The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in collaboration with the European Commission, along with the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, CDTI and FECYT, organises a one-day high-level conference to reflect on the New European Innovation Agenda, and to discuss the challenges faced by public and private actors concerning deep-tech innovation and its contribution to the twin and digital transitions. The event will allow the main stakeholders at European, national and regional levels to come together and reflect on the progress made in the last year, create synergies between the different initiatives on innovation and discuss how to overcome the innovation gap between EU regions. It will include keynote speeches by national and EU authorities, and roundtables with key actors in the innovation landscape.

The event will take place in the Auditorium of the National Museum Reina Sofía, in the city centre of Madrid. The evening of the event, a social dinner and a private visit to the Museum is scheduled and open to all attendees.

The registration to the event is available via this link. Please note that the attendance is subject to validation of your registration.

More information about the conference, including the programme and practical information, is available on the website, which will be regularly updated in the coming weeks.

Taking advantage of the presence of regional stakeholders in Brussels for the 2023 European Week of Regions and Cities, ERRIN’s Innovation and Investment Working Group organised a meeting with EIC President of the Board, Michiel Scheffer.

This meeting was an opportunity to have a direct exchange between EIC President and regional stakeholders to discuss links between European and regional level innovation support provided to SMEs, start ups and clusters, as well as more broadly input the work of the EIC.

It aimed to create a better link between regions and the EIC, explore how ERRIN can support the Council’s work, as well as a way of channelling regions' contributions to EIC priorities. The meeting focused on:

• Showcasing the role of local and regional authorities as important players in supporting SMEs, start-ups and clusters
• Exploring how to create a better pipeline of support mechanisms between regional programmes and the EIC
• Discussing how the EIC could better take into account disparities between territories, and within one specific territory, in applying and accessing EIC calls

The meeting included  examples showcasing support mechanisms (technical assistance, funding, networking, etc.), selected thanks to a call for contribution to ERRIN members.

You can find the presentation, focused on regioanl examples, on this page.

If you have any questions, you can contact rodolphe.doite@errin.eu.

The Innovation and Investment Working Group is looking for examples of local and regional schemes that support stakeholders in their innovation projects for our meeting with the EIC President of the Board, Michiel Scheffer. The meeting will take place on 9 October between 17:30 and 19:30 CEST. 

The meeting will include regional examples showcasing support mechanisms (technical assistance, funding, networking, etc.) created by local and regional authorities to help SMEs, start-ups and clusters implement innovation projects, that may be eligible for the EIC Pathfinder or Accelerator at a later stage.

The objective is to:

• Showcase the role of local and regional authorities as important players in supporting SMEs, start-ups and other stakeholders from the private sector
• Explore the creation of a better pipeline of support mechanisms between regional programmes and the EIC

The Innovation and Investment Working Group is looking for a diverse range of examples, not only good practices, but also challenges in bridging the gap between local and regional support and accessing highly competitive calls of the EIC.

You can find more information on the meeting here.

Regional programmes can play a role in identifying, screening and supporting EIC applicants, including in areas that have not yet seen local EIC beneficiaries. This year, 50 programmes at national and regional level have been certified as ‘Plug-in’ programmes for the EIC Accelerator, giving applicants the opportunity to use nationally/regionally funded programmes as a stepping stone for EIC applications. Other regional programmes could also play a role, even without participation in the Plug-in scheme.

A list of programmes certified for the Plug-In of the EIC Accelerator is available here. More information on those Plug-In can be found in Annex 5 of the 2022 EIC Work Programme here (page 150). 

Please send your contributions to rodolphe.doite@errin.eu by Wednesday 27 September. The email should include a brief description of the support scheme, its goals, the actors supported and/or the financing model used (if applicable).

An on-site presence should be foreseen to present the example. Non-selected examples may be sent to the EIC after the meeting.
 

As part of the European Week of Regions and Cities, the event 'SynEnergy: Regions enabling the European Green Industrial Transformation' will be held on 11 October from 11:30 to 12:30.

