EU trade, transport, tourism and economic development are directly dependent on open and safe seas and oceans. EU's maritime borders are widely spread including various topologies from open sea to semi-enclosed cabins with islands and islets. This poses great challenges that affect securing maritime border areas. Failing to protect against a wide array of maritime threats and risks may result in these areas becoming arenas for international conflicts, terrorism or organized crime, where smuggling, irregular immigration and drug trafficking are the most common ones. RANGER aims at re-enforcing EU by combining innovative Radar technologies with novel technological solutions for early warning, in view of delivering a surveillance platform offering detection, recognition, identification and tracking of suspicious vessels, capabilities exceeding current radar systems. It will be a platform, consisting of 2 radar technologies, a novel Over-The-Horizon Radar combined with a Multiple Input Multiple Output one implemented exploiting the latest photonics advancements, and an Early Warning System exploiting deep and adaptable machine learning schemes able to Automatically detect radar Targets. It safeguards seamless fitting and interoperability with CISE (enhanced maritime surveillance and cross border SaR operations), through the development of a CISE translation Gateway, exporting on-demand CISE services directly to end-users, by strengthening the information exchange between national authorities and the European Agency. RANGER leverages the experience of its consortium, a balanced blend of technology providers, domain experts and end-users, delivering a cost efficient, environmental friendly solution, abiding to regulations and legislation for the protection of human lives. Two pilot exercises are foreseen to thoroughly assess RANGER’s ability to deliver on its promises, enhancing its potential to become a flagship platform for the European Maritime Surveillance industry.

In modern economy, digitalization is a major driver of productivity growth across industries and services. However, the construction sector is lagging behind, even behind agriculture. The construction sector is characterised by a high presence of SMEs, low capitalization, a low rate of higher educated employees, low investment in innovation, and a long supply chain. Moreover, in the EU market, different languages, taxation, and regulatory frameworks are obstacles to Union synergies. DigiPLACE will exploit EU added value. Several initiatives have been developed at national level to improve the innovation in this sector. At EU level, some projects were devoted to facilitating the exchange of information, practice and knowledge (e.g. CPR 305/2011 and Levels). DigiPLACE will create a common ecosystem of innovation, standardization and commerce with the aim to collect the achieved results and to increase the productivity of the sector and the quality of its end products (building&infrastructure). Could digitalization help the sector to solve these historical issues and future ones? What kind of digitalization, what kind of market, what kind of production and supply-chain we could imagine? What kind of consumers do we have for our products and services. How do these worlds work together? DigiPLACE aims to investigate all these themes with a strong analysis of markets, actors and barriers. It will define a Reference Architecture Framework (RAF) for digital construction platform based on an EU-wide consensus involving a large community of stakeholders and the expertise of selected key players, resulting in a strategic roadmap for successful implementation of this RAF. DigiPLACE will rely on a large set of partners, linked 3rd parties and an Advisory Board representing leading European entities, companies and/or associations of industry, builders, owners (private and public), architects, research institutes, and ICT firms (for digital production, services and knowledge).

CASRI unites Environment Protection Agencies (EPAs) and similar partners from 13 European countries to support national policy makers and societies to address the Global Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals. EPAs are direct or semi-governmental organisations responsible for monitoring and protecting the environment. CASRI EPAs highly value environmental and sustainability research and innovation (ES R&I), i.e. R&I that is systemic, actionable and transversal. These EPAs and the European Environment Agency have formed an Interest Group (IG) to enhance ES R&I collaboration in the EPA Network representing 37 countries. This CSA HEU-WIDERA Topic proposal aims at facilitating the IG through Collaborative Action coordinating and enhancing systemic, actionable and transversal Sustainability Research and Innovation (CASRI) related to research, policy and R&I funding. CASRI capitalises on the unique capacities of the EPAs and, for the first time, aligns them with the European Research Area. CASRI aims to identify and coordinate ES R&I needs, align national ES R&I programmes and facilitate and converge the application of ES R&I results at both the multilateral and European level while also complementing existing EU and Member State programmes. To achieve this, CASRI addresses eight objectives: 1) Conduct a comprehensive review of national ES R&I funding, exploitation programmes and knowledge needs; 2) Identify national and transnational gaps; 3) Derive transnational commons and develop a Strategic R&I Agenda; 4) Identify opportunities for co-implementation of the SRIA; 5) Bring together funders to collaboratively invest and synergistically deliver the SRIA, or parts thereof, at regional, national and transnational scales; 6) Prepare the implementation of multiannual joint calls; 7) Implement other joint supporting activities for ES R&I; 8) Improve the mid to long term capacities for the collaboration of EPAs and the European Research Area stakeholders.

infra4Dfuture will develop a demand-driven overarching strategy and coordination mechanism for the modernization of transport infrastructure including a shared strategic vision on future infrastructure capabilities and common pathways for innovation development and implementation. Facing a variety of emerging challenges, such as climate change, resilience, ageing infrastructure, maintenance, digitalisation, automation, energy and electrification, the National Transport Infrastructure Authorities (NTIA) have urgent requirements for infrastructure innovation. In view of the long cycle times in infrastructure management and the rapid mounting pressure from these challenges, there is a need for fast delivery of ready-to-implement, cost-effective innovative solutions matching the requirements of the NTIA that jointly build the TEN-T network. The infra4Dfuture consortium encompasses 20 partners from 17 countries, 19 of them being NTIA, joining forces to develop: • a strategic coordination mechanism aiming to deliver a concerted cooperation and collaboration across a portfolio of relevant European and national innovation programmes and initiatives; • a shared strategic vision on future infrastructure capabilities, each capability encompassing a series of innovation focus areas for innovation. infra4Dfuture is based on a sound and coherent consultation and dialogue process with relevant stakeholders. This process will be structured in a sequence of strategic, decision-making conferences and a supporting, tactical sequence of expert workshops and regional events. These will culminate in the founding of the infra4Dfuture Stakeholder Platform for Infrastructure Innovation and Implementation (ISPIII) at the TRA 2020. ISPIII will ensure a continuance of the coordination mechanism and shared vision beyond the duration of the action. Follow-up ISPIII events will take place at the consecutive biannual TRA conferences.