On 7 June 2023, the first meeting of the ERA Forum sub-group ‘Access to excellence’ – ‘R&I and Cohesion Managing Authorities’ Network (RIMA) was held, to kick off the implementation of ERA Action 16 “Improve EU-wide access to excellence”.

The sub-group aims to help improve access to excellence and address the innovation divide by tackling issues and challenges linked to the implementation of R&I policies at national and regional levels – key topics for ERRIN from the perspective of widening as one of the network’s priority areas. The sub-group should enhance dialogue and coordination between the Commission and Member State bodies responsible for R&I and cohesion policy to improve the frameworks to manage the innovation gap, ensure synergies across all relevant funding sources, and boost scientific and innovation excellence throughout Europe.

ERRIN is represented in the sub-group by Bogdan Chelariu, North-East Romania Regional Development Agency, Vice-Chair and Joanna Kubiak, Wielkopolska Region, Management Board member (alternate). The first meeting focused mostly on key novelties and different types of synergies between R&I and cohesion funding, referring to the Commission Notice on Synergies between Horizon Europe and ERDF programmes from November 2022, with concrete cases by Member States. As the discussions on this topic have been gaining momentum in recent years, the expectations are high that RIMA will be able to tackle the practical aspects of the synergies’ implementation.

A day after the RIMA meeting, on 8 June, ERRIN Policy Working Group in cooperation with the Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership organised a public workshop, also dedicated to “Funding synergies – from theory to practice”. The hybrid event was joined by representatives of the European Commission's DG REGIO and DG R&I, as well as of two European Partnerships – CETP and DUT – offering practical insights and exchanges on operationalising funding synergies and ways to overcome related challenges. You may find the agenda, speaker slides and recording of the workshop here.

NCBR Office in Brussels/BSP would like to invite you to attend their monthly “Brussels Talks” event with distinguished guest: Mr Marc Lemaître, Director General of the DG Research and Innovation, European Commission. The event will take place on 26 June from 13:30-14:30 at the NCBR premises and online. For those attending in person, a light lunch is offered from 12:30. 

The event will discuss the following questions:

− What are the lessons learnt from the first years of Horizon Europe, also in relation to the global
approach and strategic autonomy?
− How will the recently released Analysis translate into new Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027?
− What is needed to make the synergies between different EU programmes work to a larger extent?
− How is the European Commission planning to intensify the take-up of the research and innovation
projects’ results?
− What is the relation between the European Research Area and Horizon Europe programme?
− What expertise is the European Commission looking for while calling for applications to join the next
Horizon Europe interim evaluation expert group, unofficially called also the next Framework
Programme (FP10) expert group and what will be the expected result of its work?

Please register here.

Umeå University has the pleasure to invite you to this unofficial event of the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU focused on the rapid green transition and the re-industrialisation in European regions. The event will give a scientific perspective on the socio-economic developments in regions undergoing re-industrialisation in support of the EU green industrial transition.

The event will take place on 29 June at North Sweden European Office, Avenue des Arts 11, from 11:30-13:00, followed by a light lunch.

The European North provides important preconditions for a green transition. Access to green energy and minerals has created an industrial boom with mega investments in battery factories and fossil-free steel production plants. While this is seen as a potential solution to global challenges caused by climate change, the development triggers social and economic change within the European North as well. Partly the energy requested by all industrial development underway exceeds the current capacity, partly the need for further energy production and mineral resources causes land-use competition. It also threatens indigenous reindeer herding. However, most notable today is the lack of labor needed in the new industries and the growing communities.

Another property of the current development is its velocity. During recent decades the European North has faced unemployment, population decline and fading service supply. Now communities need to grow quickly to facilitate the industrialisation underway. This requires the attraction of qualified labor, the provision of housing and an attractive built environment, as well as the upscaling of infrastructure and public and private services. At risk are established practices for community involvement and other values such as an intact environment. Altogether this has brought about a situation with challenges but also plentiful opportunities. 

In this context, the role of universities is pivotal. Universities provide education and research on technological, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions of ongoing change. However, in the north, they are also important nodes for various aspects of regional development. Umeå University cooperates with its neighbors in northern Norway and Finland in the Arctic Five university alliance to strengthen research, education but also engagement in the current societal transformation.

Join us for this event to get an update and the most current scientific knowledge on the socio-economic development in the European regions undergoing a green transition. The seminar will also host a discussion on the role of the universities within the ongoing change and the implicit challenges and opportunities for research and education.

Please register at this link no later than June 26. 

This information session is organised by HaDEA with the participation of the European Commission's DG SANTE, DG HERA and DG ENER to present the policy context, objectives, expected impact and procedure to apply to the 2023 EU4Health open calls. The webinar will take place on 30 June from 10:00-16:10.

This webinar which will provide further information about the open calls related to the EU4Health 2023 Work Programme. In particular, the 2023 work programme will address health-related urgencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine, it will support emerging policy initiatives by President von der Leyen in the State of the Union Address and in the associated Letter of Intent with special attention on mental health, global health, the developments in digital health and medicinal products and it will address actions related to the recently adopted proposal for a Council recommendation on a new EU approach on cancer screening.

