On 5 December, ERRIN hosted its Autumn General Meeting followed by a networking reception to mark the end of a dynamic and eventful year.

During the formal business of the General Meeting, chaired by ERRIN Management Board Co-Chair Sarah English, members voted the approval of new Management Board members. ERRIN warmly welcome the newly elected Management Board members:

• Alexandra Schafhauser (Region Västra Götaland)
• Håvard Tangvik (Trøndelag European Office)
• Sebastian Hrib (North-East Regional Development Agency, Romania)
• Pieter Faber (Cities Northern Netherlands – re-elected)

They will join the Board to help shape the network's strategic direction, guide the secretariat and ensure the successful implementation of ERRIN’s annual work plan. Meet the new colleagues on the ERRIN Board here.

Additionally, the ERRIN members endorsed the proposed 2025 budget (see attached).

The ERRIN Secretariat presented an engaging summary of the network’s accomplishments throughout 2024, including:

• Highlights from ERRIN's cluster activities
• ERRIN's strategic work on FP10 in the context of the MFF post-2027
• An overview of ERRIN's project development work in figures

The meeting concluded with a networking reception where members gathered to celebrate the network’s accomplishments and engage in discussions on priority research and innovation topics as the EU enters a new political cycle.

We were honoured to welcome Magdalena Kula, Research Attaché at the Permanent Representation of Poland to the EU, as our keynote speaker. With the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU around the corner, Magdalena shared valuable insights into the priorities of the Presidency in the area of R&I and their ecosystem angle. Security – with its multiple dimensions, including energy, economic or digital – will be high on the agenda, and R&I has an important role in strengthening it. The Presidency will also focus on the future of the next European Framework Programme for R&I FP10 and the European Research Area Policy Agenda 2025–2027, which ERRIN has been following closely.

Every year ERRIN holds elections for the Management Board. The Management Board consists of up to 15 representatives, who are elected from the membership for a period of three years, renewable for a further three years. ERRIN members could put forward their candidatures for this year’s ERRIN Management Board elections between 3 and 17 October 2024. In this period, the Secretariat received four nominations for four open seats, which means that the voting procedure is not necessary.