In line with the new European Innovation Agenda, which aims to accelerate and strengthen innovation in European innovation ecosystems and address innovation divides, the European Commission aims to label 100 regions that are committed to coordinating and directing research and development investments and policies at the regional level as Regional Innovation Valleys (RIV).
On March 28, 2023, the European Commission launched a call for expressions of interest inviting European regions to become RIVs.
The call for expressions of interest will determine the following:
- It will provide regions with the opportunity to express their interest in becoming regional innovation valleys while contributing to the strategic priorities of the EU and addressing specific local challenges and needs based on smart specialization strategies. Regions will indicate in which innovation domain (food security, renewable energy, circular economy, digital transformation, healthcare system, research and development investments, and policies) they would like to strengthen.
- It will assist interested regions in identifying potential partners by facilitating matchmaking and connections among regions with similar objectives. These regions can collaborate to create connected regional innovation valleys by preparing joint innovation plans.
To date, there are 64 eligible regions that have expressed interest in becoming Regional Innovation Valleys. The call for expressions of interest will remain open until September 18, 2023, giving regional and national public authorities still interested in applying some time to do so.
The European Commission has allocated a budget of €170 million for the Regional Innovation Valleys initiative. Within this budget, the call for proposals under the European Innovation Ecosystems program, "HORIZON-EIE-2023-CONNECT-03-01: Implementing co-funded action plans for connected regional innovation valleys," has a budget of €60 million. The goal of this call is to encourage the creation of efficient, open, inclusive, and interconnected European innovation ecosystems, especially in thematic/technological areas critical to EU value chains, including deep tech.
The target audience eligible to apply for this call includes those who shape innovation policies/programs and can provide 50% co-financing, with a requirement for at least five different countries and five different national or regional organizations. (According to the Innovation Scoreboard, at least 2 of the partners should be from 'moderate'/'emerging' innovation countries, and 1 should be from 'strong'/'innovation leader' countries.) These organizations can include research institutions, universities, companies, and clusters.
Project Budget: €8-12 million Call Budget: €60 million Type of Funding: The EU will provide 50% of the total project budget as part of co-financing, while the remaining portion will be covered by national or regional institutions from their own budgets or public and private funds.
The expected output of the call is to create connected regional innovation valleys across the EU, taking into account regional capacities, including regions with low innovation performance.
Expectations from supported projects include:
- Creating open, efficient, inclusive, and interconnected innovation ecosystems across the EU in line with the new European Innovation Agenda.
- Developing common visions and strategies that promote collaboration among stakeholders in industry, academia, civil society, and the public sector.
- Strengthening the effectiveness and innovation potential based on national/regional smart specialization strategies.
- Creating synergistic, complementary, and collaborative formations focused on specific thematic areas critical to EU value chains while addressing challenges in line with EU interests.
- Contributing to increasing innovation capacity in a way that allows innovators to bring their ideas to the market and scale innovation across the EU.
- Encouraging more joint innovation investments that leverage other sources of financing (European, national or regional public funds, and/or private funds).
- Increasing the participation of all innovation ecosystem actors related to the twin transition to ensure sustainability and achieve the EU's strategic autonomy.
The call will support action plans that empower and activate areas under the responsibility of national, regional, or local public innovation policies and programs. As part of these action plans, research and development calls will be designed and implemented based on the needs of national/regional innovation ecosystem stakeholders and made available to the private sector.