Deadline: 30 August 2025
The European Union Agency for the Space Programme is seeking grant applications to stimulate international business collaboration by integrating UDENE tools into market driven solutions developed jointly by European Earth Observation based products and services providers and local SMEs or other entities, thereby accelerating global adoption and commercialization of Copernicus Earth Observation-based applications.
UDENE Project is a Research and Innovation Action funded by EUSPA under the Horizon Europe Programme. It leverages Copernicus Earth Observation (EO) data to discover occurrences (natural experiments) of urban development interventions intended for an Area of Interest (AoI) elsewhere in the world which are similar to the AoI in terms of causally related properties to the intended outcome of the intervention.
Existing use cases target the effect of green spaces on urban heat islands, the effect of transportation infrastructure on air quality, and the effect of the built environment on earthquake resilience. By integrating EO data, machine learning, and advanced causal modelling, UDENE provides robust tools enabling evidence-based urban planning and decision-making.
The project supports international collaboration, promoting the uptake of Copernicus services through validation of practical urban development solutions across Copernicus International partner countries such as Serbia, Tunisia, and Türkiye.
Objectives
- To establish sustainable partnerships between European providers and local entities (in particular SMEs) in Copernicus International Partner countries
- To demonstrate the commercial viability and scalability of business solutions integrating UDENE tools for urban planning and environmental management
- To facilitate knowledge transfer and capacity building, enhancing the capabilities of local entities and SMEs to independently adopt and market Earth Observation-based solutions globally.
Funding Information
- Total funding available: €60,000
- Grant amount: there will be two winners per call per country, each of which will receive €10,000 lump sum funding upon completing their feasibility reports
- Duration: 2 Months
Expected Outcomes
- The grant recipients are expected to deliver a feasibility report that provides evidence for the feasibility arguments they have about the business cases they have submitted. Software, model, or algorithm development can be a part of the feasibility report as in proof of concept, but not necessarily. The reports should include at least the following components:
- Market-ready business-oriented solutions integrating UDENE tools that are developed collaboratively by European EO providers and local entities, addressing specific urban and environmental challenges.
- Feasibility studies or pilot implementations demonstrating tangible benefits and commercial potential of EO-based solutions in international partner countries.
- Business cases illustrating scalability, sustainability, and the potential for broader global market adoption of integrated UDENE tools and Copernicus data-driven applications.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible organisations should be established in Türkiye, Serbia or Tunisia.
- SMEs, start-ups, Local authorities, NGOs, Associations, Industrial Organizations, Research Performing Institutions, individuals, and teams of individuals, based in one of the target countries can be applicants.
For more information, visit UDENE.
