Pilots for an innovative human-centric industry (RIA) -

Expected Outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Improved understanding of the socio-technical and ethical implications of advanced (digital) technologies for workers and work organisation across industrial sectors;
• Work and learning environments and work models that make best use of the possibilities of advanced (digital) technologies and the human capabilities and creative potential in a synergistic manner, thus contributing to enhanced European industrial competitiveness in existing and new markets;
• A skilled and creative industry workforce that is empowered through and in control of advanced technologies that are aligned with European social and ethical values.

Scope

Digitalisation and automation in industry to date have focussed primarily on capitalising on opportunities to increase efficiency and enhance productivity, often without much attention to the changing role of the worker. In its Industry 5.0 concept, the Commission puts forward a view of a resilient, sustainable and human-centric industry. The human-centric approach implies placing core human needs and interests at the heart of processes in industry, rather than taking the technology and its potential for increasing efficiency as a starting point.

A human-centric industry recognises and leverages the capabilities and creative potential of its workers through the synergistic combination with advanced (digital) technologies. In this process, with regard to work organisation, work place design, work content and skills, working conditions and work relations, fundamental principles and human needs such as human autonomy and control, coherence and variation of tasks, work-life balance, social dialogue and others, must be safeguarded, as well as human rights [1] such as privacy and safety. Moreover, as diverse groups of workers experience the increasing impact – as well as opportunities - of the digital transition, upskilling or reskilling is required to meet the digital transformation challenges of the enterprise.

The project will develop and demonstrate the concept of human-centricity in a real-life, operational industrial environment in at least ten pilots. A pilot may consist of an individual company, but may also span multiple companies that interact across (possibly transnational) value chains or in a local innovation ecosystem. The set of pilots, as a whole, will cover a variety of industrial sectors and company sizes, including SMEs and start-ups and/or scale-ups, and will be situated in at least 13 different EU Member States or countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme.

The pilots will innovate and go beyond-the-state-of-the-art with respect to the purposeful application of advanced technologies, which would typically be situated at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6 or 7. With regard to digital solutions, the aspect of cyber-security must be adequately addressed in design, implementation and governance. Purposeful application signifies that innovation is expected that promotes a human-centric industry and may imply, as appropriate, innovation with respect to work organisation, tasks and functions of workers, skills and training, occupational health and safety, enterprise management and governance (incl. the management of human resources), business models, corporate values and ethics, etc.

In addition, the pilots may address particular themes such as the ones listed hereunder in a non-prescriptive and non-exhaustive manner:

• the development of and experimentation with models and technologies to stimulate individual and collective creativity of workers and future workforce,
• the participation of workers (as end-users) in the design of purposeful technology application in the work process,
• the application of technology to enhance the inclusivity of the work environment, the ways in which unskilled or low-skilled labour participate in a human-centric production process and the role of technology therein,
• how technological, process and organisational innovation can offer jobs that remain rewarding for the individual worker along the life cycle,
• the development of and experimentation with the use of advanced technologies (such as robotics) in learning environments to increase the skill level of the current and future workforce,
• the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the organisation of work and its effects.

The project will report the obtained results and the practices leading to success, as well as the encountered difficulties and bottlenecks and any trade-off that had to be made. They will identify and analyse direct and indirect effects and outcomes of the pilots. These include effects and outcomes that pertain to workers’ satisfaction and well-being, with a particular interest for the acceptance of and relation with technology. Equally important are the effects and outcomes that implicate the competitiveness and resilience of the company and, taking a wider perspective, the societal role of industry as responsible provider of prosperity. The consortia will interpret their findings in a coherent theoretical framework, exploiting the diversity of the pilots and taking into account the specificities of the setting and context of the pilots.

The consortium will formulate evidence-based recommendations tailored to relevant stakeholders, including, as appropriate, policy makers at relevant levels (EU, national/regional, sectoral), social partners, industry federations and professional associations and partnerships and organised civil society (NGOs). A concluding conference will support this goal.

This topic requires an interdisciplinary approach with the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts and/or institutions.

The proposals should consider the intersectional gender dimension in the content of the proposed research and innovation, in order to deliver scientific quality and societal relevance of the produced knowledge and innovation.

Proposers should consider and actively seek synergies with relevant active and finalised projects/activities in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe[2] (including public-private and public-public partnerships[3] and EIT KICs) and the Digital Europe programme (European Digital Innovation Hubs), as well as within relevant sectorial associations[4]

[1]The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

[2] Including relevant projects resulting from Cluster 2 calls under the Destination “Innovative research on social and economic transformations“(inter alia HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05, HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07, HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-01, HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-08, HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05, HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-09, HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-11) and Cluster 4 calls under the Destination “Climate neutral, circular and digitised production” (inter alia HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-01, HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-07, HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-08, HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-01, HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-06), under the Destination “Increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilient industry”(inter alia HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-29, HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-31), under the Destination “Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal” (inter alia HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-10, HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-05, HORIZON-CL4-2023-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-02) and under the Destination “A human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies” (inter alia HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-21, HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-25, HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-26, HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-01, HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-14, HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-02, HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-22, HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-52, HORIZON-CL4-2024-HUMAN-01-53, HORIZON-CL4-2023-HUMAN-01-81)

[3] In particular, but not exclusively, the European Partnerships “Made in Europe”, “Processes4Planet” and “Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics” and “Built4People”

[4] such as Manufuture, Cecimo, Orgalim and others.

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