Territorial preparedness in the spotlight

Territorial preparedness in the spotlight

In the middle of October, ERRIN and its members dived deeper into territorial preparedness with two undertakings kindly hosted by the Podkarpackie Region - the in-person event of the Territorial Preparedness Experimentation Journey, and the Podkarpackie Innovation Forum on economic resilience and preparedness.

On 20 October, the in-person workshop and study visit of the Territorial Preparedness Experimentation Journey co-facilitated by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, ERRIN and Climate KIC gathered representatives of some of the of six territories - Podkarpackie, Andalusia, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Bremen, Drenthe and Vantaa - experimenting together on their own preparedness pilots in line with transformative innovation policy.

The day after, during the Podkarpackie Innovation Forum, ERRIN Director Pirita Lindholm moderated an expert panel discussion focusing on the Experimentation Journey, following a keynote speech from Carmen Sillero (JRC), and featuring insights from Aneta Łobodzińska (Podkarpackie), Dominika Cloo Barillova (Drenthe), Mika Lammi (Vantaa) and Heinrich Klopp (DG DEFIS).

Several key points emerged:

  • Preparedness is specific to the assets, vulnerabilities, governance and innovation capacity of each place
  • Countries and regions can't tackle preparedness each on their own - collaboration is vital, also between different levels of government and across various stakeholders
  • Smart Specialisation Strategies can serve as a regional frameworks for dual-use capability development
  • Areas such as circular economy also build the foundation of preparedness for future challenges

Thank you for all the precious insights and the warm welcome in Podkarpackie as we look forward to continuing the Journey together!

ERRIN will explore preparedness further with its upcoming meeting on mobilising territorial defence and security ecosystems on 9 November in Brussels. In preparation, we are currently gathering examples of support schemes and programmes developed by ERRIN members to support their SMEs and stakeholders in defence-related ecosystems. We invite ERRIN members to learn more and register their participation here.

The Territorial Preparedness Experimentation Journey is part of the Innovation for Place-based Transformation Preparatory Action led by the JRC of the European Commission and supported by ERRIN together with Climate KIC and EURADA. Learn more about the initiative here.