues for PRM. The desired solution should enable holders of blue cards (PRM residents in Larissa) and visitors with reduced mobility to book a parking spot. It should furthermore facilitate the movement of people with disabilities and encourages their integration and equal participation in the life of the city by informing them in real time about the next free parking spot.
Find more detail about each challenge in Call Manual (link below).
Requirements
- All types of companies located in a Member State of the European Union or from Third Country associated to Horizon Europe that can present solutions to the challenges mentioned below are invited to participate.
- The proposal shall be in line with the Vision and Mission of the EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Agenda.
- The solutions/product should bring novelty and being results-focused.
- The solution should propose a financial sustainability mechanism to the EIT UM.
- The solution shall be at least TRL-7 and present a letter of recommendation from a previous pilot implementation.
We look forward to receiving your applications!
Contact details
| Type of contact | |
| Legal, financial, administrative, and technical procedures | pmo@eiturbanmobility.eu |
| Content of the Call | market.development@eiturbanmobility.eu |
Online info session
An information session was held on 19 April to offered to provide in-depth details on the call’s aim and objectives, local challenges, and the general procedure. It also included a Q&A for participants to address any queries.
Watch here:
Call summary
Call for Proposals Main Features |
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Key dates of the Call calendar |
Call opening: 7 March 2023
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Total estimated EIT Funding allocated to this Call |
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Link to the submission portal |
The PLAZA platform will be available before the end of March 2023 |
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List of documents to be submitted |
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List of documents to take into consideration |
Call Manual (Amended Version Updated on 17/04/2023) Call Manual (Amended Version Updated on 23/05/2023) EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Agenda 2021-2027 List of KPIs for Market Development Guidelines for Applicants Budget Calculation template Eligibility of expenditure Appeal procedure Project Implementation Handbook Financial Support Agreement template Slides Info Session FAQ Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement |
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Short summary of the topics to be addressed by each cut-off date |
The #ChallengeMyCity Call provides innovative mobility solutions with the opportunity to perform a pilot in a city’s urban environment in real conditions. The challenges of this Call are located in the cities of Braga (PT), Larissa (GR), and Heraklion (GR). EIT Urban Mobility and the respective City Councils have defined multiple mobility challenges (up to 3 per city will be funded) that need to be solved and the cities will be hosting the pilots of solutions that tackle these challenges. The pilot implementation will be co-funded by EIT Urban Mobility and administratively supported by the city (and service providers, where applicable). The impact of the pilots will be evaluated to estimate the results of a long-term implementation of the tested solutions. For each cut-off date (3 cut-off dates in total), several independent challenges in alignment with the city procurement plans and focusing in either of the following general topics must be addressed: active mobility (walking and cycling), public transport, logistics or private vehicles. |
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Evaluation criteria applicable to all the topics |
For the Quality evaluation: The expert evaluators will assess the excellence, the impact, and the implementation of the proposals. For the Pitch and Portfolio Selection: The Selection Committee members will assess the quality of the pitch presentation and select the proposals to be granted. |
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