The European Commission has recently released procurement templates and guidelines for smart communities. These are ready-to-use resources that have been designed to support cities looking to acquire Local Digital Platforms and Twins.

The procurement support materials provide practical instructions on how to create and refine procurement templates, covering all parts of the tendering process, from the identification of procurement needs to the integration of AI and ML solutions. The guidelines also offer insights on innovation procurement and EU legal frameworks, beneficial to acquire modern solutions and services for developing Local Digital Twins.

These guidelines have been developed within the context of the Digital Europe Programme, launched by the European Commission to accelerate digital transformation across all EU communities. Although the digitalisation of both rural and urban communities is progressing, some are already embracing advanced digital communities, such as AI and Local Digital Twins, while others are just at the beginning of their digital journey

To help cities on this journey, your insights matter! Have you used these materials? What worked well, and what could be improved? Share your feedback to help the EC refine and enhance these resources to better meet communities’ needs.