The second edition of the "Veneto Stars" challenge has been launched, promoted by Veneto Region - Veneto Digital Agenda.

The purpose is to establish a permanent open innovation lab dedicated to young European innovators in the Veneto Region by allowing them to submit ideas based on spatial data or Space-derived Technologies.

The topic of the 2023 edition was the agrifood sector, while the 2024 edition will be focused on cultural heritage and UNESCO sites.

Teams of young Europeans aged between 18 and 25 are asked to submit ideas to favour the protection, conservation, monitoring, or valorisation of the Veneto Region's UNESCO sites and cultural heritage.

Participants can submit their ideas until 15 April 2024 at www.venetostars.com. 

The Veneto Region will invite the best 10 teams to attend the international event "Space Meetings Veneto" (SMV)  to be held in Venice (20-22 May 2024) to meet public and private entities, investors, end-users and stakeholders.

During the SMV event, the ten finalists will present their ideas in front of a Jury of qualified experts representing the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Copernicus User Forum, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the University of Padua, the Italian Institute of Technology Centre for Cultural Heritage Technology which will select the overall winner of the competition.

The winning team will be invited to spend a week in Veneto in June 2024 to attend a tailor-made programme, including visits, meetings, training, coaching and mentoring activities.

Veneto Region aims to become a reference point in the field of digital innovation. Moreover, the “Veneto Stars” challenge intends to encourage the interest of dynamic and enterprising young Europeans in Space data and boost new ideas combining tradition and modernity.

More material is on the dedicated website here.

As part of the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), in which ERRIN is involved, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is investigating on how to further support cities and regions in their transition to a circular economy.

To this end, they are inviting cities and regions to take a survey to identify ways to accelerate the circular economy transition in the context of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.

The Survey is composed of six parts, namely:

1. Why your city/region is willing to transition from a linear to circular economy
2. Who does what on the transition towards a circular economy in your city/region?
3. What is the state of the art of the circular economy transition in your city/region?
4. How the circular economy is implemented in your city/region?
5. What is your perception of the level of advancement of the transition from a linear to a circular economy in your city/region?
6. what are the key obstacles and forward-looking strategies to a circular economy in your city/region?

Why taking the survey?

• Share your experiences in relation to the use of European Commission’s instruments for supporting the circular economy at a city/region level.
• Point out what you believe works and what doesn’t to concretely accelerate the transition.
• Highlight the bottlenecks that you have faced when transitioning to a circular economy.
• Voice your expectations and your support needs to make this transition truly happen.

Survey participants are encouraged to complete the survey by 25 March. The insights gleaned from this initiative will contribute to the flagship OECD report titled "The Circular Economy in EU Cities and Regions" scheduled for release in 2025. You can take part in the survey here.

The ERRIN Secretariat team is pleased to invite you to the upcoming ERRIN Intro Coffee.

Through ERRIN Intro Coffees we wish to offer a brief, to-the-point introduction to ERRIN and its services, as well as create an opportunity for networking between members. Organised a couple of times a year, these meetings are destined mainly for new ERRIN members in our community and new staff additions in our members’ offices, but all interested members are welcome to participate. We are delighted to invite you to join us in person!

The meeting will take place on Friday 19 April from 10:00-11:30 at the ERRIN premises.

During the first part of the meeting, the ERRIN Secretariat colleagues will:

• Provide background information on ERRIN’s mission and our wide range of activities.
• Present the structure of our thematic working groups, projects and project facilitation process, and how members can get involved and contribute.
• Give an overview of online tools available for our members and how to use them to maximise the added value of your membership.

After that, everyone will have a chance to get to know each other and network, informally exchanging ideas, opportunities and questions. Participants will be able to connect and discover points of common interest, which can grant inspiration and a starting point for further cooperation and engagement in specific ERRIN activities. 

Thank you for attending this ERRIN Intro Coffee. You may find the presentation from the session on this page.

The S3 Community of Practice (S3 CoP) Secretariat, where ERRIN is a partner, opened a call to all EU regions and member states to express their interest in hosting the Smart Specialisation (S3) Conference 2024 this autumn. As S3 CoP is the central knowledge and information hub for S3, the upcoming event will be at the forefront of discussions on Smart Specialisation and its key role in fostering local economic development. The S3 Conference 2024 will be a collaborative endeavour to unite the S3 community, offering a platform for stakeholders to network, exchange knowledge, and delve into the successes and challenges of implementing S3 strategies.

The conference will offer a great opportunity for the host region to put their S3 initiatives, stakeholders, and accomplishments, in the spotlight. Some of the reasons for hosting the conference include:

• Visibility: Present your region's profile across the EU and amongst peers.
• Collaboration: Foster new partnerships and collaborations by providing a platform for local and international stakeholders to connect.
• Showcasing: Highlight your region’s achievements in Smart Specialisation, sharing your journey, challenges, and successes with policymakers and other stakeholders.

All EU regions and member states are invited to apply for this unique hosting opportunity.

You may find more information, application guidelines and express your interest in hosting the conference by 15 March here.

On 4 February 2022, the European Commission launched the transition pathway for tourism, the first in a series of transition pathways for EU industrial ecosystems. The transition pathway identifies 27 areas of measures for the green and digital transition and for improving the resilience of EU tourism. It calls for more circular and environmentally friendly services in tourism, enhancing data sharing for more innovative services, and improving accessibility of services, among others.

