SNS Operations and Output optimisation -

The following expected outcomes should be addressed:

• A seamless support from Phase 1 CSA projects for the Smart Networks Services (SNS) institutionalised European partnership and the related programmatic organisation through cross SNS projects coordination.
• Organisation of the SNS as a coherent programme with clear links to the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association and the EC via the partnership board and the JU Office and their strategic policies.
• Support for the identification of strategic R&I orientations including at global level, the coordination of R&I results/initiatives at EU scale including Member State level initiatives, the dissemination and web presence, the organisation of Europe's contribution to standards, and the identification of international cooperation priorities across key regions.
• Consolidation and further development of strategic promotion and communication activities, both at project and Office level.
• Organisation and support of the EUCNC & 6G Summit (EuCNC&6GS) conferences.
• Generation, publication, and promotion of common technical papers showing the work and consensus of the SNS projects, including the value and impact of engaging KVIs
• Maximised output and exploitation of SNS project results in key domains (e.g., standardisation, spectrum) through managed cooperation between projects on horizontal issues.
• Constituency building, stakeholder support, support to key international cooperation events; dissemination, support core inter-project cooperation activities, relevant stakeholder events; definition of future R&I actions.
• Assistance to Inter JU coordination and joint actions. Maintaining the dialogues with Peer Partnerships (e.g., HPC, Chips, AI, Data and Robotics, Photonics Europe, etc.) and Associations (e.g., 5GAA, 5GACIA, ECH Alliance, ERTICO, ECSO etc.) and organisation of dedicated workshops to ensure relevance and synergies in both directions. Assistance in the periodic update of the SNS SRIA.
• Maintaining a continual improvement process based on regular assessments of SNS KPIs and strategic actions via future workplans to improve the achievement of the SNS goals.
• Invite new community members to the dialogue and constituency building, including those with input towards policy, sustainability, and societal value from non-technical perspectives (relevant to the verticals), that will support the development and testing of effective KVIs.
• Increase of the active engagement of diverse vertical sectors in order to better integrate their individual requirements.
• Establishment of a continuous dialogue among the key actors taking part in Horizon Europe programme and those in the other regions programmes to reinforce collaboration and increase synergies, in particular to dialogue about the human-centred aspects of technology development.
• Maintaining the global 6G ecosystem engaging relevant initiatives and key actors from EU and the other regions/countries, collaborating on the evolution and positive impact of 6G.
• Reinforcement of strategic partnerships between EU and the other regions/countries for the definition of joint R&I actions in 6G areas of mutual interest through roadmapping.
• Assistance towards the definition and collection of 6G related KPIs and KVIs and their mapping to the 6G indicators of the other global regions.
• A high level of European participation in Global 6G Events.
• A strong cooperation with the operational process of the private Member of the JU, notably in support of R&I, events and stakeholder management at large.

The prime objective of the coordination and support work is to facilitate the activities of the European SNS JU community and the related Work Programmes, building on the first phase activities, to integrate the second phase activities and prepare for subsequent phases.

In addition to this, the CSA project has a second prime objective to capture and promote the European view on 6G, publish and promote the achievements of the SNS projects and programme and monitor the development and impact of these results on the evolution of 6G in Europe over the life of the 6G SNS Programme. This work will also look to the future and consider what additional strategic actions are necessary to maintain the European momentum and leadership in 6G and facilitate the uptake of 6G by the vertical sectors in Europe. The CSA should consolidate and further develop strategic promotion and communication activities to maximise the impact of the SNS JU.

The CSA project should build upon the solutions, communication frameworks and results of the SNS Phase 1 CSA projects so that there is a seamless handover of all SNS support activities under the new project as well as the communication links with global and European stakeholders.

A key activity will be to actively support national and international collaboration for 6G through promoting the SNS Programme views across the wider community of SNS JU stakeholders, including national authorities, European member states initiatives, peer initiatives (ESA, Eureka, etc.), peer Partnerships (e.g., HPC, Chips, AI, Data and Robotics, Photonics Europe, CCAM, etc.) and Associations (e.g., 5GAA, 5GACIA, etc.). Involving European standards communities and promoting international liaison and discussions are considered an important aspect of the European SNS JU initiative on the global 6G stage.

It is essential that the CSA facilitates the 6G SNS JU public results being made available so that the achievements can be peer reviewed by other regions and initiatives to ensure that they are respected and used for consensus building as a precursor to international standardisation. The 6G SNS liaison work will include the promotion and representation of the 6G SNS JU work in global fora. This will involve seeding 6G SNS JU programme and project presentations at international fora and, in selected cases, orchestrating demonstrations at intercontinental meetings.

The CSA should provide support services to the SNS JU related working groups where the community members and projects should be facilitated to produce consolidated views and position papers, which capture the experience of the programme and can greatly help generating consensus about the uptake and use of new technologies.

The CSA project should also orchestrate the EuCNC & 6G Summit conferences in 2025 and 2026.

The CSA project should demonstrate capability to leverage previous SNS investments in support of SNS operations.

For further information about the strategic role of the CSA in SNS, please refer to the Work Programme, available under ‘Topic Conditions and Documents - Additional Documents’.

The proposed CSA shall liaise with the SNS RIA and IA actions under all SNS Streams and the SNS JU to exploit synergies for:

• Stakeholder management towards R&I orientation and SNS cross-project coordination and cooperation (implementation of the cross-project cooperation contractual clause).
• Europe wide cartography of relevant Smart Network initiatives and identification of strategic cooperation opportunities, in particular with initiatives at Member State/regional level.
• Design upgrades and perform maintenance on the European SNS web site and program infrastructure (web sites, mail systems, repositories, etc.).
• Working group management and organisation for issues of common interest, supporting a common EU 6G vision and its technological realisation.
• Monitoring and communication with related European Member State initiatives.
• Monitoring and communication with peer JU Partnerships (e.g., HPC, Chips, AI, Data and Robotics, Photonics Europe, CCAM).
• Organisation, management and support of Ecosystem Assessment and Facilitation Actions (IAFA) as described in the SNS Partnership Proposal.
• Investigation of the business impact of key technological and policy decisions (e.g., net neutrality).
• Support to the promotion and communication towards the public at large of the SNS JU activities in line with the JU priorities.
• Creation and implementation of a strategic promotion programme for the European 6G SNS Programme.
• Promoting the 6G SNS initiative views to assert European leadership in the area across the wider community of 6G SNS stakeholders including:
  • National & Regional authorities.
  • Peer research initiatives (ESA, Eureka, etc.).
  • Peer Industrial Associations (e.g., 5GAA, 5GACIA, ECH Alliance, ERTICO, ECSO etc.).
  • The Smart Connectivity DIH Network (SCoDIHNet).
  • Other relevant 5G-related CSA (e.g., 5G GUIDE, etc)
  • European and Global standards communities and Global 6G discussions.
• International cooperation support with key third countries. It includes identification of international cooperation strategies with clear benefits to EU industrial stakeholders.
• Establishing and organising the EUCNC & 6G Summit (EuCNC&6GS) conference in 2025 and 2026.

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