DIH4Society is a fully operational Digital Innovation Hub, since 2020. 

DIH4Society’s activity has started gradually picking up pace in the last 5 years. Several projects have been delivered in the market: the first smart city strategy for a large municipality and assistance to set up a science and technology center, assistance to transfer 14 smart city technologies in another municipality, followed by another smart city initiative with over 20 technologies adopted in another municipality. Services became more diversified, with DIH4Society continuing to deliver assistance and consultancy for public administration on various topics for digitalization, assistance for start-ups to access funds on digitalization, and assistance to SMEs to embed digital technologies in their products and processes, digital maturity assessment, training on various aspects of digital innovations.

By combining the results of the 4 partners in the DIH4Society’s project consortium, we can report in the last 4 years (2 years of COVID-19 pandemic conditions) the delivery of more than 20 services to access finance (SMEs, public administration), over 500 SMEs participating in training, events and workshops on digitalization programs, over 60 SMEs present in matchmaking events, over 40 consultancy services related to digitalization, as well as over 200 instances of access to laboratory infrastructure.

2017 – 2018 From Idea to Concept

DIH4Society starts at the initiative of CLUJ IT Cluster, and was shortly afterwards listed on the JRC dedicated platform. The DIH began delivering specialized services in the macro-regional market on strategies for smart city, strategies for digitalization of public administration, assistance for start-ups to innovate and have access to capital, consultancy for public administration on investment projects for digitalization, among others. As a next step, CLUJJ IT activated a regional initiative to expand the size of partnership. In this line, together with other 11 partners, it benefited from a consultancy on DIH management through an EC funded project led by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. This action yielded into a better calibration and consolidation of the business models for various services of the DIH4Society.

In 2018, CLUJ IT applied for funding for support to further advance DIH4Society. The project, called CRONOS, was approved and funded by the Romanian Government through the National Programme for Research and Innovation. The main goal was to establish a more functional partnership structure of the DIH4Society, and to polish the road and create the bridge between solution providers and beneficiaries on digitalization.
KPIs: 4 members, 30 ecosystem partners

2019 – 2020 Business Strategy & Launch

As a result of CRONOS project,  DIH4Society is recognized as a fully operational DIH by JRC. During the CRONOS project we started the process of building an international network with other DIHs and catalyst organizations, and consolidated and formalized the partnership in its current form. DIH4Society core partners expanded to research and innovation labs within universities, intermediaries with the market (chambers of commerce, professional associations, clusters), intermediaries for solution providers, and financial institutions. Within the same framework we also set up the collaboration with the EBRD, with venture funds and other funding bodies. The first joint organizational project financed through ESI  (1 mil EUR grant) – 3 members join for the training of almost 400 employes and support of 36 SME with the scope advanced trainings for the new economy (digital skills, operational efficiency , data protection, green compliance) -> Futureskills.ro. We started to create a wider and more diverse pool of experts on DIH4Society’s specialization areas, reaching today to more than 220 individuals.

Contribution to the designing of the National Strategy on Research and Innovation for the area Digitalization, Industry and Space, the National Strategy on Smart Specialization on Digitalization and Industry. Consultancy for the Objective 3 in the national framework on structural funds dedicated to Digitalization.

Other projects: Galatea, UFO, IoT Tribe, SpaceEnd

KPIs: 4 members, 30 ecosystem partners, 2 organizational projects; JRC Recognition,  22 market projects

2021 – 2022 Fully Operational DIH

CLUJ IT as DIH4Society coordinator has been selected by JRC to test and propose improvements to the DMA model for the EDIH initiative in the Digital Europe Programme.

DIH4Society has evolved into a formalized network of more than 50 full members, comprising 7 universities and research centers, 27 regional solution providers, 9 catalyst organizations that represent beneficiaries, 9 organizations that provide access to specialized infrastructure (cybersecurity, intelligent robotic systems, artificial intelligence, HPC) .

DIH4Society delivers services on digitalization at regional, national  and  international level (e.g., emerging markets from Africa, South-East Asia, South America. These services are managed by a Project Management Office, with clear procedures over the lifecycle of the project, as well as with management tools for the formation of customized teams of experts for each service

Collaboration agreements with 26 DIHs from Europe, contribution to the foundation of 3 thematic corridors (The Next Generation Public Corridor, North-South Cooperation Logistic Corridor, SE_SmartHEALTH EDIH Network).

Application submitted in the Digital Europe Programme, for the European Digital Innovation Hubs Network.

KPIs: 4 members, 30 ecosystem partners, 3 organizational projects; JRC Recognition,  30 market projects