Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Digital Europe Programme is the first EU programme that aims to accelerate the recovery and drive the digital transformation of Europe.
Worth €7.6 billion (in current prices), the Programme is a part of the next long-term EU budget, (the Multiannual Financial Framework), and it covers 2021 to 2027. It will provide funding for projects in five crucial areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society.
The Programme is fine-tuned to fill the gap between the research of digital technologies and their deployment, and to bring the results of research to the market – for the benefit of Europe’s citizens and businesses, and in particular SMEs. Investments under the Digital Europe programme supports the Union’s twin objectives of a green transition and digital transformation and strengthens the Union’s resilience and strategic autonomy.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
This topic should focus on the creation of guidance, tools, software, online courses and technical specifications to enable easy implementation of the AI Act by companies, particularly SMEs, and public entities.
Detailed Call Description
The awarded proposal from this topic is expected to collaborate closely with the awarded proposal on AI regulatory sandboxes.
Τhis action should establish contacts with the AI Office, the TEFs, the AI-on-Demand platform, AI factories, and EDIHs, in order to work out which existing resources can be offered jointly to AI innovators and which resources would have to be built in the future.
Close cooperation should also be pursued with international and European Standardisation Organisations (in particular CEN and CENELEC) to take into account progress in the development of AI standards and use them as a basis for the development of the action.
Deliverables for this topic should include notably:
- the creation of materials and training courses designed to understand easily and facilitate compliance with the AI Act (these could include, but should not be limited to, summaries and training material of the AI Act, of the relevant standards, of the European Commission’s guidance documents, and of other related technical and legal documents);
- the development of process frameworks, virtual infrastructure, tools, metrics and benchmarks for compliant development and validation of AI systems against the AI Act requirements (e.g. for data quality, accuracy, robustness, safety), including through prototype(s) of software solutions for legal compliance; this should also include best practices and technical tools for marking of AI-generated content where gaps are identified;
- the release of a digital tool supporting providers of AI systems in classifying their AI system in accordance with the levels of risks envisaged in the AI Act;
- the development of self-assessment tool/software for conformity assessment, risk management and post market monitoring, specifically adapted to the needs of SMEs;
- the provision of personalised technical and legal support to SMEs and public authorities to use the frameworks, tools and infrastructure developed under this action, including to provide ad hoc replies to inquiries in relation to the AI Act);
- the establishment of a single digital platform and infrastructure to act as a “one-stop shop” for any company or public authority seeking to understand and comply with the requirements of the AI Act, and to make available to the public the frameworks, tools, guidance documents and online courses developed as part of this action and the AI regulatory sanboxes action.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
50%
Maximum grant amount per project: €6.000.000
Thematic Categories
- New Entrepreneurship
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
Eligibility for Participation
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- Local Authorities
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
- non-EU countries:
- EEA countries (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein)
- other countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme (list of participating countries)
Targeted stakeholders: This topic should focus mainly on under-resourced companies, in particular SMEs and start-ups, and under-resourced public authorities developing high-risk AI services/products or general-purpose AI models as defined by the AI Act, in particular for what concerns any personalised services and support actions.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy
Directorate of Research and Innovation
Eleana Gabriel
Telephone: +357 22 691918
Email: egabriel@dmrid.gov.cy
EU Contact Point
For help related to this call, please visit the following link: Write to us | European Union (europa.eu)