Data Spaces Support Centre

The Data Spaces Support Centre grant under the DIGITAL-2025-AI-08 call is part of the Digital Europe Programme, with a significant focus on strengthening the coordination and deployment of Common European Data Spaces. The grant aims to support various stakeholders, including public sector entities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research institutions, and community organizations actively engaged in data sharing and interoperability initiatives.

Eligible applicants are expected to form a consortium that will manage and operate the Data Spaces Support Centre (DSSC). This collaboration is crucial for ensuring the successful implementation of interoperable solutions across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and public administration, with a focus on secure data sharing and reuse.

The funding type is categorized as a grant, specifically a DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA), with a total budget of €10 million allocated for 2025. The application process is a single-stage open call, allowing submissions until September 2, 2025. While the call does not explicitly require co-funding, it permits grant coverage of eligible costs.

The project is positioned in the operational and support phase, aiming to maintain and extend the existing initiatives under the DSSC. It emphasizes community building, governance requirements, and promoting a knowledge-sharing platform to enhance stakeholder collaboration across various sectors and ensure compliance with European and sector-specific standards.

The DSSC will focus on three main work strands: building a community of practice around data sharing, identifying governance and infrastructure requirements for data spaces, and developing a platform for knowledge sharing that provides resources and support services to stakeholders. The expected outcome is the coherent and interoperable development of data spaces that benefit both public agencies and European businesses, particularly SMEs.

Due to its competitive nature, only one grant is expected to be awarded under this call, reflecting a low success rate. This opportunity aims to foster collaboration among stakeholders and promote the creation of secure, trustworthy, and interoperable data environments across Europe. Successful applicants will play a vital role in advancing the objectives of the European Data Innovation Board and ensuring the effective deployment and interconnection of data spaces across various sectors.

This is a call for proposals under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) as part of the AI Continent (DIGITAL-2025-AI-08) call. The specific topic is DIGITAL-2025-AI-08-DS-SUPPORT, which falls under the DIGITAL-CSA DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions. The type of Model Grant Agreement is DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG].

The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline model. The opening date was April 15, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 2, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome of this action is the continuation of the operation of the Data Spaces Support Centre (DSSC). The DSSC will coordinate, support, and promote initiatives related to sectoral data spaces. It will provide essential blueprints, technologies, processes, standards, and tools for the effective deployment, operation, and interconnection of these data spaces, ensuring their seamless integration and functionality across various sectors. The action will ensure that key stakeholders from data spaces are involved in these activities.

The objective of this call is to identify a consortium that will assure the continuation of the DSSC. The DSSC coordinates all relevant actions on Common European Data Spaces to ensure they develop coherently, are interoperable, and benefit from economies of scale through common practices, components (building blocks), protocols, and tools. The aim is to support the development, functioning, and interconnection of data spaces to facilitate secure and trusted data sharing and reuse within and across sectors, benefiting both the public sector and European businesses, particularly SMEs. The DSSC also supports the work of the European Data Innovation Board (EDIB) by identifying cross-sector standards for data use and sharing, conducting comparative analyses, and highlighting best practices related to security and access to data, while considering sector-specific standardization efforts. The DSSC will work closely with key stakeholders in the data spaces to ensure alignment with sectoral initiatives.

The scope of the Support Centre includes three main work strands:

1. Community Building: This strand aims to maintain and enlarge the network of stakeholders, fostering a community of practice focused on data sharing. It involves engaging participants from EU-supported projects, especially those funded by the EU, and projects deploying data spaces at the European level that might serve as showcases. Particular attention should be given to startups and SMEs to facilitate their access and participation in data spaces.

2. Governance and Infrastructure Requirements: In collaboration with the stakeholder network, this strand focuses on promoting the use of common solutions for data infrastructure across sectoral data spaces, covering technical design, functionality, operation, governance, and legal aspects. It includes identifying standards, including semantic standards and interoperability protocols (both domain-specific and crosscutting), and engaging in standards development initiatives to ensure data space requirements are supported. It also involves exploring potential synergies between data spaces and coordinating cross-cutting exchanges among them, promoting data governance models, business strategies, and operational approaches for running data spaces, addressing legal issues and other market-relevant barriers, and identifying opportunities for value-added services.

3. Platform for Knowledge Sharing and Support: This strand focuses on the maintenance and development of the DSSC.EU platform, which will act as a central hub for knowledge sharing, stakeholder support, and the development of data spaces. It will provide resources, promote best practices, and allow stakeholders to connect across various initiatives. The platform will also include a customer support center function, allowing stakeholders to easily contact the DSSC for specific support requests.

The Data Spaces Support Centre addresses a wide range of stakeholders involved in the creation, maintenance, and governance of common European data spaces, aiming to create a collaborative environment where these stakeholders can work together to establish common data spaces that are secure, interoperable, and trustworthy. These stakeholders include European organizations from different sectors, such as:

Private: Businesses and industries that can benefit from data sharing and interoperability, as well as software and technology providers that can offer solutions for the deployment of data spaces.

