PROJECT
Best Use In Local Digital Twins
A collaborative European initiative focused on developing the technical, governance and interoperability foundations for scalable Local Digital Twins across Europe.
OVERVIEW
The European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (LDT CitiVERSE EDIC) represents the European Union’s flagship initiative for deploying scalable, secure, and cutting-edge urban technologies.
To achieve its long-term mandate of connecting local communities into a unified, sovereign European virtual space, EDIC utilizes BUILD (Best Use in Local Digital Twins) project as its primary strategic implementation tool.
16
PARTNERS
9
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
20+
DELIVERABLES
VALUE & IMPACT
The LDT Citiverse EDIC creates a trusted European ecosystem in which cities can implement validated Local Digital Twin use cases using interoperable and reusable building blocks.
By connecting cities, technology providers, national and European initiatives, the ecosystem reduces fragmentation, enables solutions and knowledge to be reused across borders, and makes successful implementations easier to scale.
Validated solutions, common technical guardrails, open standards and a neutral European framework.
Reusable building blocks, Recipes, knowledge and implementation experience rather than every city starting from scratch.
An ecosystem connecting cities, suppliers, national programmes and European infrastructure, enabling successful solutions to move beyond isolated pilots and be replicated across Europe.
PILLARS
In alignment with the EDIC Strategic Outlook, the operational model has been consolidated into two primary strategic pillars:
Technology alone will not transform cities; the absolute key lies in the readiness of human capital. This pillar systematically guides municipalities on their journey from initial orientation to full-scale technology deployment.
PARTNERS
The implementation of the BUILD project is ensured by a strong international coalition of 16 prominent institutional partners, including national ministries, innovative capital cities, leading research organizations, and open technology networks:
DELIVERABLES
The BUILD project systematically transforms complex European data architectures into standardized and immediately deployable tools for municipalities. Instead of fragmented solutions, we deliver a clearly structured lifecycle of technical and operational outputs.
CORE FRAMEWORK & INITIAL DELIVERABLES
Stakeholder Mapping & Persona Segmentation – Completed
Completed a detailed matrix of key partners, regional bodies, and customer personas, aligning city profiles with their respective digital and economic priorities.
Data Ethics & Compliance Framework – In Progress
Establishing strict compliance benchmarks for gender equity, institutional ethics, and comprehensive GDPR alignment across all AI, IoT, and Local Digital Twin (LDT) methodologies.
Project Handbook & Quality Protocols – In Progess
Developing a comprehensive operational guide defining governance procedures, risk mitigation, and quality control timelines for the partner consortium.
Initial Core Service Assessment – In Progress
Preparing the first catalog of essential smart city applications, mapping required products against digital maturity levels to address fragmentation in EU communities.
Technical Reference Architecture – In Progress
Developing a technical blueprint based on global interoperability standards (MIMs, ETSI) to eliminate vendor lock-in right from the start.
Ecosystem Communication Channels – Launched
Launched the projectʼs main dissemination web infrastructure • and core communication channels to engage technical and municipal communities.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
FAIR Data Management Plan
Finalizing the complete technical lifecycle protocols for all data collected and generated, ensuring adherence to open-access and long-term data preservation principles.
The EDIC Service Catalogue
Launching a highly structured, online repository featuring standardized “service cards” and optimized onboarding journeys, allowing cities to seamlessly adopt ready-to-use software and tools.
Physical Infrastructure Implementation Plan
Delivering the blueprint for deploying the core technology stack and the joint European LDT Toolbox across smart communities.
Operational & Sustainability Model
Formulating the long-term financial and technical business plan to effectively scale software assets inherited from previous EU-funded research.
The BUILD Academy & Knowledge Sharing Platform
Activating a centralized, web-based environment hosting technical documentation, training materials, and peer-to-peer learning frameworks for municipal teams.
Continuous Infrastructure Validation
Executing a testing phase based on continuous user feedback before deploying any common digital infrastructure into live city systems.
EU Smart Communities Data Space (SCDS) Node
Deploying the first secure, Europe-wide smart community data node running under the SIMPL framework.
Federated Ecosystem Expansion
Finalizing a multi-layered ecosystem strategy to deeply integrate private-sector innovators, academic institutions, and regional networks into the long-term EDIC framework.
FUNDING
This initiative is co-funded by the European Union under the BUILD project grant agreement within the Digital Europe Programme, managed under the operational framework of the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC.
NEWS
EN