Strengthening Europe’s open internet requires more than technological innovation alone. It depends on sustained coordination, clear communication, and strong community structures that connect research, innovation, and societal values at scale. Over the past years, the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative has played a central role in advancing this vision by supporting open, trustworthy, and human-centric digital technologies across Europe.
Within this context, NGI4ALL.E has formally concluded its mandate after more than three years of activity, marking the completion of a key Coordination and Support Action underpinning the open internet ecosystem within the wider NGI programme.
Funded under Horizon Europe, NGI4ALL.E built on the foundations of the previous NGI4ALL initiative to ensure continuity and long-term value for the ecosystem. Acting as a central coordination layer for communication, stakeholder engagement, and impact visibility, the project supported a growing and increasingly diverse community of researchers, innovators, open-source contributors, SMEs, and civil-society actors working towards a more sovereign and human-centric Internet.
As project coordinator, Martel Innovate led this effort during a period of significant growth and transition for the NGI programme, working closely with the European Commission and a broad consortium of partners.
Coordinating a growing and diverse ecosystem
One of Martel’s core contributions was steering NGI4ALL.E through a phase of increasing complexity. As new Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs), Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs), innovators, and enablers joined the programme, stronger coordination mechanisms became essential.
Through the NGI Outreach Office, Martel helped consolidate the ecosystem into a more coherent and collaborative structure. This included aligning actions and messaging across initiatives, improving cross-project visibility, and ensuring that NGI activities felt connected rather than fragmented. Ongoing coordination with the European Commission, combined with close collaboration with NGI projects, ensured that communication remained aligned with evolving policy priorities while staying grounded in the realities of the ecosystem.
Martel also led the consolidation of the NGI Outreach Office as a reliable service hub for NGI projects and stakeholders, overseeing updated communication and marketing strategies that strengthened clarity, consistency, and credibility across the programme.
Repositioning the NGI Narrative
As NGI matured, its narrative needed to evolve. A key shift during NGI4ALL.E was the move towards a more infrastructure-focused framing, centred on the Open Internet Stack, digital commons, and sovereign open technologies.
Martel, through the NGI Outreach Office, played a central role in managing this transition. This included harmonising communication across RIAs, CSAs, media channels, and the European Commission to ensure NGI was positioned consistently within the Open Internet Stack framework—particularly in the lead-up to NGI Forum 2025.
Supporting community growth and engagement
Under Martel’s coordination, NGI4ALL.E supported the continued growth and usability of key ecosystem tools. The NGI Innovators Database, hosted and maintained by Martel, surpassed 1,600 solutions, reinforcing its role as a central reference point for NGI-funded innovation and a practical tool for discovery, visibility, and ecosystem mapping.
Collaboration with RIAs and CSAs was further strengthened to feature project news, funding opportunities, events, and open calls, widening visibility across the ecosystem and reinforcing links between initiatives.
Expanding reach and visibility of Europe’s open internet
Ensuring that NGI’s work reached beyond its immediate circles remained a core priority. Martel oversaw online outreach activities, supported participation in major European events, and guided the evolution of engagement formats in line with the programme’s growing maturity.
Two major milestones for Europe’s open intenet during the project were NGI Forum 2023 and NGI Forum 2025, both coordinated with strong involvement from Martel. These flagship events brought together hundreds of participants to share results, exchange ideas, and strengthen connections across the ecosystem, while also serving as key moments to realign messaging and reinforce NGI’s long-term direction.
Looking ahead
As NGI4ALL.E comes to an end, Martel’s focus has been on continuity. Together with the European Commission, the NGI Outreach Office supported plans to ensure that key NGI communication channels, including the website and social media, continue to be maintained and updated beyond the project’s lifetime through the NGI Commons project.
Coordinating NGI4ALL.E has reinforced Martel’s role as a trusted partner for complex European initiatives where communication, coordination, and community-building are as critical as technical innovation. While this chapter has closed, the NGI ecosystem that Martel helped shape is more coherent, more visible, and better positioned to build on its legacy in the years ahead.