Public: Government agencies and public administrations that manage and use data for public services.

Academia: Research institutions and universities that contribute to the development of data space technologies and standards.

Civil Society: Non-governmental organizations and community groups that advocate the use of data in a secure and trusted manner.

The admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout, which are described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries and other eligible conditions are described in section 6 of the call document. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in section 7 of the call document. The submission and evaluation processes are described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual. Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in section 9 of the call document. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in section 4 of the call document. The legal and financial set-up of the grants is described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include the call document itself, application form templates (Standard application form (DEP) and Detailed budget table), the Digital Europe Programme General MGA v1 Guidance Classification of information in DIGITAL projects, Guidelines on How to Complete your Ethics Self-Assessment, the Digital Europe Work Programme 2025-2027, the Digital Europe Programme Regulation 2021/694, and the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

The budget overview for the DIGITAL-2025-AI-08-DS-SUPPORT topic is 10,000,000 EUR for the year 2025. The action is a single-stage DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA) with an opening date of April 15, 2025, and a deadline of September 2, 2025. The indicative number of grants is 1.

There are 42 partner search announcements available for this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile.

To access the Electronic Submission Service, applicants should click on the submission button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to their proposal. They will then be asked to confirm their choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, they will be linked to the correct entry point. To access existing draft proposals for this topic, applicants can log in to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

Applicants are advised to read carefully all provisions before preparing their application. For help related to this call, they can contact the provided helpdesk. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals, the IT Helpdesk for technical questions, and the Online Manual for a step-by-step guide through the Portal processes.

In summary, this opportunity is a call for proposals under the Digital Europe Programme to continue the operation of the Data Spaces Support Centre (DSSC). The DSSC aims to coordinate and support the development of interoperable and secure data spaces across various sectors in Europe, benefiting both public and private organizations, especially SMEs. The call seeks a consortium to manage the DSSC, focusing on community building, governance and infrastructure requirements, and knowledge sharing through the DSSC.EU platform. The project involves fostering collaboration among stakeholders, identifying and promoting common standards and solutions for data spaces, and providing support and resources to facilitate the development and deployment of these data spaces. The call is open to European organizations from the private sector, public sector, academia, and civil society. The deadline for submission is September 2, 2025, and the project has a budget of 10 million EUR.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant type is a consortium. The Data Spaces Support Centre addresses a wide range of stakeholders involved in the creation, maintenance, and governance of common European data spaces. These stakeholders include European organisations from different sectors: Private: Businesses and industries that can benefit from data sharing and interoperability as well as software and technologies providers that can offer solutions for the deployment of data spaces. Public: Government agencies and public administrations that manage and use data for public services. Academia: Research institutions and universities that contribute to the development of data space technologies and standards. Civil Society: Non-governmental organizations and community groups that advocate the use of data in a secure and trusted manner. Startups and SMEs are specifically mentioned as benefiting from facilitated access and participation in data spaces.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA) under a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG] model.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. The objective is to identify a consortium that will assure the continuation of the Data Spaces Support Centre (DSSC).

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is focused on European organisations. The Data Spaces Support Centre addresses a wide range of stakeholders involved in the creation, maintenance, and governance of common European data spaces.

Target Sector: The target sector is ICT, specifically focusing on data spaces, data sharing, interoperability, and related technologies. The program also touches on various industry sectors that can benefit from data spaces, including but not limited to businesses, public services, academia, and civil society.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on European organizations and the development of Common European Data Spaces. Therefore, the relevant region is the EU.

Project Stage: The project stage is continuation of an existing operation, focusing on maintaining, supporting, and promoting existing data space initiatives. The project is in the operational and support phase.

Funding Amount: The budget for the DIGITAL-2025-AI-08-DS-SUPPORT topic is EUR 10,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support the activities of the Data Spaces Support Centre.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants for the DIGITAL-2025-AI-08-DS-SUPPORT topic is 1. This suggests a low success rate, as it is highly competitive.

Co-funding Requirement: The document does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:
This opportunity is a call for proposals under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) focusing on the continuation of the Data Spaces Support Centre (DSSC). The call, titled DIGITAL-2025-AI-08-DS-SUPPORT, aims to identify a consortium that will manage and operate the DSSC, which is crucial for coordinating and promoting the development, interoperability, and secure data sharing across Common European Data Spaces. The DSSC supports the work of the European Data Innovation Board (EDIB) and involves a wide range of stakeholders, including businesses, public administrations, academia, and civil society organizations. The selected consortium will be responsible for community building, addressing governance and infrastructure requirements, and maintaining the DSSC.EU platform as a central hub for knowledge sharing and support. The funding amount for this specific topic is EUR 10,000,000, and only one grant is expected to be awarded, making it a highly competitive call. The application process is a single-stage submission, with the deadline on September 2, 2025. Eligible applicants must form a consortium of European organizations. This initiative aims to foster a collaborative environment for secure, interoperable, and trustworthy data spaces across various sectors in Europe.