Please find more information here.

A two-day NEB in Regions and Cities event will take place on 21 and 22 June in Brussels. The event will serve as a forum for learning and exchange among people, institutions, municipalities, and regions who are implementing or have an interest in developing NEB projects on the ground. The event will host thematic sessions and panel discussions, as well as a NEB Prizes exhibition’ space opened to external visitors.

The second day of the event -22 June will be accessible to the general public. The official opening day of the event will take place in the morning, followed by a High-Level Panel Discussion. The day will also celebrate the culmination of the NEB Prizes 2023, with the announcement of the 15 winners of the Prizes 2023, and the laureates of the of the biggest dedicated EU call under the European Urban Initiative call, taking place at Awards Ceremony on 22 June. Registration and more information are available here.

Catalan cluster for the children and family market, representing more than 80 companies is looking to join a consortium or find partners to participate in EU projects.

Call/Topics of interest
-          DIGITAL-2023-SKILLS-04
-          HORIZON-HLTH-2024-STAYHLTH: Towards holistic support to children and adolescents’ health and care provisions in an increasingly digital society
-          HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE
-          HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-08: Arts and cultural awareness and expression in education and training
-          Erasmus +

Organisation Description

KID'S CLUSTER is a not-for-profit organisation with more than 80 companies representing the children and family market that collaborate and innovate to develop new products and services that meet the real needs of children and their immediate environment by promoting their holistic development.

The demands for the kid’s industry change and evolve rapidly and it is especially important to have updated information to focus efforts on growing and promising markets and opportunities. As an ecosystem of innovative companies, our expertise consists of understanding the latest international trends and helping companies align their product lines to the needs of future consumers.

Our purpose is to help organisations face the global challenges that are shaping the future of our sector, with 3 main focuses, aligned with the EU missions, aimed to transform and create new solutions.

1. 360º Health and physical and emotional well-being with solutions tailored to our target needs and values in order to improve the overall quality of care by boosting healthcare managing, gaining new insights on patients and focusing on making it more accessible for everyone. Targeting topics such as mental health awareness and early diagnosis, 360º Health, health tech and medtech or digital wellbeing.
2. Education, digitalisation and training aimed to develop hybrid learning propositions that add value to conventional learning while guaranteeing and encouraging equal access to education. Solutions to solve the shortcomings of non-attendance, motivation drop, equitable access to quality education, overcoming the gender and social digital divide and challenges of new IA tools.
3. Entertainment and cultural industries with initiatives aimed to encourage new leisure and consumption proposals, more experiential and valuable. Creating more immersive and interactive experiences with concepts in mind such as phygital entertainment or retail-tainment, making use of digital technologies like VR/AR/XR

Additionally, we also take environmental sustainability and inclusivity across these 3 pillars by promoting consumer awareness of the climate crisis and adapting to their new demands and concerns that require companies to take action for environmental protection as well as promoting values of empathy and respect. Moreover, innovating in products that help to educate children on equality and social justice, acknowledging and celebrating diversity.

Interests, objectives and expertise within the call mentioned

We are leading the KID’S Project with the main objective to foster the internationalisation of the EU children’s industry by supporting the setting up of a European Children’s Cluster (the ESCP-4i) to uncover and exploit the most promising international business opportunities for the children & family markets in the framework of the European Cluster Partnership for Going International.

We are interested in participating in other calls relevant to the children's sector such as Horizon Cluster 2, specifically in Cultural Heritage and the Cultural and Creative Industries, and the Digital Europe Programme focused on promoting digital studies on kids and especially young girls.

The cross-sectoral DNA and diverse nature of our associates make our knowledge pool extendible to a great variety of sectors. Especially when it comes to:

• Healthcare industry
• Education
• Digitalisation
• Entertainment, leisure, and creative Industries
• Tourism
• Games and Toys

To express interest, please contact Anna Lopez at alopez@kids-cluster.com.

The Province of Antwerp, Belgium is interested in joining a consortium for the LIFE-2023-CET-LOCAL call.

The Province of Antwerp is a regional authority in the Flemish region in Belgium with almost 2 million inhabitants. Policy domains the province of Antwerp is active in are climate, environment, biodiversity, water management, agriculture, economic development, labour market, mobility, spatial planning, heritage, tourism, leisure and education. One of the main tasks of the province of Antwerp is developing support for its 69 local municipalities of which 68 signed the Covenant of Mayors.

The province of Antwerp has experience in EU programmes Horizon2020, Horizon Europe, LIFE, LIFE CET, Erasmus+, COSME, Interreg Flanders-Netherlands, Interreg 2 Seas, Interreg North Sea, Interreg North West and Interreg Europe.

