The urgent challenges of today are inherently complex and systemic and will not be solved by individual actors or territories in isolation. To foster enabling innovation ecosystems across Europe requires a systemic approach that is inclusive and collaborative, involves diverse actors, institutions and places, maximises the value of innovation to all and ensures equitable diffusion of its benefits.

This destination offers a holistic package of actions that:

• foster the implementation of co-funded multi-annual programmes of activities among Member States, Associated Countries and EU regions;
• encourage the inclusion of more stakeholders from across the quadruple helix^[1] (academia, industry, public bodies, civil society and citizens) and a wider participation of territories in existing successful initiatives and networks towards the deployment of innovation;
• stimulate innovation procurement to help the market uptake of innovative solutions and the integration of social innovation that responds to the needs of people and society.

The destination is open for any thematic area and will focus on building interconnected, inclusive innovation ecosystems across Europe by drawing on the existing strengths of national, regional and local ecosystems and encouraging the involvement of all actors and territories to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the benefit of society, including green, digital, and social transitions and the European Research Area.

In particular, the actions under this destination should promote the creation of links:

• with all key innovation stakeholders, including the private sector, in particular between SMEs, start-ups and other innovators with investors, industry and public and/or private buyers for faster access to funds and markets and the public sector including authorities in charge of national, regional or local innovation policies and programmes and bodies responsible for smart specialisation; also between innovators with foundations, civil society organisations and citizens to ensure that the innovations match the needs values and expectations of society, thereby accelerating deployment and up-take towards tackling societal challenges and with universities and research and technology organisations (RTOs) as sources of innovation and talent;
• among ‘innovation leaders’ and ‘strong innovators’ with ‘moderate’ and ‘modest innovators’^[2] across the EU and Associated Countries^[3] to tackle the innovation gap^[4];
• with networks such as National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network, social innovation networks^[5], clusters, pan-European platforms such as Startup Europe, regional or local innovation actors, public but also private, in particular incubators and innovation hubs that could moreover be interconnected to favour partnering among innovators.

The applicants should consider and actively seek synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding from other relevant EU, national and/or regional innovation programmes, including Cohesion policy funds, other public and private funds or financial instruments.

Expected impact

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to interconnected innovation ecosystems, and more specifically to the following impact:

• Interconnected, inclusive and more efficient innovation ecosystems across Europe that draws on the existing strengths of European, national, regional and local ecosystems and pulls in new, less well-represented stakeholders and less advanced in innovation territories, to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the benefit of the society, including green, digital, and social transitions.

Proposals are invited against the following topics:

[1] A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong emphasis on citizens and their needs.

[2] References: Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Global Innovation Index (GII).

[3] Associated countries are described in General Annex B.

[4] The work programme will act in complementarity with the “Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area” work programme.

[5] Such as the Social Innovation Community (SIC) and the PITCCH Network, funded via an INNOSUP action.

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