One-liner: the right to use the city of València — its spaces, infrastructure and events — as a real-world test bed, with a facilitator to smooth permits and at zero cost. The city's signature access-map asset (see the org profile at Valencia Urban Sandbox for governance/context). Regulated by the Ordenanza Municipal reguladora del Sandbox Urbano and run by Valencia Innovation Capital.
What you get
- Permission to pilot in real "urban resources" — 100+ available (spaces, infrastructure, events) listed in the Relación de recursos urbanos (as of Nov 2024); you can also propose a new resource.
- A facilitator person (persona facilitadora) for the resource + municipal technical staff assigned to your test.
- A Sandbox Kit (participation guide, FAQs, comms kit) and a justification/advisory contact.
- No cost, no aval by default; a participation certificate on request at exit.
Who it's for (eligibility — Art. 8 & 12)
- Any natural or legal person, public or private, with capacity to act, wanting to test innovative prototypes / services / business models in an advanced state of development (ready for real-world validation).
- Project must show positive impact / added value to municipal services or a city challenge (Mapa de Demanda Temprana).
- Prioritised applicants: projects tied to public services / municipal competences with a gender-equality lens; projects with national/EU/international funding; CPI awardees; beneficiaries of the VIC Innovation Grants 2026; entities in the city's strategic innovation alliances; those with registered office/branch in València.
- Themes: social cohesion & citizenship · health & wellbeing · environment & sustainability · energy efficiency & urbanism · mobility · economic & cultural development · governance & digitalisation.
Duration (Art. 7)
- Initial tests up to 5 years, extendable by up to 5 more years. Projects may share a resource to create synergies.
How to apply — step by step (Art. 13–17)
- File the access request electronically via the Sede Electrónica (Concejalía de Innovación). It contains:
- Electronic form — promoter + project-contact ID, brief project summary.
- Declaraciones responsables — tax & Social Security up to date; occupational-risk (PRL) compliance; guarantees/liability regime for protecting participants & the urban environment; submission to Spanish jurisdiction.
- Proposed test protocol (protocolo de pruebas) — terms, conditions and limits of the tests (see below).
- Servicio de Innovación checks the request meets requirements → 10 days to subsanar if anything is missing.
- Comisión de Valoración (multidisciplinary, under the Concejalía de Innovación) evaluates eligibility, the test protocol and the chosen urban resource; may propose changes or alternative resources.
- Resolution notified within a maximum of 3 months.
- On approval you get 15 working days to make agreed protocol changes and provide any agreed insurance/guarantees.
- You then have a maximum of 1 month to begin your tests.
Writing the test protocol (the core document — 12 recommendations)
Define objectives clearly · describe current project state (prior evidence) · frame it against a real city challenge · state your differential elements · specify the urban resources needed (justify alternatives if none fit) · give a realistic calendar · identify risks + prevention measures · propose a benefit return to the city · clarify personal-data handling (GDPR) · flag confidential info · address IP/industrial property · add financing/alliance context.
During and after the tests
- Monitoring: VIC tracks and controls the tests via assigned technical staff + the resource facilitator.
- Damage regime (Art. 23): the promoter is responsible for repairing/replacing/indemnifying damage; the Ajuntament is not liable except for its own fault.
- Interruption (Art. 20): by the promoter (motivated, with prior notice) or by the Ajuntament (motivated, with prior hearing) — for technical reasons, non-compliance, safety risks, or objectives reached; can be resumed.
- Exit: send a final results report to VIC within 1 month of finishing; restore the resource to its prior state (or leave the prototype as a knowledge contribution if agreed). The Ajuntament issues a participation certificate on request — which does not validate your results.
Risk & benefit sharing (Art. 19 & 22) — "share the risk, share the benefit"
The protocol must include three sharing mechanisms:
- Disseminate info about the Sandbox and València (use the comms kit).
- Share knowledge with the administration — technology-applicability opinion, free tested units, dissemination actions (proportional to public resources used, time, importance of the resource, impact).
- Share economic benefit where it applies — municipal participation of 0.5%–5% of net commercialisation profit,
during the first 2 years of commercialisation and only if profitable.
- Exemptions: individuals; autónomos & companies in their first 2 years of activity; from year 3, exempt if annual turnover < €1,000,000; foundations/non-profits; universities & research teams; registered tech institutes.
Relations
- Run by: Valencia Innovation Capital
- Required by: VIC Innovation Grants 2026
- Part of: Testbeds (support)
- See also: Valencia Living Lab
- See also: CPI - Compra Publica Innovadora
- See also: VLCi Open Data Valencia