Call for proposals DRO (Digitale Regie Openbare ruimte)

The DRO innovation consortium has defined seven 'opportunity areas’ to improve life in the city.

• Transparency & Orchestration – How can we effectively communicate with citizens about the utilization of public space and its impacts? Additionally, how can we coordinate interventions targeted at fostering widespread prosperity?
• Intelligent access – How can we regulate access to certain areas for specific target groups and modalities?
• Parking space – How can we make better use of the available parking space and load capacity?
• Curb space – How can we make better use of the available spaces on the sidewalk?
• Traffic safety – How can we make public space safer for all citizens?
• Modal shift for routine trips - How can we transition motorized traffic for routine trips to more sustainable modes of transportation?
• Transport equity – How can we improve access to affordable and accessible transport for all?

But first, what is a Proof of Concept? A Proof of Concept (PoC) is a demonstration to verify that certain concepts or theories have the potential for real-world application. A PoC represents evidence that demonstrates that a project or product is feasible and worthy enough to justify the expenses needed to support and develop it.

What are we looking for specifically?

We are looking for innovative ideas that address one of the opportunity areas, can be realized and that can be tested as a Proof of Concept. We want bold and unconventional ideas that could have a large impact if successful.

The Proof of Concept should support local authorities to solve societal challenges within the opportunity areas.

What's in it for You?

Participating in our call for proposals offers a range of benefits tailored to your academic journey:

1. Academic Research Opportunities: by turning your idea into a PoC, your research can gain new dimensions, opening doors to potential publications and enhancing your academic profile;
2. Potential partnership with the Cities of Amsterdam, Groningen, Almere, Vervoer Regio Amsterdam, and many more organizations: successful proposals may lead to partnerships, providing a unique opportunity to further develop your solution and measure its impact in a real-world context;
3. Consortium Building: your participation in this Call for Proposals can be a significant step toward forming a consortium for future grant applications, leveraging the collective expertise of various stakeholders;
4. Professional Support: if selected, you will receive support from the AMS PoC team, which will guide you in realizing and testing your idea as a Proof of Concept.

Professional support?

Yes! We will help you by providing the capacity to help turn your idea into a Proof of Concept and bring this to the attention of the DRO consortium and relevant internal stakeholders in the participating cities. We can provide capacity for activities such as:

• Experimentation
• Building (front and back-end) software prototypes
• Creating designs and mock-ups
• User testing
• Involving stakeholders, conducting workshops, creating front-end and back-end prototypes

Direct financial support can be discussed if we lack the capacities needed to realize the PoC, but we prefer to assist in kind.

Who can apply?

• Researchers of the Academic partners of AMS Institute (Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology);
• DRO Consortium partners (The municipalities of Amsterdam, Groningen, and Almere, Goudappel, Vianova, Technolution).

Applicants are free to involve other parties in their proposals.

Requirements

• A concept should be executable within a total budget of 40.000 euros. This budget consists of the hours of the AMS PoC team and expenses (hardware, software, mockups, and other costs);
• A PoC should take 3 to 6 months;
• The outcome should be a tested PoC that shows whether or not a concept contributes to solving the identified problem. This is detailed in an evaluation report.

AMS Institute's goals

• Accelerating the exchange between science and practice by experimenting;
• Enabling the development of high-risk concepts with a high reward;
• Developing prototypes to find out whether urban problem owner sees value in them;
• Facilitating 20 PoCs.

Process and selection criteria

All throughout 2024-2026, the AMS DRO team and the DRO Consortium will select proposals with the highest potential impact and approve them for execution.

Applications can be sent to marte.bugel@ams-institute.org