Objective 3.2
Reaping the benefits of digitalisation for citizens, companies, research organisations and public authorities
Transnational cooperation on innovation and the uptake of advanced technologies is of key importance to foster a climate resilient, resource sensitive and inclusive Alpine region. In particular, digitalisation offers opportunities to increase social sustainability and green innovation.
What is it about?
Digitalisation offers opportunities to address joint challenges that are particularly prominent in mountainous areas such as the Alpine region. New digital tools can be developed to increase resilience of Alpine regions and mitigate the impacts of accessibility problems and remoteness coupled with negative demographic situations in many regions.
Due to the emergence of COVID-19, the need to support digital transition in these fields in an inclusive way in all regions became even clearer. This has created a «window of opportunity» for strengthening and making use of digitalisation to support life and work of citizens to enforce sustainable development even in the face of external challenges. Application of digital solutions can pave a way to a more open, inclusive, and participative society and citizen-empowerment that is based on cooperation between different actors such as authorities, citizens, and businesses.
Digitalisation can be used to support social changes and behaviour, lifestyle, and leisure shifts that support more sustainable communities. In the context of the private sector, it also facilitates the implementation of greening practices by businesses and associations as well as ensuring consideration concerning the exclusion of negative impacts of digitalisation on the environment.
There are diverse ways in which territorial cooperation can bring about the benefits of digitalisation. Projects can explore new and flexible opportunities for working and provision of products and services. They can also involve advanced innovative digital solutions such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things and Alpine-wide interoperability of data. It is particularly important that activities tackle the digital divide between less and more advanced regions as well as between more and less fluent users.
Indicative types of actions
The programme is looking to support the following indicative types of action:
Pilot projects, activities and joint solutions to harness the benefits of digitalisation in different fields to bring about socially and environmentally sustainable change. For example:
better addressing the response to sustainable development efforts, contributing to solutions for climate resilience, resource sensitivity, green and carbon neutrality as well as ensuring inclusiveness and social accessibility to these solutions for a just transition;
supporting flexible SGI provision in all types of areas and for all types of users with regards to e-health/smart health, e-government as well as telemedicine;
supporting e-learning and new working structures in order to provide more attractive living possibilities in remote areas to different social groups;
supporting business development opportunities, product and service development, strengthening of regional value chains and regional marketing, with a view to reducing territorial imbalances;
contributing to the elaboration and implementation of Smart Villages and Smart Cities concepts;
accompanying SMEs and associations in their digital transformation, to increase environmental sustainability.
Integration of digitalisation as a transversal policy issue: supporting coordination between digitalisation activities and policies and other policy domains of highest relevance in the Alpine regions and in response to sustainable development efforts, demographic trends and increase in well-being, particularly focusing on the following policy issues:
digitalisation-related security risks such as cyber security, privacy, data-protection;
digital divide between regions as well as between more and less fluent users.
Activities to facilitate networking activities, networking tools, advisory services and exchange platforms in order to increase territorial cohesion and/or social inclusion in the Alpine region, for example by:
setting up or supporting transnational network structures and platforms for sharing exchange of good practices and knowledge with regards to policy solutions supporting digitalisation;
setting up or supporting Digital Innovation Hubs;
Common data collection, indicators and monitoring systems harmonized across borders, update and sustainability of data collection and monitoring systems.
Objective overview
Have a look at other priorities and objectives.
Priority 1
Climate resilient and green Alpine region
Objective
Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention, and resilience
Objective
Enhancing protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure
Priority 2
Carbon neutral and resource sensitive Alpine region
Objective
Promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Objective
Promoting the transition to a circular and resource efficient economy
Priority 3
Innovation and digitalisation supporting a green Alpine region
Objective
Developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies
Objective
Reaping the benefits of digitalisation for citizens, companies, research organisations and public authorities
Priority 4
Cooperatively managed and developed Alpine region
Action
Enhance institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders to implement macro-regional strategies and sea-basin strategies, as well as other territorial strategies.
View the latest results!
Have a look at the output library and learn everything about the outputs.
