Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) call 2026

Expected Outcome:

Contribution to the replication and scalability of piloted GenAI solutions across public administrations and Member States, demonstrated through the ability to adapt them to new users, administrative levels or service areas. This contribution will be supported through concrete tools such as starter kits, a repository of replicability assessments as well as tailored guidance, documentation and outreach.

Targeted support to national procurement processes, where relevant, possibly by a helpdesk.

Pooling of demand for European GenAI solutions by public administrations in the form of among others technical benchmarks.

Bringing together public administration and start-ups based on common needs and capabilities as defined in technical benchmarks etc.

To complement the outreach strategy of the pilot projects, support to outreach and awareness-raising activities by public administrations, including communication materials.

Strengthened integration of public administrations into the broader European AI ecosystem, through synergies with the AI-on-Demand Platform, EDIHs, the AI Factories and other relevant initiatives as well as ensured synergies with Commission-led initiatives that support AI adoption in public sector.

Objective:

Broadly speaking, the objective of this action is to coordinate and support the pilot projects delivering Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) solutions fully integrated into the operational workflows and IT systems of participating public administrations.

First, this action should prioritise to enhance the scalability and replication of successful GenAI pilot solutions. This includes the projects' capabilities to be duplicated by other public administrations and to adjust efficiently to a growing number of users, public administrations, or application areas.

Second, it will identify common needs from public administrations for GenAI solutions “Made in Europe”, facilitating the pooling of demand at EU level for European start-ups.

As a result of these efforts, the action will deepen collaboration among public administrations across Member States, laying the foundation of a sustainable GenAI community. Through the dissemination of knowledge, tools, and mutual learning experiences, this community will help accelerate adoption and reinforce trust in European GenAI solutions.

Scope:

The selected consortium will be responsible for enhancing the scalability and replication of successful European GenAI pilot solutions, through activities that foster knowledge sharing, community building, and capacity development. Such activities could consist, for example, in implementing software documentation best practices, facilitating peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and experience exchange, deploying targeted training and support programs, and establishing a community of practice. A helpdesk can be set up to support pilot projects and other interested public administrations on technical, organisational and legal – such as procurement – matters.

Importantly, the CSA will seek to identify common needs with the overarching goal of pooling demand from public administrations for GenAI solutions “Made in Europe”. Towards that end, the CSA will define benchmarks and minimum requirements at the technical level. It will work closely with and contribute to the innovation procurement hubs initiative[1], in particular to public procurement of innovation (PPI) and pre-commercial public procurement work strands. Furthermore, the CSA will raise awareness among European start-ups for its demand-pooling exercise through outreach activities targeted to start-up communities in Europe, conducting where relevant matchmaking exercises between public administrations and European start-ups.

The CSA will play an important role in ensuring the pilot projects have a European dimension. This will be done by supporting the pilot projects with scalability and replicability. They will complement their planned actions with additional measures to maximise the reach and impact. Moreover, the European dimension will also be ensured by reporting on the pilot project’s activities, aggregating their KPIs and relevant figures to provide an overview on the use of GenAI by public administrations in Europe.