On 23 February, representatives of local and regional authorities from across Europe, EU officials and higher education and industry actors gathered in Ancona at a conference organised by the European Committee of the Regions SEDEC commission and Regione Marche. The event discussed the challenges and best ways to support place-based innovation for the EU's green and digital transition. The debate was inspired by the CoR opinion by Andrea Putzu, Member of the Regional Council of Marche, adopted in the CoR plenary in January, to which ERRIN submitted its messages as part of stakeholder consultation last autumn.

Some of the main points raised during the event included:

• key value of quadruple helix and interregional collaboration, as well working together in multi-level governance;
• need for better coordination between programmes and higher accessibility to reduce the innovation gap.

The debate was very timely in the wider perspective of discussions around the future cohesion and R&I policies post-2027. ERRIN was invited to join among the speakers – Ewa Chomicz, Policy and Engagement Manager, shared further reflections on the importance of establishing links between policies in areas with added value, critical aspect of multi-level dialogue, initiatives linking the place-based and ecosystem approach such as EU Missions, Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI), Regional Innovation Valleys, and need for engaging regions in co-designing new measures and initiatives, including those aiming to address the innovation gap.

EU Missions and mission-oriented approach alongside tackling the innovation divide are some of the major issues that ERRIN aims to focus on in its work around the next European Framework Programme for R&I (FP10). Learn more about our FP10 activities here.