The ERRIN Extraordinary General Meeting will take place on 16 November 2023 from 14:00-16:00 CET in the ERRIN premises, with participation possible online.

As discussed during the Spring AGM, this Extraordinary General Meeting is organised to make the necessary changes to the ERRIN Articles of Association following requirements by the new code for Belgian companies and associations. Approval of the updated Articles is crucial for the functioning of the network. For the Extraordinary General Meeting and the vote to be valid, a minimum of 2/3 of the ERRIN members must be represented at the Meeting, and therefore engagement of each member is of crucial importance.

The Meeting will also serve to vote on the approval of new ERRIN Management Board members, following the 2023 election process this autumn. Five candidatures were received in the call for nominations for ERRIN Management Board held between 20 September and 5 October. More information about each nominee is available here.

Instructions for participation

Given the formal content of this Extraordinary General Meeting, we invite only the designated voters of ERRIN member organisations to take part (one voter per organisation).

As we have reached the full room capacity, we invite all full members (with a permanent representation in Brussels) and associate members (without a permanent representation in Brussels) who have not registered yet, to attend and vote online.

Designated voters of all ERRIN members are invited to register via the form below.

• All members registering to attend from 3 November onwards, are invited to participate remotely – you will receive information to connect in due time;
• In case another member will vote on your behalf (vote by proxy): please register and tick the appropriate box – you will be required to provide information on the member voting on your behalf.

If you are voting on behalf of your organisation and acting as a proxy for another member, you don’t need to provide information besides your own.

If you are not able to join, or in case of any questions, please contact teresa.vio@errin.eu as soon as possible.

Revision of the ERRIN Articles of Association

The current version of the ERRIN Articles of Association can be consulted here. The proposed revised version is attached. 

We strongly invite all members to send their questions and concerns ahead of the meeting to teresa.vio@errin.eu, ideally by 9 November, to give us time to properly address them.

Please note that approval of the revised version also requires a 2/3 majority. In case the approval is not reached, members will be required to gather for a new vote before the end of the year.

As part of the EWRC, and drawing on the European Year of Skills, the topic of talent attraction and retention from the perspective of regions and cities, will be showcased in this event. During an interactive workshop, examples of several different projects and initiatives that have emerged will be demonstrated. In addition, the speakers will present a view from the public, private and academic sectors.

The event will be moderated by the Head of Representation of the South Moravian Region to the EU Vendula Nováčková. Among the speakers will be Eva Holzová, the Smart City Projects and Events Manager for Brno City Municipality from South Moravia. Filip Kaczmarek, a Member of the Wielkopolska Regional Parliament and a chairperson of its Education and Science Committee will attend the event. Neda Martić, the Director at the Network of Entrepreneurial incubators of the Virovitica-Podravina County representing the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem regions will be present. Lastly, Piotr Całbecki, the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region will discuss his experience.

A networking event will follow the panel discussion.

To participate, please register here. 

The NetZeroCities project, in which ERRIN is a partner, has through its Twinning Programme matched 40 Twin Cities from across Europe with the 53 Pilot Cities that were selected earlier this year. The Pilot Cities are experimenting with new approaches to decarbonisation over the course of a two-year programme.

ERRIN is pleased to see that 13 of the selected Twin Cities come from ERRIN member regions. The Twin Cities have been paired with Pilot Cities based on common challenges, goals in terms of emissions reductions, and other shared traits – putting co-creation and exchange at the centre of a growing group of cities motivated to take practical action to address the climate crisis. To accommodate the connections between these cities, they will work together in two different configurations: 15 Pilot Activities were matched with two Twin Cities (a 'duo' format) while ten Pilot Activities were paired with one Twin City (solo).

The 20-month journey of the Twin Cities will be guided by a Learning Programme made up of three modules that will foster exchange with the help of facilitated workshops, online gatherings, and site visits. Twin Cities will be able to see Pilot Cities’ activities up close, helping them to envision how such actions might look in their own community. Twin Cities will create Replication Plans based on these experiences, while benefitting from direct support from NetZeroCities partners and resources on the NetZeroCities Portal. 

