Autumn 2023 marked the start of ERRIN’s targeted reflections on regional dimension in research and innovation in the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework post-2027, relating to the next EU Framework Programme for R&I (FP10) and future cohesion policy.

As part of its mission, ERRIN has been offering regular assessments and recommendations for the Horizon Europe programme and its elements through continuous dialogue with the Commission and through written messages e.g. for the Horizon 2014-2027 consultation in February 2023, WIDERA WP 2023-2024 in June 2022 or EU Missions WP 2023-2024. This ongoing work done in co-creation with members with the aim of improving regional perspective in R&I has also been a way for ERRIN to contribute to shaping the FP10 narrative from the beginning.

At the same time, to address the start of dedicated FP10 discussions at the EU level and with the Commission’s proposal on FP10 expected in mid-2025, in October 2023 Policy WG organised its first activity oriented specifically towards the new framework programme development. The event on “Looking ahead: Horizon 2025-2027, EU Missions and FP10” invited a representative of the Commission’s DG RTD Common Strategic Planning & Programming Service Unit to share the latest insights, timeline of the process and engage in discussion with network members. In the same month, ERRIN also offered input to the stakeholder consultation to the CoR opinion “Towards an integrated EU policy approach to support place-based innovation for the green and digital transition”, to be adopted in January 2024. Looking forward, the network will be actively following developments related to the upcoming CoR opinion on FP10, and the work of the Commission’s high-level expert group on FP10.

On the cohesion policy side, in September 2023 Smart Specialisation WG held an event on “R&I in cohesion policy post-2027”, featuring a dialogue with a representative of the Commission’s high-level group on the future of cohesion policy, and a JRC expert to the CoR President on the thematic CoR opinion. One month earlier, ERRIN also shared first reflections on the R&I dimension in the future cohesion policy as input to the CoR opinion scheduled for adoption at the end of November 2023. In the coming months, we will work on deepening the related exchanges within and outside the network.

While the planning processes for R&I and cohesion policies are taking place in parallel, one of the key ERRIN messages at this preparatory stage is the need to increase their alignment and exchanges to ensure coherence and closer links between the policies. The importance of place-based R&I ecosystems should be highlighted in FP10, while the R&I dimension should be strengthened in cohesion policy post-2027. These connections should be established where relevant, based on collaboration between different Directorates of the Commission and dialogue between EU, national and regional governments, thus also creating a sounder ground for enabling practical implementation of synergies between funding from respective programmes.

The critical importance of ensuring policy coherence can be seen for example when looking at the various interregional collaboration initiatives aiming to strengthen innovation ecosystems by aligning objectives of cohesion (via smart specialisation strategies) and R&I policies, such as Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI) and Regional Innovation Valleys (RIVs). Last week, Smart Specialisation WG held a meeting on “Interregional collaboration instruments to boost innovation: taking stock & next steps”, discussing the challenges and added value of the different initiatives based on the practical experiences of ERRIN members, and reflecting on their way forward together with a representative of the Commission’s DG REGIO.

ERRIN looks forward to continuing to support the processes of shaping the new R&I and cohesion policy frameworks post-2027 as they go ahead, based on the bottom-up involvement of members across the whole network.