What are the goals of CITAH?

The European Digital Innovation Hub CITAH (“Cross-Industry Transformation in Agriculture and Health”) aims to support small and medium-sized enterprises in dynamically responding to the challenges of digitalization and becoming more competitive. In this process, the healthcare and agri-food sectors are to be strengthened, and cross-innovations into other industries are to be enabled.

We offer consulting services, training, laboratory visits, workshops on cross-industry innovation, information and networking events, piloting of projects and test cases (Test before Invest), as well as support in studies and in data collection and analysis.

Geographically, we focus on the Weser-Ems region. Additionally, we are pleased to support companies from other regions and industries to promote a wide range of innovations and leverage synergies.

Consulting

Project initiation and development

During initial orientation meetings with a company, individual starting points for improving digital products, processes and services are identified. On this basis, further services of the Innovation Center can be agreed upon.

Key data:

  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
Assessment of the individual digital transformation potential

As part of a more extensive analysis on site at your company, we determine the digital maturity level of your company and work with you to develop starting points for improving processes or products through digital transformation. You will receive suggestions for changes that you can implement together with the Innovation Center or independently.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
Advice on access to finance

Introducing new processes and improving your own products and services is expensive. We advise you on possible support programs that can help with implementation and provide you with contacts for these programs.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Cost of the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
Piloting of small test cases in the laboratory environments

Piloting of test cases together with interested companies as a preliminary stage for an investment (“Test before Invest”) or a larger consulting project, which is outside the framework of the Innovation Center. The piloting enables the company to make a well-founded assessment of potential at a low investment cost. The testbed and infrastructure of the CITAH partners is available for this measure.Piloting of test cases together with interested companies as a preliminary stage for an investment (“Test before Invest”) or a larger consulting project, which is outside the framework of the Innovation Center. The piloting enables the company to make a well-founded assessment of potential at a low investment cost. The testbed and infrastructure of the CITAH partners from the agricultural sector is available for this measure.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
Piloting of small test cases in the laboratory environments (Primary Producers in Agriculture)

Piloting of test cases together with interested Primary agricultural producers as a preliminary stage for an investment (“Test before Invest”) or a larger consulting project, which is outside the framework of the Innovation Center. The piloting enables the company to make a well-founded assessment of potential at a low investment cost. The testbed and infrastructure of the CITAH partners from the agricultural sector is available for this measure.Piloting of test cases together with interested companies as a preliminary stage for an investment (“Test before Invest”) or a larger consulting project, which is outside the framework of the Innovation Center. The piloting enables the company to make a well-founded assessment of potential at a low investment cost. The testbed and infrastructure of the CITAH partners from the agricultural sector is available for this measure.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from the agricultural sector
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
In-depth studies in the laboratory environments

The goal of this service package is to jointly conduct in-depth studies, primarily in the area of nursing:

  • Carrying out measurements (e.g. in the field of ergonomics)
  • Studies for nursing homes using the laboratory infrastructure of the University of Oldenburg
  • Studies with innovative care technologies (motorizable beds, robots, IT systems) in the sense of “Test before Invest” in the laboratory infrastructure of the OFFIS Institute.

    Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
Development of IT security and data protection concepts

IT security is of elementary importance for companies and healthcare facilities. Together with you, we analyze your IT infrastructure and develop recommendations for improving IT security while taking data protection requirements into account.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
Exploratory data analysis of utility data and metadata

Healthcare facilities usually have detailed service documentation that is required for billing and quality assurance purposes. We work with you to analyze your routine data and identify patterns related to quality targets, billing potential or potential for improving workflows.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
Support in the digital transformation process

You have decided to introduce an IT-based solution to improve your processes, services or products. We accompany you in the definition of an implementation strategy, the technology selection and the introduction of the solution you have selected.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
  • EU state aid law applies to this service
Evaluation of the digital transformation process

This service follows on from the previous service “Support in the digital transformation process”: After the implementation of the new, IT-based solution in your company, we accompany the further implementation and sustainable use of the tools and advise on a sustainable change strategy.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Costs for the service to SMEs: none
Identify appropriate health care metrics for public presentation

The pandemic has brought home to the public health community the need to present facts and figures in a way that meets the needs of the public. Many public health facilities now want to prepare data for the (professional) public. To do this, it is first necessary to determine what data is available at the facilities, how it can be linked, and what key figures can be derived from it and are suitable for presentation and further processing. This requires expertise in computer science, epidemiology and data science. Together with you, our staff will examine which data has already been collected in a standardized way, which possibilities it offers for a processed presentation and which key figures could be derived by linking the data. You will receive an overview of the data, which you can use, for example, to start interactive online presentations without major investment.

Key data:

  • Costs for the service to public health service facilities: flat rate of € 1,100 plus VAT
Prototypes for online healthcare reports

This service follows the “Identification of suitable key figures”. We offer you the possibility to have the previously defined data presented in suitable online applications on an infrastructure hosted at OFFIS for the purpose of visualization as well as “self-service BI”. You do not have to build your own infrastructure for this. If desired and permitted by you, historical data (e.g. of the last two years) can be provided, which will be integrated by our team, processed in an analysis-oriented manner and then presented. If no own data are available, we use own test data. In discussions, we then iteratively determine which “direction” a concrete implementation in the authority would have to take.

