New public funds are available to promote innovative new initiatives with the aim of improving transport and mobility across Italy. In particular, the allocation of a €50 million fund is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) and the Agency for Digital Italy (Agid) that will identify the areas where the public administration is most in need of innovation.

The calls for tenders are expected to cover a wide range of sectors, ranging from mobility to health, from tourism to cultural heritage. The first call is focused on smart mobility. The aim of the procedure is to improve the liveability of Italian cities by reducing traffic congestion and decreasing pollution levels through the adoption, for example, of modal interchange solutions between small and high capacity vehicles, with the final objective of offering valid alternatives to the use of private vehicles.

Companies, start-ups and research centres will have the opportunity to participate in the calls for proposals by presenting their projects designed to meet the "smart" needs of the country, identified through bottom-up mechanisms or intelligent public demand needs coming from the territories. The funds will cover research and development, prototyping and experimentation activities.

The €50 million fund provided for in the agreement may be supplemented by additional resources made available by public administrations under national and regional operational programmes to finance innovation procurement.

Source: Story first published in January by BitMAT

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