Deadline Date: July 13, 2026
The European Union-funded Local Digital Twins for Smart and Sustainable Communities (LDT4SSC) project is inviting pilot proposals under Work Strand 2 to support the creation of new Local Digital Twins addressing common urban challenges across Europe.
The focus areas and objectives of the call include creating new Local Digital Twins based on common urban needs, strengthening smart and sustainable communities, promoting interoperability and seamless data exchange, developing AI-driven Local Digital Twin services, supporting mobility, energy, air-quality and waste-management solutions, enabling cross-sectoral and innovative use cases, fostering replicable digital solutions across communities, expanding open-source Local Digital Twin services, improving citizen interaction and decision-making processes, enhancing resilience and sustainability of Local Digital Twin platforms, advancing Europe’s digital transformation, and supporting collaboration among public authorities, businesses, technology developers, research institutions, academia, NGOs, and civil society actors.
The Call for Pilots is part of the broader LDT4SSC initiative funded under the Digital Europe Programme. The project aims to establish a scalable ecosystem of Local Digital Twins while supporting the market uptake of innovative AI-driven services. It also seeks to address barriers to AI adoption in Europe, including limited investment, regulatory complexity, and gaps in technical expertise.
Work Strand 2 specifically focuses on developing new Local Digital Twins that respond to shared challenges faced by cities and communities. Pilot activities are expected to bring together groups of cities, regional authorities, and partner organisations to co-design digital solutions for common issues such as mobility corridors, coordinated public services, sustainability challenges, and other cross-sectoral urban needs.
The call is open to a broad range of stakeholders including public administrations at local, regional, and national levels, businesses, technology developers, suppliers, research institutions, academia, non-governmental organisations, and civil society actors. Each consortium must include at least two local or regional authorities from two different eligible countries, along with at least one additional partner from the eligible stakeholder categories.
The total funding allocated to Work Strand 2 under this call amounts to at least €3.2 million. A maximum grant of €500,000 may be awarded per third-party participant across pilots, while the maximum cumulative grant per consortium is capped at €1 million. Applicants are required to contribute at least 50% of the total pilot costs through their own co-financing resources.
Pilot implementation is expected to last between 12 and 18 months. Selected projects will contribute to building interoperable and replicable Local Digital Twin solutions that can support sustainable urban development and strengthen collaboration across European communities.
The call also outlines detailed financial, ethical, technical, and monitoring requirements, together with guidance on the application process, evaluation criteria, training activities, and support mechanisms available to applicants. Additional annexes provide templates and supporting documentation related to budgeting, ethics, data protection, governance, and Local Digital Twin capabilities.
For more information, visit LDT4SSC.
