The Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) is an EU funding initiative focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens, and public administrations across Europe. With a budget of over €7.5 billion for 2021-2027, it aims to strengthen the EU's digital capabilities and accelerate economic recovery. DIGITAL focuses on five key areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring widespread use of digital technologies. It also supports the semiconductor industry through the Chips for Europe Initiative. The program complements other EU funding schemes like Horizon Europe and the Connecting Europe Facility. Funding is provided through grants, with typical project contributions ranging from €1-10 million. Eligibility criteria vary by call but generally target consortia of public and private organizations from EU member states and associated countries. The program supports large-scale digital capacity building, infrastructure development, and deployment of innovative solutions. Recent funded projects include the OpenEuroLLM multilingual AI initiative, four semiconductor pilot lines, and the European Cancer Imaging Initiative. DIGITAL also established over 150 European Digital Innovation Hubs across 90% of EU regions to support SMEs and public organizations in their digital transformation efforts.
The Digital Europe Programme could potentially support the European Housing Cooperative (EHC) in several ways. The programme's focus on digital transformation aligns well with EHC's goal of leveraging technology for innovative housing solutions. The "Accelerating the best use of technologies" strand could provide funding for EHC to develop digital platforms for managing cooperative housing across Europe. The "Advanced Digital Skills" component could support training programs for EHC members in areas like smart home technologies and digital property management. The "Cloud, Data and Artificial Intelligence" objective could fund the development of AI-powered tools for optimizing energy usage and community engagement within EHC properties. Additionally, the "Digital Innovation Hubs" initiative could offer EHC access to expertise and resources for implementing cutting-edge digital solutions. While there aren't direct precedents for housing cooperatives, similar community-focused digital projects have received funding. For example, smart city initiatives and digital platforms for citizen engagement have been supported in the past. To pursue funding, EHC should emphasize how its digital initiatives align with the programme's goals of fostering innovation, sustainability, and social inclusion through technology. Partnering with tech companies or research institutions could strengthen EHC's applications for Digital Europe Programme support.