Connecting Pockets of MetaCity Excellence around the Baltic Sea Region

Project Information

METACITIES

Grant agreement ID: 101134225

DOI

10.3030/101134225

Project closed

EC signature date 30 October 2023

Start date 1 November 2023

End date 30 November 2024

Funded under

• European innovation ecosystems

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 499 990,63

Coordinated by

28DIGITAL
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - METACITIES (Connecting Pockets of MetaCity Excellence around the Baltic Sea Region)

Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2024-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

METACITIES project aims for effective MetaCity ecosystem development through strategic planning, risk management, and collaboration, envisioning a transformative impact on urban living. The MetaCity, as a concept is a novel, Smart City and urban innovation concept, focusing on open innovation which is supported and encouraged by digital environments and social networks. It’s purpose is to expand ICT-oriented Smart City development to a wider base of regional innovation capabilities and innovation capture, including for example service innovations and social innovations. It is thus an emerging regional policy objective but already in regional policy planning in some regions, such as Oulu Region and Latvia.

This project, METACITIES, connects a mix of MetaCity and Smart City ecosystems: definite global thematic leaders, thematic followers, urban capital areas, mid-size central towns, and more rural regions. The METACITIES project builds these connections in the EU macro-region Baltic Sea Region (BSR), with all project regions residing in the EU BSR programme area and representing a majority of the BSR countries (5 of 8).

During the project, the project partners identified and initiated discussions with local, regional and / or national stakeholders in the context of Smart City and MetaCity. Through these discussions and interviews, the partners collected and built a common knowledge base for project collaboration. After identifying the information gathered from these stakeholders, the project partners initiated a set of Living Labs and working groups to co-develop the regional opportunities. The project managed to successfully find 27 joint opportunities through the co-development phase to continue the work for the Joint Action Plan which is the last stage of the project.

The main objective of METACITIES has been to speed up, consolidate, align and leverage the existing MetaCity and Smart City initiatives of the partner regions, and through these themes, build the world’s leading connected MetaCity Region across the Baltic Sea Region (BSR).

The long-term vision for MetaCity regions includes strong support for startups and scaleups, integration of international best practices, establishment of test beds and living labs, comprehensive skills and training programs for stakeholders, and platforms for both pre-commercial and commercial demonstrations. This vision is informed by ongoing dialogue with stakeholders and practical insights from living lab experiences, aiming to create a collaborative and innovative MetaCity ecosystem.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

METACITIES prioritizes inclusivity through Living Labs, alongside Working Groups that refine ideas, expanding the Penta-Helix model to include social entrepreneurs. The process involves regional engagement events, FAIR data principles, and an inclusive approach, targeting public and private sectors, universities, and civic society. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure the project's impact, focusing on ecosystem engagement, inclusion and diversity, and Joint Action Plan performance. METACITIES aligns with Smart Specialization Strategies to reduce territorial inequalities, enhance collaboration, and promote gender equality in innovation ecosystems.

The project targets diverse groups in dissemination, exploitation, and communication activities, aiming to position the Baltic Sea Region as a leading Connected MetaCity region.

The project process carried the four themes of the main objective through the different tasks in the following work packages:

• WP2: collecting and analysing the knowledge base (data, ecosystem opinions) in each region
• WP3: through a wide penta-helix stakeholder involvement in co-identification, co-ideation and co-design of opportunities, supported by theme-specific cross-regional Working Groups, as a basis for the final output of the METACITIES project; the BSR joint action plan.
• WP4: responsible for narrowing down the joint action plan focus through decisions on prioritization and co-funding and devising the actual plan document, to be then quickly implemented in the post–project activities.


Deliverables: Project Handbook (WP1), D&E&C Plan (WP1), MetaCity Knowledge Base (WP2), Opportunities Catalogue (WP3), Joint Action Plan (WP4).
Milestones: Stakeholders Engaged (WP2, M3), Co-funding Secured (WP4, M10), Cross-Regional Funding (WP4, M10), JAP Launch (WP4, M10).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The METACITIES project achieved its objective of strengthening ecosystem collaboration among the Baltic Sea Region's MetaCity partners by systematically identifying regional opportunities, strengths, weaknesses, and barriers. This effort was driven by a comprehensive approach that included desktop research and ecosystem interviews with stakeholders across the region. Key findings highlighted the importance of collaboration and the critical need for stakeholder engagement to facilitate knowledge sharing and digital transformation.

During the project, the project partners identified and initiated discussions with local, regional and / or national stakeholders in the context of Smart City and MetaCity. Through these discussions and interviews, the partners collected and built a common knowledge base for project collaboration. After identifying the information gathered from these stakeholders, the project partners initiated a set of Living Labs and working groups to co-develop the regional opportunities. The project managed to successfully find 27 joint opportunities through the co-development phase to continue the work for the Joint Action Plan which is the last stage of the project.

Additionally, the project emphasized developing cross-sectoral partnerships and establishing clear communication channels, essential for fostering a connected MetaCity ecosystem.


Results:

The MetaCity Opportunities Catalogue (D3.1) a comprehensive report that consolidated 27 collaboration opportunities identified across the Living Labs and Working Groups. The catalogue provides detailed descriptions of proposed actions, ranging from cross-regional service platforms to innovation funding models and metaverse applications, forming a roadmap for future inter-regional MetaCity initiatives.

A common Joint Action Plan (D 4.1) JAP, with cooperation of participating regions has been delivered, as outcome from WP4. The penta-helix stakeholders from all the participating regions were engaged in collaborative prioritization of action plan items through opportunities deep impact analyses and Living Labs. Also, project themes and project ideas were identified and analyzed and collaboration items agreed in JAP. From deep impact analysis, the most important opportunities were chosen and aligned with funding opportunities. Letters of intent were collected for regional, private and national funding for the implementation of JAP. The number of regions committing regional funding was 5.

243110 Nordregion presentation

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Metacities co-working session

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MoU 243010

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