The workshop highlights the role of Regions in deploying hydrogen and solar projects and initiatives. Industrial conversion is a crucial driver for sustainable growth to more competitive and resource-efficient energy ecosystems for local industries facing transformational change. The panel includes regional ministers and governors who will discuss and debate the best strategies for driving the green industrial transformation towards a more sustainable economy.

The workshop will be organised by representatives of European regions: Veneto (Italy), Carinthia (Austria), Castilla La Mancha (Spain) and Saxony (Germany).

The speakers will be moderated by Ruud Kempener, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.

More information and registration is available here.

Birmingham Tech Week 2023, the UK’s largest regional tech conference will take place from 16-20 October. It will be a week of events aimed at showcasing the region’s innovation opportunities to an international audience, including future mobility and decarbonisation.

From Artificial Intelligence to Quantum Computing and Augmented Reality, this 5-day extravaganza promises to inspire, educate, and foster collaboration across all sectors.

Digital skills, leadership and business growth will all come under the spotlight at an annual tech summit in Birmingham. Bringing together 150 speakers across 25 different sessions being held in the city. It will culminate in a black-tie dinner and awards ceremony on the Friday night at the ICC.

The five-day festival starts on October 16 and is expected to attract around 7,5000 delegates to venues including HSBC UK's headquarters in Broad Street, The Bond in Digbeth and The Lewis Building in Bull Street.

There will be tech expos, skills sessions and panel discussions, focussing on the topics such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, augmented reality, access to funding, global exporting, digital skills and more.

More information and registration here.

On 6 September, the European Commission published a matchmaking map showcasing European regions that have so far expressed their interest to become a Regional Innovation Valley (RIV) by applying to the call for Expression of Interest launched in March 2023. The call for EoI is still open for new submissions until 18 September 2023.

The aim of the matchmaking map is to support interested regions in identifying relevant partners willing to strengthen and advance European innovation ecosystems, by facilitating matchmaking and interconnections among regions across Europe. It displays regional authorities committed to tackle the most urgent social challenges, based on but not limited to their smart specialisation strategies, whilst contributing to the Union’s strategic priorities. Together, these regions can collaborate on the preparation of joint innovation plans to tackle the EU innovation divide.

To date, 64 eligible regions coming from 22 Member States and Associated Countries to Horizon Europe expressed their interest in becoming RIVs. Among the applicants are 7 innovation leaders, 16 strong innovators, 18 moderate innovators, and 19 emerging innovators, according to the latest Regional Innovation Scoreboard published in July. ERRIN is happy to note that the group includes 34 network members.

To facilitate collaboration, the map highlights the main commitments and challenges each region is tackling, as well as their innovation performance levels. The full dataset can also be downloaded.

The matchmaking map can also be used to facilitate the preparation of proposals for the RIV calls under the European Innovation Ecosystems part of Horizon Europe and under the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument of ERDF, which will stay open until 17 October 2023.

Learn more here.

ERRIN has been closely following the developments around the Regional Innovation Valleys, continuously supporting members in applying to the related calls through a variety of activities (find examples here), as well as engaging in discussions at the European level. In the closest future, ERRIN representatives will speak on RIVs during the European Commission’s matchmaking event on 12 September and during the Knowledge Exchange Platform seminar on 28 September.

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) Task Force is looking for a new co-leader to join the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen – South Tyrol, Cities Northern Netherlands, Helsinki, and Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in steering the TF activities and priorities.

The candidate should be especially knowledgeable about the NEB objectives and opportunities and involved in the current developments of the initiative or related projects, with a good understanding of its cross-cutting nature. Among other criteria, we will consider the capacity and the portfolio of the candidate and the member organisation (e.g. involvement in related EU projects), as well as geographical and gender balance among leaders. The candidates must be Brussels-based.

The new co-leader will participate in the organisation and moderation of WG meetings, project development activities, and follow policy developments around the topic. In addition, the new co-leader will represent ERRIN and the group at member and institutional events while closely liaising with the ERRIN Secretariat and the ERRIN Management Board.

Please express your interest by sending an email to agnieszka.wieczorek@errin.eu and gaia.marotta@errin.eu stating your professional motivation and what you would like to achieve as a working group leader by 10 October 2023 EOB.

