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The project "DANOVA NEXT" ("Smart transport network for accessibility for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility in the Danube region through innovative services") has been approved for financing as part of the cross-border cooperation programme INTERREG-DANUBE 2021-2027, which is financed from the European Fund for Regional development (ERDF) within the framework of European Territorial Cooperation, which provides support between the countries of the Danube region. The implementation of the program is coordinated by joint structures (Managing Authority, MA and Joint Secretariat, JS) established in Budapest, Hungary. The DANOVA NEXT (PROJECT ID: DRP0200298) project is a continuation of the DANOVA project, which was successfully implemented as part of the INTERREG-DANUBE 2014-2020 programme.

The common challenge of the programme area tackled by the project concerns the lack of services and barrier-free transport and the lack of harmonisation among Countries in the field of accessibility of disabled passengers, focusing on the disparities in innovation level & uptake of advanced technologies in the DR. The overall project objective is the improvement of transport accessibility (air, water & urban transport) in the DR for all disabilities by creating innovative services, and providing fully accessible Digital Travel Information Services (DTIS) through the establishment of a Smart Network of transport facilities, making a change and contributing to reduce the innovation gap across the DR. The main outputs will be: 

• Strategy for accessible transport in the Danube Region 
• Smart Transport Network for PRM (Passengers with reduced mobility) digital accessibility data 
• Customised pilot participatory actions
• Replication package 

The TGs that will benefit from the outputs are:

• Airport, ports, urban transport providers and authorities
• Visual & hearing impaired and PRM associations
• Local, Regional and National public authorities 

Through the capitalization of DANOVA and the new DANOVA NEXT solutions, the partnership will foster territorial integration & innovation in the DR, which could not be reached without a transnational approach needed to: 

• tackle the disparity, lack of services and barrier-free transport in the DR for people with disabilities
• tackle the issues connected to the development of DTIS related to transport accessibility
• develop a harmonized approach to transport accessibility in the DR for strengthening inclusiveness and social innovation 

DANOVA NEXT will tackle 3 main innovation aspects:

• physical accessibility of transport in the DR for all disabilities through innovative services
• provision of data on networks’ accessibility through fully accessible DTIS
• creation of a Smart Network of transport facilities working on the sharing of data, practices & services in the DR.

The project consortium consists of 16 partners and 2 associated partners: 5 airports (Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Airports of Montenegro, Budapest, State Enterprise Chisinau airport), 2 seaports (Pula and Kotor), 3 urban public transports (Municipalty of Maribor, Public transport Company of Bratislava and Czech smart city cluster), 3 technical partners (Romanian National Association of the Deaf, Austrian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted, Croatian association of person with disabilities), 3 research partners (University of Maribor, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Bulgarian Association for Transfer of Technology and Innovation - BATTI and 2 associated partners (Ombudsman for people with disabilities Croatia and the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro).

The project started on January 1, 2024. and lasts a total of 30 months until June 30, 2026. 

The total budget of the project is EUR 2,622,400, of which the amount of co-financing with grants from the INTERREG DUNAV 2021-2027 program through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is at a co-financing rate of 80%, i.e. EUR 2,097,920.