Learn more about the NetZeroCities Twinning Programme and find the list of selected Twin Cities coming from ERRIN member regions below.

• Cologne (DE)
• Genova (IT)
• Issy-les-Moulineaux (FR)
• Jyväskylä (FI)
• Lorqui (ES)
• Luleå (SE)
• Lund (SE)
• Municipality of Fundão (PT)
• Oulu (FI)
• Riga (LV)
• Soria (ES)
• Viladecans (ES)
• Wiesbaden (DE)

In this workshop, organised by the ERC as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities, politicians, scientists, and experts will discuss how research can contribute to regional growth and social cohesion. The workshop will take place on 10 October from 16:30-18:30.

Examples of research centres in Czechia and Portugal will show how building bridges across different EU funding programmes can benefit regional development. 

Synergies between various kinds of EU funds can strengthen the regional research landscape, foster innovation, and attract and retain top scientists in countries which are performing less well under the EU Framework Programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe.  
 

Moderator

• Professor Maria Leptin, ERC President

 Speakers 

• João Claro, Vice-Chairman and CEO of INESC TEC, Portugal

• Maria da Graça Carvalho, Member of the European Parliament 

• David Uhlíř, Chief Strategy Officer at South Moravian Innovation Centre, Czechia

The European Research Council brings pioneering science to the programme by organising three sessions on 10 and 11 October as part of this year’s edition. ERC-funded scientists take part, as does ERC President Maria Leptin.

Please register to the event here.

The discussions around the new cohesion policy framework post-2027 are gaining momentum. The work of the European Commission’s high level group on the future of cohesion policy is underway, with strategic conclusions and recommendations expected in early 2024. The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is expected to adopt its opinion on the topic already in November this year.

In this frame, to influence and increase the potential impact of the future cohesion policy, this ERRIN's Smart Specialisation Working Group meeting will focus on the need to explore closer links between cohesion and research and innovation policies. The event will take place on 27 September from 14:30-16:00 in person at ERRIN premises, with welcome coffee from 14:00.

Guided by ERRIN members’ experiences and concerns, ERRIN already shared its first general reflections with regard to the cohesion policy framework post-2027, as contribution to the CoR stakeholder consultation in August this year. On 27 September, a representative of the Commission’s high-level group on the future of cohesion policy and the expert to the CoR President on the CoR opinion will be invited to present their proposals and engage in a discussion with members. The event will be an excellent occasion to contribute to shaping the narrative for the future cohesion policy post-2027.

You may find the agenda of the meeting attached.

Thank you for attending this Smart Specialisation WG meeting. You may find the presentations from the session on this page.

On 19 September 2023, the European Commission published the list of actions that Member States and Associated Countries to Horizon Europe are undertaking or planning to undertake in support of one or more of the five flagships of the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA). This announcement is based on the understanding that full support and engagement is needed at national level to ensure the implementation of NEIA. 

Through the European Innovation Council Forum, a group of Member States and Associated Countries' public authorities and bodies in charge of innovation policies and programmes, were asked to provide brief descriptions of the main actions such as for example, legislative changes, policy initiatives and funding opportunities. 20 Member States and Associated Countries have so far reported 169 actions in total, with their scope ranging from regional, through national to European.

Learn more here and find different actions per flagship here.

The actions referring to Flagship 3 of the NEIA on accelerating and strengthening innovation in European Innovation Ecosystems across the EU and addressing the innovation divide, which has been most closely followed by ERRIN, can be consulted here.

The cities of Helsinki, Ghent, and Eurocities will hold a European Week of Cities and Regions session to shed light on what opportunities a proactive city can offer citizens. The session will take place on 11 October from 09:30-11:00 at the Jacques Delors building, Brussels.

