Introduction to the project
The EU Preparatory Action Innovation for place-based transformation aims to promote and support transformative innovation approaches with a three-track programme. The first track raises awareness on the importance of place-based transformative innovation involving over 240 territories. In the second track, more than 120 territories are engaging in capacity-building activities. The third track facilitates policy experimentation journeys for a selected group of public administrations from territories across Europe, addressing complex local and global challenges in seven thematic areas: energy, circularity, digital, health, food systems, climate adaptation and New European Bauhaus. Through a capacity building programme for public administrators and hands-on policy experimentation journeys, this preparatory action empowers territories to co-develop systemic policy interventions, embed transformative governance models and enhance interregional collaboration. While increasing the transformative capacities of the local and regional public administrations, the experimentation journeys will deliver concrete policy outcomes, increasing the resilience of the territories across policy levels.
Project in action
The project is delivering a comprehensive Capacity Building programme to reinforce territorial capacities and promote systemic innovation. This is done through a combination of online and in-person seminars, working group meetings and mutual learning activities supported by online learning tools and platforms. The project also facilitates seven thematic Experimentation Journeys, assisting participating territories in co-creating and testing innovative approaches to shared challenges. These journeys are tailored to local needs and guided by peer learning, cross-regional collaboration and expert support. The project also promotes new governance models and transformative practices to ensure lasting impact across territorial and policy levels. Lessons learned in both these strands will feed back into each other to create a sustainable innovation loop.
ERRIN's role
ERRIN is actively engaged in both the capacity-building and experimentation parts of the project. In the Capacity Building programme, ERRIN supports seminar delivery and facilitates three working groups on achieving circularity, improving digital services and healthcare and New European Bauhaus. In the experimentation strand, ERRIN is involved in overall coordination and facilitates four Experimentation Journeys on reducing reliance on fossil fuels, circularity, digital citizen services and New European Bauhaus. Through this, ERRIN supports peer-learning and collaboration across participating territories, ensuring that discussions are adapted to local challenges and foster transformative outcomes. ERRIN also monitors the progress of the activities and documents results through regular reporting. In partnership with key actors, ERRIN ensures outcomes from both strands feed into each other, creating a strong link between policy experimentation and capacity development.
Benefits for members and links with ERRIN's working groups and priorities
This project closely aligns with ERRIN’s strategic and thematic priorities, particularly through its emphasis on a place-based perspective in capacity building and experimentation, facilitating collaboration and mutual learning between territories, as well as its focus on transformative innovation. It links closely to the work done by ERRIN around Partnerships for Regional Innovation Pilot Action in 2022-2023, and the Regional Innovation Valleys with their five burning challenges, coordinated by the Policy WG and Smart Specialisation WG. Thematically, the project is linked with the Energy and Climate Change WG, Bioeconomy WG, Climate Adaptation & Resilience WG, Health WG, ICT WG and NEB & Creativity WG. This project offers ERRIN members a concrete opportunity to engage in place-based experimentation and cross-sectoral learning – methodological and practical insights will be shared in WG meetings.
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- By Maria Bostrom
Launch of the Preparatory Action: Innovation for place-based transformation
On 29 April 2025, ERRIN participated in the high-level launch event of the EU Preparatory Action 'Innovation for Place-Based Transformation', an initiative coordinated by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) with the support of the European Parliament. Bringing together stakeholders from the over 200 selected territories, many of which are ERRIN member, together with high-level speakers from the EU institutions, this event in the Berlaymont in Brussels marked the kick-start of the two-year innovation journey to tackle Europe’s most pressing territorial challenges through a place-based, transformative innovation policy approach.