The province of Antwerp supports its local authorities with the clean energy transition. To reach this, several departments develop tools and support: 

• The climate team develops SECAP’s with a tailor-made analysis of the emissions per sector (mitigation), a risk and vulnerability analysis (adaptation) and an action plan for the municipalities’ territory. Via the extensive online database of ‘Provinces in numbers’ municipalities can download readymade reports that give them insight into the state of energy, climate and adaptation for their territory. Next, we also provide support and training for municipalities, schools and business sector on mitigation and adaptation measures.
• The department of spatial planning develops energy landscapes. Energy landscapes are geographical areas (beyond the borders of single municipalities) with similar spatial, socio-economic and energetic challenges where cooperation accelerates the energy transition. The instrument indicates zones for each type of renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal, waste heat) and which stakeholders to involve when implementing the energy measures. The combination of local customisation and regional coordination makes the energy strategy more feasible and affordable.
• The energy team of the department of economic development develops heat plans. In a heat plan a geographical area is divided in zones with potential for district heating networks and other zones where individual sustainable heating solutions are necessary. This can be for a single municipality or cross border. The energy team gives training for local municipalities and forms the bridge between municipalities and energy consultants.

To express interest, please email Vicky Leloup at vicky.leloup@provincieantwerpen.be before 16/11/2023 - 12:00

What is ‘circular cultural tourism’ and how can it contribute to sustainable regional development in Europe?

The next edition of ICLEI’s flagship Breakfast at Sustainability’s series will take place on 5 October 2023 from 10:00-12:00 CEST in collaboration with ERRIN, in the context of the Be.CULTOUR project, and will bring together representatives of EU institutions, cultural experts, regional officers, and tourism stakeholders to discuss the unexplored potential of cultural heritage as a driver of circular tourism.

As Europe’s regions are recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector, and as global trends are transforming the travel industry, this is a timely moment to revisit how circular approaches to tourism, human-centred destinations, and heritage-led transformations can contribute to building a sustainable future for all.

Participants in this online event will acquire a better understanding of Tourism Transition Pathways in different contexts and will gain key insights into how local cultural assets can drive sustainable tourism strategies.

This edition will be hosted online by ICLEI Europe, in collaboration with ERRIN, in the context of the Be.CULTOUR project, a Horizon Europe project developing heritage innovation networks as drivers of Europeanisation towards a human-centered and circular economy.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Kirsti Ala-Mutka, Policy Officer, DG GROW
• Anne Grady, Seconded Cultural Heritage Expert, European Parliament
• Gianluca Saba, Head of International Relations Office, Comune di Genova, representative of the UAEU Sustainable Tourism Partnership
• Antonia Gravagnuolo,  Be.CULTOUR project coordinator, National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
• Maria Kapari, Co-Founder, Joy of Culture (Cyprus)
• Kirsi Sippola, Development Manager, HAMI, Visit Häme (Finland)

Please register here.

The mission signatory ‘The Province of Drenthe’ would like to invite representatives of the EU institutions and the Mission community to an informative and engaging afternoon event on facilitating the climate adaptation process. During the event, Drenthe will present its collection of adaptation Story Maps, (the ‘Drents AdaptatieBeeld’), which presents a regional narrative of climate effects and impacts on agriculture, nature, recreation, (vital) infrastructure and the built environment.

With the ‘Drents AdaptatieBeeld’ the Province intends to make knowledge and data about climate change and climate impacts available and accessible to the wider community.

Drenthe hopes the Story Maps will contribute to the aim of regional climate adaptation by:

• Enhancing awareness levels of widely varying groups in society,
• Fostering involvement and ownership regarding the different paths to climate resilience,
• Facilitating the achievement of a joint paradigm shift within a diverse stakeholder community.

Besides this presentation, we are also planning to expand the program to create an inspiring afternoon on the subject of data and citizen engagement in relation to climate adaptation. We also would like to be in contact with other European stakeholders and regions. A more detailed program of the afternoon will follow.

You can already indicate your participation (online or in person) on the following link. 
 

The Regione Lombardia and the European Alliance to Save Energy are organising an event on 29 June aiming to build forward-looking partnerships between regions & businesses on energy efficiency.

30% of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and 37% of the EU’s Cohesion Fund is dedicated to climate action and Europe’s member states have important ambitions to improve energy efficiency in buildings – this will start in our regions so understanding the opportunities and partnering with experts will be very important. We will also have the opportunity to discuss the future of the Cohesion policy and what this means for energy and climate ambitions in the regions.

The event takes place in Brussels on 29 June, 10:00 – 13:45 CEST (including a light lunch).

Some confirmed speakers include:

• Personal video address: Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms
• Paula Pinho, Director, Directorate-General ENERGY, European Commission
• Quentin Galland, Group Public & Regulatory Affairs Director, Knauf Insulation
• Mario Giordano, Head of Public & Government Affairs in Italy; Head of Project Specification, Signify
• Andrea Voigt, Head of Global Public Affairs, Danfoss  
• Caroline Simpson, Renovate Europe Campaign Manager - To present the report “2021-2027 Cohesion policy support for energy efficiency and building renovation” 
• Robert Pernetta, Climate Finance Advisor, European Investment Bank - To present ongoing work on the combination of grants, subsidies and financial instruments

We would be delighted if you can join us for this event.

More information is available here. 

Places are limited so please register as soon as possible here.