Consolidation of the Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs with reinforced AI focus)

• A consolidated, balanced network of EDIHs covering all EU and Associated Countries (including outermost regions), with strengthened performance to meet digitalisation needs at local, regional, national and EU levels.

• Seamless delivery of the full EDIH service portfolio, with reinforced focus on AI technologies and green digital solutions, supporting digital transformation of SMEs, mid-caps and public sector organizations and extending impact beyond immediate regions.

• Enhanced deployment, uptake and ethical application of European AI technologies, solutions and tools, underpinned by synergies with EU AI Innovation Infrastructures, AI Factories and HPC competence centres.

• Increased digital maturity of client organizations as measured by standardized assessments.

• Quantifiable performance gains: number of entities served (by category, sector, location, technology, service type), AI infrastructure referrals, additional investment triggered, cross-regional/trans-national collaborations and shared infrastructures, and number of companies adopting EU AI technology.

• Progress towards EU climate and environmental objectives through integration of green digital technologies, contributing to industrial resilience and strategic autonomy.

• Strengthened competitiveness and economic convergence across regions, leveraging cross-border hubs where relevant to address border region challenges.

• Sustainable, locally embedded EDIHs with clear co-funding models, community ownership, and integration into existing innovation ecosystems, ensuring continuity beyond the grant period.

• Each EDIH must define a clear specialization or expertise area leveraging local competencies, particularly in AI development, training, deployment and uptake, which can evolve over time.

• Provision of all four core service types (test-before-invest, training, finance facilitation, networking), with flexibility in service weighting.

• Services must be open, transparent, non-discriminatory and primarily target SMEs, mid-caps and/or public sector organizations conducting non-economic activities.

• Act as an access point to the pan-European EDIH network and EU AI Innovation Infrastructures (AI Factories, AI-on-Demand, TEFs), formalizing contacts, mapping services, and referring clients seamlessly without requiring infrastructure integration in the consortium.

• Make relevant experimentation facilities and demonstrators available locally; allow clients to test technical feasibility and environmental impact.

• Harness green digital technologies in line with EU climate and environmental goals.

• Facilitate customer access to public and private funding sources and investors.

• Collaborate with AI Factories, HPC competence centres, Cybersecurity centres, AI Testing & Experimentation Facilities, and other EDIHs to avoid duplication and maximize synergies.

• Maintain interoperability with DTA and EDIH network digital tools while allowing usage of proprietary tools.

• Participate actively in DTA-organised events (matchmaking, training, KPI reporting, network cohesion).

• Develop structured long-term MoU-based collaborations with local/regional actors (authorities, clusters, EEN, incubators, etc.) for governance.

• Design operations for post-grant sustainability: build local capacity, foster community ownership, integrate into existing ecosystems, and describe co-funding sources.

• Define performance indicators (number of entities served by category, referrals, finance triggered, collaborations, digital maturity increase, AI uptake) with targets and reporting mechanisms.