Proactive city services mean that residents' service needs are predicted and services offered and suggested without people having to fill out forms or take action themselves, supporting equal access to services benefiting especially the most vulnerable. Proactive service targeting requires widespread employment of data and analytical methods. This session uses concrete examples to explore how city services can be innovated to be proactive and predictive for the benefit of residents.

Proactive city services mean that residents' service needs are predicted and services offered and suggested without people having to fill out forms or take action themselves, supporting equal access to services benefiting especially the most vulnerable. Proactive service targeting requires widespread employment of data and analytical methods. This session uses concrete examples to explore how city services can be innovated to be proactive and predictive for the benefit of residents.

Please register here

The landscape of European initiatives and funding available for regions and cities to strengthen their innovation ecosystems is very complex. Through its activities, ERRIN has raised many suggestions to include the ecosystem perspective and regional dimension in Horizon Europe in a more systematic way, while supporting members in navigating the different opportunities. Awareness, understanding and taking advantage of these EU initiatives may indeed bring great added value to the development of regional and local innovation ecosystems. At the same time, another path towards the same objective can be explored in parallel. Exchanging practices, challenges and solutions with regard to different regional innovation ecosystems’ development journeys can offer a wide range of useful insights for building and improving the existing structures and their performance.

This in-person ERRIN event on 4 October, organised in line with the Management Board priority on widening and deepening engagement in R&I, aims to embrace this second approach, offering space for all ERRIN members for mutual learning and exchanging regional practices without focusing on any specific European initiatives or funding opportunities.

Following a short welcome and introduction from the ERRIN Vice-Chair and secretariat, a few members will be invited to present their regional innovation ecosystem development journeys, including the encountered challenges, activities within regions and impact of interregional connections. If you would like to share your ecosystem journey in a 5 minute presentation, please reach out to ewa.chomicz@errin.eu at your earliest convenience.

We will then engage in interactive activities and discussions to explore together issues such as the key characteristics and factors for development of a well-functioning regional ecosystem, challenges and ways of tackling them. Finally, after a wrap-up, there will be a chance for further discussions and exchanging contacts during the networking coffee.

The meeting will be an excellent chance to take advantage of the unique value of being part of ERRIN as a network informally bringing together a diverse community of around 120 regional and local ecosystems across Europe.

You may find the agenda of the meeting attached.

Thank you for attending this ERRIN event. You may find the presentations from the session, including the slides with the discussions' outputs, on this page.

Every year ERRIN holds elections for the Management Board. The Management Board consists of up to 15 representatives, who are elected from the membership for a period of three years, renewable for a further three years. The Management Board sets direction for ERRIN’s activities, supervises the implementation of the ERRIN’s Annual Work Plan and provides guidance to the work of the ERRIN Secretariat.

As such, becoming a member of the Management Board offers a great opportunity to develop ERRIN further and strategically lead the network’s activities. It allows both your organisation and you as its representative to get involved in ERRIN’s management, expand your expertise, as well as make an impact on the network’s growth. It also provides a chance to build closer connections with other colleagues on the Board.

This year, in total five seats are open in the Management Board elections.

You can put forward your candidature for this year’s elections until Thursday 5 October, 18:00 CEST.

As one of ERRIN Management Board’s priorities is widening and deepening engagement, we particularly encourage members representing developing regional innovation ecosystems to apply.

For more information regarding the elections, eligibility criteria, and how to put forward your candidature, please click here.

The European Commission has launched a study on mapping and evaluating the implementation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, adopted in February 2021 proposes actions across the four steps of the cancer pathway (prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, and quality of life of cancer patients and survivors) and three cross-cutting themes (research and innovation, inequalities, and paediatric cancers).

The European Commission (DG SANTE) and the European Health and Digital Executive Agency have commissioned Open Evidence and PwC to conduct a study to support the review of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

The aim of the study is to assess the state of play of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, identify further actions to support, coordinate and complement Member States’ efforts against cancer, and build a monitoring framework to assess the outcomes of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

To answer the survey, please see here