On 6 July 2023, the European Commission released the newest bi-annual edition of the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS). The RIS allows for a closer examination of the innovation performance within European regions and its 2023 edition reports a rise in innovation performance for most of the regions in the EU since 2016. Even though innovative regions tend to be situated within the most innovative countries, some regional ‘pockets of excellence' are found in countries with relatively lower innovation performance.

According to the report, innovation performance has increased for 211 regions out of the total of 239 regions over the period since 2016 - congratulations to all ERRIN members part of the group! The most innovative region in Europe is Hovedstaden in Denmark, followed by Helsinki-Uusimaa in Finland, and Oberbayern in Germany. Stockholm in Sweden is in fourth place, and Berlin in Germany is in fifth place.

At the same time, despite the progress in innovation, the report draws attention to the persisting innovation divide in the EU, predominantly shaped by geographic concentrations. While Innovation Leaders and most Strong innovators are predominantly located in Northern and Western Europe, many of the Moderate and Emerging innovators are in Southern and Eastern Europe. This divide emphasises the need for targeted efforts to bridge the innovation gap and foster equitable growth across the EU, which is one of the goals of the New European Innovation Agenda that ERRIN has been focusing on since before its adoption in July 2022.

You may find the full RIS 2023 report and databases here. The official press release is available here.

The RIS 2023 is to be taken as a reference for consortium eligibility in the currently open Regional Innovation Valleys call for proposals under Horizon Europe. ERRIN encourages all members considering applying to the call to consult the report.

The 2023 edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) was also published on 6 July. The EIS provides an extensive comparative analysis of innovation performance among EU Member States, as well as other European countries and regional neighbours. The 2023 report highlighted a substantial improvement in the innovation performance of approximately 8.5% since 2016. The innovation performance of 25 countries improved during this period, although at a slower pace in the more recent years, and 20 Member States experienced a significant rise in their innovation capabilities over the past year, while only seven observed a decline. Nevertheless, countries with less strong innovation systems tend to improve less rapidly than the EU average.