The Horizon 2020 call (H2020-MG-2016-2017, Topic: MG-7-3-2017) retained four proposals for funding, due to the need for research “to implement new port concepts, new management models, and innovative design, engineering, construction and operation technologies solutions for full customer, stakeholder and citizen satisfaction”.

The purpose of the call was two-fold: on the one hand, to implement Research and Innovation Actions to address topics such as, but not limited to, multi-modal optimised cost-effective operations, sustainable maintenance, low environmental impact and, on the other hand to implement a Coordination and Support Action with a view to cluster retained proposals, projects, reports, scientific papers (among others), Identify appropriate Key Performance Indicators all of which with the ultimate goal of defining the concept(s) of Ports of the Future.

The four proposals retained for funding under the topic MG-7-3-2017) were DocksTheFuture (CSA), COREALIS (RIA), PIXEL (RIA) and PortForward (RIA).1 Following the expectations of the European Commission, to reach the expected foreseen impacts, namely “reduction of impact on climate change and the environment of port activities, their operational and infrastructural costs, improvement of logistics efficiency and better integration of the port in the surrounding socio-economic area, including city-port relations and the smart urban development of Port Cities (..)”2 the four projects, hereafter referred to as Ports of The Future Projects, have engaged in collaborative work.
The pursuance of a collaborative and integrated approach between the projects in relation to both their technical outputs and communication/dissemination strategy aims at capitalising on the synergies between the projects with a view to be as impactful as possible. Henceforth, by implementing a collaborative approach, the Ports of The Future Projects Clustering of Activities Mechanism is guided by the following objectives:
To maximise the impact of the communication and dissemination of results amongst the relevant stakeholders by joining forces, rather than having each project operating individually;
To exchange technical information between the four projects to contribute for a cross-fertilisation of results leading to a stronger, more accurate vision of the Ports of The Future in 2030;
To highlight the importance of EU funding programmes in supporting European Research and Innovation able to stand out in an ever-changing world, where top-notch R&D has become the standard;
To fulfil the European Commission’s expectation of an integrated collaborative approach between the four projects, namely, with regards to the tight-knit relation between the approved CSA (DocksTheFuture) and RIAs (COREALIS, PIXEL and PortForward).

The current document provides an overview of the initial strategy for communication and dissemination for the clustering of activities of the Ports of The Future Projects, addressing matters such as but not limited to: communication and dissemination integrated strategy, social media and cross-promotion, participation in events, interaction with European Technology platforms and presenting an initial roadmap of activities, all with the goal contributing to reach the aforesaid objectives. The laid-out strategy is the result of strategy meetings, which counted with the participation of representatives from each project.
However, the document at hand is, under no circumstance, a closed one. The document is a living document, subject to changes as the project implementation is rolled-out, with the expectation for adaptation considering the specificities of the projects’ implementation and unforeseen challenges/opportunities.

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