EUROCITIES ASBL

Their core work

EUROCITIES is the leading network of major European cities, representing local governments to advocate for and shape EU policy on urban issues. In H2020 projects, they serve as the bridge between EU-funded research and city administrations — translating project outputs into practical urban policies on transport, energy, food systems, and digital governance. They facilitate peer-to-peer learning between cities, coordinate large-scale urban demonstrations, and ensure research results reach the municipalities that will actually implement them. Their real value is access to a network of 200+ European city governments and their ability to mobilize cities as living labs and early adopters.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), EUROCITIES focused on smart city fundamentals — ICT-driven energy efficiency, the Green Digital Charter, EU-China urban cooperation, and foundational sustainable mobility planning. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward zero-emission urban transport (electromobility, multimodal hubs, automated transport, city logistics) and ambitious climate targets (net-zero cities by 2030). The evolution shows a clear move from broad "smart city" concepts to concrete decarbonization action at the city level.

EUROCITIES is concentrating heavily on urban decarbonization — expect future work to center on net-zero city transitions, clean mobility infrastructure, and scaling urban climate solutions across European municipalities.

How they like to work

EUROCITIES operates almost exclusively as a participant (23 of 24 projects), serving as the city network voice rather than the technical lead. They work in large consortia — 404 unique partners across 33 countries signals a hub-style organization that connects different partners rather than returning to the same ones. This makes them an ideal consortium partner when you need access to European city governments for testing, policy uptake, or dissemination, but they are not the organization to lead technical R&D.

With 404 unique consortium partners across 33 countries, EUROCITIES has one of the broadest collaboration networks in urban policy research — essentially pan-European coverage with selective international reach (notably China through two dedicated cooperation projects).

What sets them apart

EUROCITIES is not a research lab or a consultancy — it is the collective voice of Europe's largest cities, which means partnering with them gives you direct access to city decision-makers who will adopt or reject your technology. No other H2020 participant can offer the same combination of political legitimacy, city-level policy influence, and a ready-made network of municipal governments willing to pilot urban innovations. If your project needs cities to test, validate, or implement results, EUROCITIES is the multiplier that turns a pilot into continent-wide adoption.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NetZeroCities
  Their largest project (EUR 1.96M) — flagship initiative accelerating 100 European cities toward climate neutrality by 2030, combining citizen engagement with systems-level urban transformation.
• GuiDanCe
  Their only coordinator role — led the Green Digital Charter initiative linking ICT and energy efficiency across European and Chinese cities.
• USER-CHI
  Second-largest funding (EUR 1.22M) — addresses the critical gap of user-centric EV charging infrastructure across TEN-T corridors, blending transport and energy policy.