Implementing co-funded action plans for connected regional innovation valleys

In line with the New European Innovation Agenda’s^[1] flagship on accelerating and strengthening innovation in European Innovation Ecosystems across the EU and addressing the innovation divide, this action is intended to create connected regional innovation valleys across the European Union (EU), involving regions with lower innovation performances, by building on strategic areas of regional strength and specialisation (defined in their smart specialisation strategies), in support of key EU priorities. Regions represented by successful applicant national or regional authorities under this call will be recognised as “regional innovation valleys”.

Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Efficient, inclusive and interconnected innovation ecosystems across the EU in line with the New European Innovation Agenda, building on their diversities and complementarities, enhancing the joint definition of visions and strategies, involving actors from across the quadruple helix^[2], based notably on their respective national/regional smart specialisation strategies, and strengthening their efficiency and potential to innovate;
• Enhanced synergies, complementarities and cooperation among European innovation ecosystems around strategic areas, technologies and challenges of common European interest, designing projects building on Smart Specialisation Strategies and, where applicable, on the, participation in, for example, Excellence Hubs^[3], Digital Innovation Hubs^[4], Hubs for Circularity^[5], Circular Cities and Regions Initiative^[6], Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission^[7], Enterprise Europe Network^[8], Hydrogen Valleys^[9], Renewable Energy Valleys^[10]and Industry 5.0 System Innovation Hubs^[11];
• The creation of common knowledge assets within regional innovation valleys, and support to their cross- border connectedness; including, for example, competitive advantages to strengthen their capacity for enhanced quality of their R&I ecosystems (e.g. biotech health security and biotech for food systems, applicability of bioeconomy sustainability principles in regional case studies, as described in the concept note on Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems^[12]);
• Increased innovation capabilities, including in deep tech, in Member States and Associated Countries, allowing innovators to bring their ideas to the market and enable innovations to be scaled up at EU level, and facilitating the link with the private sector, public and private buyers of innovative solutions and other research and innovation actors;
• Better links between innovation 'leaders' and 'strong' innovator regions with 'moderate' and 'emerging' innovator regions across the EU and Associated Countries^[13]
• More innovation co-investments, mobilising other funding instruments, including European, national or regional public funds and/or other private funds, to complement Horizon Europe support;
• Increased participation of all innovation ecosystems actors across EU territories in technology and industrial value chains (existing and emerging ones) relevant to the EU twin green and digital transition to achieve broader sustainability, the EU's open strategic autonomy and competitiveness^[14].

The aim of this topic is to foster the creation of efficient, open, inclusive and interconnected European innovation ecosystems in line with the New European Innovation Agenda, notably in thematic/technological areas (including deep tech) that will be critical for EU value chains.

It will also contribute to the twin green and digital transition and a resilient society, and to the net-zero objective^[15], particularly in the areas of reducing reliance on the fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence), improving healthcare, and achieving circularity.

The topic will support strategically oriented long-term programmes of activities (Annual Work Programmes) to enable authorities in charge of public national or regional innovation policies or programmes with the participation of the private sector and research and innovation actors, to implement joint activities towards innovation development and deployment, possibly including innovation procurement, aimed at tackling challenges at EU, national and regional level.

The applicants are encouraged to consider a project duration of three to five (3-5) years and proposals should:

