Over 70 ERRIN member regions announced as Regional Innovation Valleys
One year after the launch of the call for expression of interest inviting European regions to become Regional Innovation Valleys (RIVs) and linked calls for proposals under EIE part of Horizon Europe and I3 Instrument of ERDF, 151 regions granted the RIV title were announced on 19 June 2024 by Commissioners Iliana Ivanova and Elisa Ferreira during the European Committee of the Regions plenary session.
79 regions received the label based on answering the call for expression of interest. 72 regions are on track to become RIVs after successful participation in the calls for proposals (subject to the signature of the respective grant agreements) – 15 projects will be granted a total of around EUR 116 million through the ERDF and Horizon Europe funding, and committed to co-fund another €77 million from private and public sources. Apart from funding, the Commission aims to support these regions through community building activities, matchmaking events and targeted communication actions.
ERRIN is thrilled to see that 73 regions within ERRIN membership were selected as Regional Innovation Valleys. Congratulations to all our successful members, including regions of our Policy and Smart Specialisation Working Group leaders: Basque Country, Central Sweden (North Middle Sweden and East Middle Sweden), Normandy, North-East Romania, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Scotland, Skåne (South Sweden), Tuscany, Wielkopolska. The full list and map of selected regions can be found here and the list of ERRIN member regions below. The official press release of the European Commission can be consulted here.
ERRIN has been closely following the RIV initiative, engaging in discussions and continuously supporting members in applying to the related calls through mapping, matchmaking and knowledge sharing activities (find examples here and here), following high interest from the community. We look forward to offering opportunities for ERRIN members to share their RIV experiences and to support peer-learning among the 120 innovative European regions part of the network, as well as facilitate applying to the future RIV calls in 2025.
The European Commission set an aim to identify up to 100 Regional Innovation Valleys in line with the New European Innovation Agenda adopted in July 2022 and its flagship 3 on accelerating and strengthening innovation in European Innovation Ecosystems across the EU and addressing the innovation divide. Applying for a RIV label was open to regions committed to enhancing the coordination and directionality of their R&I investment and policies at the regional level towards key EU priorities, strengthening their R&I ecosystems and engaging in R&I collaboration between more and less advanced regions with complementary smart specialisations (S3). Regions could acquire the title through the call for EoI and calls for proposals under EIE part of Horizon Europe and I3 Instrument of ERDF organised in 2023. Two new RIV calls for proposals under EIE and Widening parts of Horizon Europe are expected in 2025.
Regions within ERRIN membership that were selected as Regional Innovation Valleys:
- Alentejo (PT)
- Andalucía (ES)
- Aragón (ES)
- Baden-Württemberg (DE)
- Basse-Normandie (FR)
- Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (FR)
- Castilla y León (ES)
- Castilla-La Mancha (ES)
- Cataluña (ES)
- Centre-Val de Loire (FR)
- Chemnitz (DE)
- Comunidad de Madrid (ES)
- Comunidad Foral de Navarra (ES)
- Comunitat Valenciana (ES)
- Darmstadt (DE)
- Dolnośląskie (PL)
- Emilia-Romagna (IT)
- Etelä-Suomi (FI)
- Extremadura (ES)
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia (IT)
- Galicia (ES)
- Gelderland (NL)
- Grand Est (FR)
- Groningen (NL)
- Haute-Normandie (FR)
- Helsinki-Uusimaa (FI)
- Illes Balears (ES)
- Karlsruhe (DE)
- Kärnten (AT)
- Köln (DE)
- Κύπρος (Kýpros) (CY)
- Länsi-Suomi (FI)
- Liguria (IT)
- Lombardia (IT)
- Lubelskie (PL)
- Małopolskie (PL)
- Nord-Est (RO)
- Nordjylland (DK)
- Nord-Vest (RO)
- Norra Mellansverige (SE)
- Nouvelle-Aquitaine (FR)
- Occitanie (FR)
- Östra Mellansverige (SE)
- Overijssel (NL)
- País Vasco (ES)
- Picardie (FR)
- Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi (FI)
- Pomorskie (PL)
- Prov. Antwerpen (BE)
- Prov. Vlaams-Brabant (BE)
- Prov. West-Vlaanderen (BE)
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (FR)
- Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen (IT)
- Provincia Autonoma di Trento (IT)
- Provincie Utrecht (NL)
- Puglia (IT)
- Região Autónoma dos Açores (PT)
- Región de Murcia (ES)
- Région wallonne (BE)
- Rhône-Alpes (FR)
- Scotland (UK)
- Sjælland (DK)
- Stockholm (SE)
- Sydsverige (SE)
- Thüringen (DE)
- Toscana (IT)
- Veneto (IT)
- Vestlandet (NO)
- Vlaams Gewest (BE)
- Warmińsko-mazurskie (PL)
- West Midlands (UK)
- Wielkopolskie (PL)