Public procurement notice: Design Contest
Published: 2023-03-03
Buyer: Forum Virium Helsinki
Country: FI
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 73120000
Submission deadline: 2023-03-31
Award criteria: Other

Technical requirements: CommuniCity project organises and launches one hundred pilots during the years 2023–24. The first CommuniCity Open Call for Applications will take place between 28 February and 31 March 2023 and will call for up to 17 pilots to be carried out in cooperation with the cities of Amsterdam, Helsinki and Porto.  All applicants must present innovative solutions responding to the needs of cities and communities, leveraging digital technologies.  The use of Artificial Intelligence and advanced analytics will be considered an added value.
For societal change to occur there must be opportunities for dialogue between citizens, associations, city officials, and policy makers. The CommuniCity project empowers marginalised communities to decrease the digital gap through initiatives that they can partake in, such as open calls and pilots, for projects based on the needs and priorities of these communities. A specific focus will be given on addressing the EU Green Deal targets as specified in https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
As part of the CommuniCity project, Forum Virium Helsinki will be awarding grants for pilot projects to be carried together with the cities of Amsterdam, Helsinki and Porto. The grants will be awarded through a public CommuniCity Open Call for Applications that exceeds the Finnish national threshold value for public procurement. Hence, the public call for grant proposals will be carried out in accordance with the “Finnish Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts (1397/2016)”.
The CommuniCity Open Call for Applications is open to companies and associations with a valid European business ID as well as to individual citizens. Entities from outside of the European Union can be accepted to participate, but will not be eligible for receiving any funding. The personnel and administration of Forum Virium Helsinki Oy and their interest groups are not allowed to submit applications.
The submission of an application as a consortium (‘team’) is allowed. In this case, the team will appoint an organisation from among them to act as the contact party (‘Lead Applicant’) for the application. This organisation will also serve as the grant contract party. The granting entity requires the piloting contract to be signed with a single organisation, with the other consortium members (‘Piloting Partners’) named in the grant allowed to serve as its subcontractors.
The deadline for applications is March 31th 2023 at 17:00 CET. Grant applicants are required to fill in a dedicated online form (https://forumviriumhelsinkioy.my.site.com/proposalsubmission/s/). In addition to this, each applicant can submit one attachment document in a PDF format supporting their application. The evaluation will be carried out by May 3rd 2023, and the pilot projects are expected to begin in May 2023.
The total budget of the grant call is up to EUR 62.500,00. During the first open call round, the total number of grants available for the Helsinki pilots is 5. The maximum amount for a single grant (=grant ceiling) is EUR 12,500.00.
Forum Virium Helsinki Oy will not cover any costs or expenses not included in the proposal (e.g., accommodation or travel expenses). The applicant may include complementary funding sources in their budget, but this needs to be acknowledged and justified in the application. The budget must cover the implementation of the pilot in its entirety, including costs resulting from insurance and permits as well as taxes and charges levied by the authorities, for example.
Below the description of the challenges that reflect the current needs of the City of Helsinki. Forum Virium Helsinki will award 5 applicants with grants
The number of unemployed immigrants has been growing in the past years. Especially the immigrants who lack Finnish language skills can easily fall behind in the society if they do not have the needed skills to access the (digital) societal services. Many  immigrants lack the basic digital skills that are expected by the public authorities. In addition, they do not have the societal skills required to deal with some basic life functions, such as paying bills, registering for child care or reaching medical services.
According to current forecasts, in 2030 around 25% of Helsinki’s working age residents will not speak Finnish as their mothers tongue. Therefore the City of Helsinki is looking for web based solutions and content to support learning of the aforementioned digital and societal skills through means that do not require any (Finnish) language skills. The clients of Helsinki’s Rehabilitative Work Activities Centres will be piloting one solution awarded with a grant.
The unemployment rate in Helsinki is increasing, especially the number of long-term unemployed. City of Helsinki offers rehabilitative work activities for long-term unemployed to support their integration into the society and working life. The clients of Rehabilitative Work Activities Centres are dealing with multiple social and/or cognitive problems, and hence they often are unable to work or study. Due to this background, they do not have even the most basic digital skills, and therefore face numerous challenges in entering the labour market.
Helsinki is looking for solutions to support long-term unemployed citizens with little or non-existing digital abilities to integrate into Finnish society. In particular, Helsinki wants to strengthen their digital skills in order to motivate and help them to integrate into working life. The clients of Helsinki’s Rehabilitative Work Activities Centres will be piloting one solution awarded with a grant.
Adults – and especially young adults – with developmental disabilities have cognitive and physical challenges that prevent them from engaging with Disability Services provided by the City of Helsinki. According to prior experimentations, virtual environments are considered an attractive way to improve social interaction within the targeted group. Also daily routines, as well as examining new situations and environments of everyday life, can be safely practised by utilising such technologies.
To prevent marginalisation, a motivating virtual environment is needed, where people with disabilities can maintain social contacts and develop digital skills. Therefore, the City of Helsinki is looking for virtual technologies to enhance social interactions and to develop digital skills for disabled citizens. In Helsinki, the clients of Virtual Services for the Disabled unit will be piloting one solution awarded with a grant.