Over the last couple of years, ERRIN's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Working Group has actively followed the development of the Tourism Transition Pathway and has organised various activities to keep our members updated and engaged. Following the T4T stakeholder event that will be held on 15 March and the forthcoming launch of the Together4EU Tourism platform, the Working Group will hold a meeting on 26 March in Brussels, with the aim to provide members with the latest information on its initiatives and concrete achievements.

This meeting will also provide opportunities for members to reflect upon the green and digital transition of the sector and showcase good practices from their regional and local contexts to the European Commission, among which ERRIN members' commitments and pledges for the transition of EU tourism.

ERRIN members are invited to express their interest in presenting a pledge, good practice or project for the transition of EU tourism during the meeting. Please email francesca.pozzebon@errin.eu, briefly presenting your practice, by 15 March 2024.

UPDATE: This WG meeting was moved online. Please register via this link to be added to the webinar.

The HuMUS project has launched a cascade funding call aimed at supporting 20 pilot projects in fostering participatory governance methods to improve soil health at regional and local levels in Europe.

The HuMUS project aims to engage stakeholders through a Quadruple Helix approach, involving farmers, entrepreneurs, consumer associations, NGOs, soil experts, researchers, academics, government officials, and the general public. The call seeks to identify and support 20 Pilot Projects, with a target of at least 300 quadruple-helix stakeholders actively participating.

The total budget for the HuMUS Call for Pilot proposals is €600.000, with a maximum subgrant of €30.000 (lump sum) per pilot project. The deadline for proposal submission has been extended until 05 April 2024.

A further information session will be held on 07 March 2024 from 10:30 to 12:30 CET. More information here.

Among the expected outcomes of the call are the signing of 13 Territorial Management Agreements within the HuMUS partner communities and the delivery of evidence showcasing the successful adoption of the HuMUS Methodology or an equivalent approach by the 20 selected Pilot Projects.

Winners of the call will not only receive financial support but also benefit from technical assistance provided by members of the HuMUS consortium. This includes the option to participate in a Soil Stewards training programme, offering an in-depth presentation of the HuMUS methodology.

To find out more about this and other cascade funding calls, see the specific cascade funding page on the ERRIN website.

Learn more and apply on the HuMUS website. 

The HuMUS project is organising an online info day on 07 March 2024 from 10:30 CET about its cascade funding call 'Engage with and activate municipalities and regions to protect and restore soil health'.

The purpose of this event is to inform potential applicants about the call, aimed at supporting 20 pilot projects in fostering participatory governance methods to improve soil health at regional and local levels in Europe. The total budget for the HuMUS Call for Pilot proposals is €600.000, with a maximum subgrant of €30.000 (lump sum) per pilot project. The deadline for proposal submission has been extended until 05 April 2024. Learn more about the call here.

Registration for the Info Day is available at this link until 5 March at 17:00 CET. The recording of the info day will be available on the HuMUS website.

The Health Working Group is looking for regional examples related to cancer for its next WG meeting on 17 April from 14:00-16:00. The meeting will be joint with EUREGHA's Cancer WG and will take place in person at the ERRIN premises.

The meeting will focus on the Cancer Mission and what regions can do to support its implementation. We will hear from the Cancer Mission secretariat, who will present the upcoming opportunities with the mission and the role they see for the regions. We would then like to showcase 2-4 examples of projects or practices from ERRIN members that can be related to the goals of the Mission. The purpose will be to illustrate how regions can contribute to the implementation of the mission and what activities could be relevant for the mission to support in the future.

Please send your contributions to Lucy.Hammond@errin.eu by 20 March. The email should include a short description of the proposed example – a brief overview of the activity/project, its goals and the actors involved. For this meeting, we will prioritise examples that can be presented in person, but online presentations can also be considered.

Pathways2Resilience (P2R), an ERRIN project, has opened its first call for regions and communities for subgrant applications to co-design visions of a climate-resilient future and transformative adaptation pathways that will ensure long-term impact. The first call has had the deadline extended until 6 May 2024 12:00 CEST. Following updated guidance from CINEA, UK regions are now eligible to apply.

This first call aims to provide 40 regions/communities with financial support through subgrant agreements, up to a maximum of 210,000€, along with supporting services and capacity-building activities lasting up to 18 months.

P2R has developed a framework to support regions in their work to adapt and build resilience to climate change, the Regional Resilience Journey (RRJ). The RRJ consists of multiple steps, each containing different expected activities and outcomes, as well as pointing to different methodologies and tools that can be used.

The selection process will prioritise regions/communities with heightened vulnerability and low adaptive capacity to climate change impacts. This call aims to put together a diverse and inclusive portfolio of regions, ensuring a comprehensive validation of the P2R framework.

Please find the call text, eligibility requirements and more information here.

The ERRIN Adaptation Task Force organised an information session on 12 December in which ERRIN members heard more about the P2R opportunity alongside opportunities offered by the MIP4Adapt Platform and CLIMAAX project. 

P2R is a five-year project implemented by a consortium of 14 organisations, coordinated by EIT Climate-KIC. As part of its work, P2R will support at least 100 regions/communities within European Union (EU) Member States or Associated Countries that are within Europe’s biogeographical regions with a total of 21M€, over the course of two calls, to co-design visions of a climate resilient future and corresponding transformative adaptation pathways and innovation agendas that ensure long-term impact.