During the ERRIN Energy and Climate Working Group meeting dedicated to developments on Hydrogen policy (16 February 2023), the European Commission announced the publication of a European roadmap on Hydrogen Valleys, to support European stakeholders in achieving this objective. On 15 July 2023, the European Commission published a call for evidence to collect further input from multiple stakeholders for the creation of this roadmap. 

In this frame, ERRIN produced an input paper building on the work of the S3 Partnership on Hydrogen Valleys and collecting ERRIN members’ needs, challenges and solutions. A dedicated survey was created to gather those inputs, and we received answers from 25 regional and local governments, from nine countries, committed to hydrogen development in their territories. 

You may read the full contribution in the attached document. 

ERRIN and its members welcome the process of gathering feedback and inputs for the European roadmap on Hydrogen Valleys. This paper outlines how local and regional governments address hydrogen-related challenges, building on their existing local strategies and/or roadmaps. Additionally, it recognises the significance of Hydrogen Valleys as place-based innovation ecosystems bringing together key stakeholders engaged in developing hydrogen solutions. Extensive work is taking place at the local and regional levels to reinforce the research and innovation agenda for clean hydrogen, enabling the implementation of Hydrogen Valleys.  

However, it is crucial to develop those local and regional sustainable energy ecosystems further as they have an important role to play in reaching the overall objective of climate neutrality. To achieve this objective, this input paper will call for more dedicated support in setting up and implementing Hydrogen Valleys, as well as a stronger role of local and regional governments in the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.  

Science meets Regions aims to boost evidence for policy at local and regional level through various mechanisms: participatory events and innovation camps on specific policy issues, pairing schemes between researchers and policymakers at local level, as well as skills training on working with evidence for policymakers. The closing event on 27-28 September will bring together current and former participants in the project, taking stock of the results but also reflecting on the future of the project. It will also establish linkages with other lines of work on evidence for policy, across levels of governance. 

ERRIN Director Pirita Lindholm will speak in the panel discussion on the future of the Partnerships for Regional Innovation which will be held on 28 September from 11:30-13:00.

The registration to attend the event in person is available here until 21 September 2023, 21:00 (CEST). Webstreaming will also be available. More details and agenda can be found here.

The Science Meets Regions closing event is organised back to back with the thematic seminar of the Knowledge Exchange Platform that will take place on the afternoon of 28 September. This meeting will deal with the New European Innovation Agenda and Regional Innovation Valleys, with the participation of ERRIN Director Pirita Lindholm as one of the speakers. Find more details about the agenda and registration here.

​​​The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission are pleased to invite you to the seminar "Implementation of the New European Innovation Agenda – What is in it for regions and cities?" organised in the framework of their Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP 2.0). The event will take place on Thursday, 28 September 2023, from 14:30 to 18:00, in person at CoR in Brussels.

This thematic seminar will focus on the regional and local dimensions of the New European Innovation Agenda, including the opportunities for Regional Innovation Valleys. ERRIN Director Pirita Lindholm will speak in the panel discussion in the second part of the event on setting the policy frame, discussing practical examples from regions.

You may find more details about the event and the draft agenda here​. Should you wish to participate, you are invited to register here in your earliest convenience. Interpretation will be provided in: EN, FR, DE, ES, IT, PT.

The objective of the renewed KEP 2.0 initiative is to enable the exchange of new R&I solutions and best practices, by organising horizontal seminars in Brussels, and promoting so-called peer-to-peer and showcasing events on the ground. It allows for an efficient dialogue and transfer of expertise on R&I issues with European cities and regions, businesses, universities and citizens.

The upcoming KEP 2.0 seminar is organised back to back with the Science Meets Regions final event that will take place on 27-28 September. The event will bring together current and former participants in the project, taking stock of the results but also reflecting on the future. It will also establish linkages with other lines of work on evidence for policy, across levels of governance. ERRIN Director Pirita Lindholm will speak in the panel discussion on the future of the Partnerships for Regional Innovation which will be held on 28 September from 11:30-13:00. Find more details about the agenda and registration for the Science Meets Regions final event here.