• Present the applicants’ respective commitment to enhance the coordination and directionality of their research and innovation (R&I) investments and policies, their joint strategic visions, and their proposed joint innovation programme of activities; before the proposal submission the participants should have already selected a thematic/technological area and reached an agreement on what they want to achieve, in order to be able to present concrete action plans; the plans can be further detailed on an annual basis during the implementation of the projects;
• Describe the activities necessary, the process that will be followed, and the research and innovation assets that will be mobilised; activities should be open, clear, realistic, impact-oriented and ensure:
  • Participation of private actors, either for the joint implementation of proposed activities, and/or their possible co-funding; for example, via links and cooperation with innovative SMEs, start-ups, industry, private entities supporting innovation and innovators, including clusters, associations, as well as investors and foundations;
  • Complementarity and synergies with other funds (EU, public, and/or private) and innovation-related strategies/policies/programmes/plans at national and/or regional level, including their smart specialisation strategies, and where relevant, the participation in other relevant programmes. Applicants should outline the scope for synergies and/or additional funding, in particular, where this makes the projects more ambitious or increases their impact and expected results.
• Explain the need and the reasons for selecting the proposed Annual Work Programmes that should be scalable at European level and demonstrate their strong EU added value; Annual Work Programmes should:
  • Include clear steps: (1) capacity building activities, including information exchange and common guidelines; (2) setting common strategy and joint work/action plans; (3) concrete joint activities (including staff exchange, visits, etc.); leading to (4) concrete joint innovation actions (design and implementation of joint funding programmes/calls to select interregional innovation projects).
  • Include the provisions and modalities for the competitive selection and funding (joint open calls implemented via financial support to third parties - FSTP) of at least three interregional innovation projects in the selected thematic/technological area, including deep tech, linked to key EU priorities:
    • These interregional projects are expected to be similar to HE Innovation Actions or close to market actions (TRL 6-8) and should focus on the development and/or deployment of technologies and innovations, including breakthrough and disruptive, through cooperation between research and innovation actors from the participating regions;
    • These interregional projects can also involve the implementation of a Pre-Commercial Procurement (similar as in Horizon Europe PCP grant actions, arriving also to TRL 8) or a Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (similar as in HE PPI grant actions, arriving to TRL 8). In this case the procurements should be implemented in cooperation between public procurers from the participating regions;
    • Each of these interregional projects should aim to deliver concrete and tangible outcomes during the project implementation, and ensure their dissemination and exploitation;
    • These interregional projects should be managed in a coordinated manner, as a portfolio of projects, and should identify and establish links among the projects and with other relevant EU, national or regional projects in similar thematic/technological area (horizontal integration) or complementary areas (vertical integration) with a view to integrate into and contribute to existing or emerging value chains.
  • Include a consistent set of core collaborative activities, for example: networking and coordination structures and tools to facilitate innovation development and access to and sharing of best practices, resources, research/technology infrastructures, talents, markets, expertise, services or knowledge, including open and collaborative knowledge bases and common knowledge assets (methods, data, processes);
    • Support to interconnections between innovation hubs/local pockets of excellence; market analysis, development and activities towards better access to new markets and finance for innovative SMEs and start-ups;
    • Training and skills development; interconnection of open innovation infrastructures; supportive activities towards scale up, exploitation and dissemination of innovative solutions;
    • Reinforcing public and private buyers’ capacity to procure innovative solutions; Networking of and assistance to public and private procurers to facilitate the implementation of joint or coordinated innovation procurement initiatives;
    • Enhancing place-based social cohesion across EU territories, through networks such as European Social Economy Regions initiative^[16], including social innovators and civil society integration, as interlocutors for society and important inputs to the development of innovations and promotion of gender equality and diversity^[17].
• Explain the reasons for selecting the proposed strategic areas of cooperation, and how this cooperation will improve the efficiency and performance of the EU's innovation ecosystems. The joint innovation activities should focus on a specific thematic/technological area, in line with the smart specialisation strategies of the participating regions, and should highlight how it will contribute to innovation priorities of common interest, EU strategic priorities (including green, digital and social transitions, and open strategic autonomy) and, where appropriate, Horizon Europe Missions. It should clarify the potential for growth and competitiveness foreseen in the targeted sector and/or expected impact on EU challenge(s);
• Present and explain how the consortium plans to design and coordinate the implementation of these joint activities (e.g. resources to be mobilised, assets to be used, involvement of innovation stakeholders, such as innovation hubs, business associations, clusters, industry, startups, scaleups and SMEs);
• Include set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in line with the proposed objectives to measures/activities underpinned by verifiable indicators (e.g. referring to the Sustainable Development Goals, European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025^[18], or other relevant policy frameworks);
• Ensure their long-term commitment towards engaging in the cooperation activities set up in the frame of their projects (a letter of intent as part of the proposal).

[1] A New European Innovation Agenda COM(2022) 332 final

[2] Ecosystem quadruple helix model requires the collaboration of academia, business, regional government and societal actors.

[3] Excellence Hubs - European Commission (europa.eu)

[4] European Digital Innovation Hubs Network (europa.eu)

[5] Hubs4Circularity (h4c-community.eu)

[6] Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (europa.eu)

[7] Climate-neutral and smart cities - European Commission (europa.eu)

[8] Enterprise Europe Network | Enterprise Europe Network

[9] H2Valleys | Mission Innovation Hydrogen Valley Platform

[10] Renewable Energy Valleys to increase energy security while accelerating the green transition in Europe (europa.eu)

[11] HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-65: System innovation experimentation for Industry 5.0 (IA)

[12] Concept of Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems; see also HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-04: Operationalisation of bioeconomy sustainability principles

[13] Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), GlobalInnovation Index (GII)

[14] Aligned with the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions “The 2024 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report”, COM(2024)77: EUR-Lex - 52024DC0077 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)

[15] The Green Deal Industrial Plan (europa.eu)

[16] The European Social Economy Regions (ESER) (europa.eu)

[17] Horizon Europe guidance on gender equality plans - Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu)

[18] Gender equality in research and innovation - European Commission (europa.eu)