Key data:

  • Costs for the service to public health service facilities: flat rate of € 1,100 plus VAT

Training and laboratory visits

Trainings on IT technologies

CITAH will offer training courses lasting 1-2 days on innovative IT technologies and processes, e.g. “augmented reality” or “machine learning processes”. The exact topics will be coordinated with companies from the health and agricultural sectors during the first year of the project and will tie in thematically with a cross-innovation event, for example. The training courses are open to the public; dates and registration are available via the website www.citah.de.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Cost of the service: none
Individual coaching on digital technologies

CITAH offers individual coaching sessions ranging from 1-2 days on innovative IT technologies and processes, such as ‘Augmented Reality’ or ‘Machine Learning techniques.’ The specific topics will be tailored to your company in advance.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from all industries
  • Cost of the service: none
Smart Farming Interoperability Training

Trainings / workshops to improve user adoption of digital tools and methods in agriculture, especially in agricultural processes, to improve awareness, knowledge and skills related to interoperability. Trainings are open to the public, dates and registration are available through the website www.citah.de.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from the agricultural sector
  • Cost of the service: none
Individual Coaching on Smart Farming Interoperability

CITAH provides individual coaching to enhance user acceptance for the adoption of digital tools and methods in agriculture, particularly within farming processes, aiming to improve awareness, knowledge, and skills related to interoperability.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from the agricultural sector
  • Cost of the service: none
Laboratory tour on the topic of innovative care technologies

A variety of innovative care technologies can already be shown and experienced in the laboratories of the OFFIS Institute. We are happy to offer guided laboratory tours, preferably in smaller groups of about 10 people.

Key data:

  • Target group: Companies from the healthcare sector
  • Cost of the service: none
Laboratory visits for nursing schools

Digitalization is a topic that is also playing an increasing role in training for healthcare professions. We support nursing schools in teaching trainees about innovative nursing technologies and teaching and learning approaches based on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) and organize lab visits.

Key data:

  • Target group: Nursing schools
  • Cost of the service: none

    Cross-Industry-Innovation

    Workshops on Cross-Industry-Innovation

    Workshops on cross-industry innovation represent an entry point for many potential users of the Innovation Center. This is a one-day event in which a technology (e.g., augmented reality) or a process (machine learning) is presented that can be used across industries. Then, using creativity techniques, participants develop innovative uses for the technology or process. The participants evaluate the resulting impulses for themselves and, if necessary, commission further services based on them via CITAH. The workshops are open to the public; dates and registration are available via the website www.citah.de.

    Key data:

    • Target group: Companies from all industries
    • Cost of the service: none

    Networking events

    Information and networking events

    The CITAH network partners and the Center for Digital Innovation Lower Saxony (ZDIN) offer a wide range of events related to digitization in Lower Saxony. Stakeholders and interested parties from science, business and society come together on a variety of topics and in different formats to inform, exchange and network. Take advantage of the opportunities – at lectures and in workshops, at trade fairs and many other forums. Dates and registration information can be found on the website www.citah.de.

    Key data:

    • Target group: Companies from all industries
    • Cost of the service: none
    CITAH-CITAH Annual Conference

    CITAH will host a regular series of annual conferences to present the results of the Innovation Center. Different tracks on different methods/technologies will be offered. The target group is experts from science and practice.

    Key data:

    • Target group: Companies from all industries, experts from science
    • Cost of the service: none

    Who "runs" CITAH?

    The innovation center is supported by a network of six institutions: the OFFIS Institute for Computer Science, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, the Universities of Oldenburg and Osnabrück, and the GewiNet and Agrotech Valley Forum associations. CITAH works closely with the Center for Digital Innovations Lower Saxony (ZDIN), which is also coordinated by OFFIS.

    How much do the services of CITAH cost?

    CITAH will be co-funded by the European Union in 2023-2025 and can therefore provide its services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public institutions free of charge or at heavily discounted rates. Details can be found in the description of the individual services.

    State aid rules

    CITAH is funded by the European Union and the state of Lower Saxony and can therefore provide its services free of charge for small and medium-sized enterprises and at a rather symbolic fixed price for public institutions.
    However, in the case of services to companies, EU state aid law applies, according to which the subsidy share of the state of Lower Saxony is accounted for as de minimis aid.
    In order to receive a free service, a company must therefore confirm to CITAH that it is a small or medium-sized enterprise.
    In addition, the company must provide information on the amount of de minimis aid received in the current and previous two calendar years.
    On this basis, we check whether our services are permissible under the de minimis regulation and issue a de minimis certificate after the services have been rendered, which must be taken into account for further aid measures.
    Public institutions are not subject to the law on state aid, but we require a declaration from them that they are a public institution that does not carry out any economic activity.
    We will be happy to explain the details to you in a personal meeting!