Three calls for interregional investments in innovation

The Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument, driven by the European Regional Development Fund, has launched three funding calls for 2024, following a first call that closed in February 2024. These calls aim to promote interregional cooperation in innovation projects, providing financial support and technical advice in key areas. The total available budget is 80 million euros, and the deadlines for submitting proposals culminate in November and December of this year.

Through this programme, the EU seeks to reduce regulatory and investment barriers faced by innovation projects, facilitating their commercialisation and scaling. This effort is part of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) and the cohesion policy, promoting greater integration of less-developed regions into European value chains. It is expected that these initiatives will boost the technological and economic capabilities of all regions, thereby strengthening the continent’s innovative fabric.

The I3 Instrument is part of the European Commission’s efforts to foster cooperation between regions that share interests and capabilities in specific areas of innovation. Brussels aims for these collaborations to transcend national borders and encourage the creation of interregional value chains. In this way, SMEs from less-developed regions can work closely with innovative actors from more advanced regions, facilitating technology transfer and the adoption of innovative solutions across various sectors.

“Interregional investments in innovation not only have a direct impact on improving the technological capabilities of the participating regions but also foster more equitable and sustainable long-term economic growth,” emphasises Aurora García, head of the Regions and Cities Division at Zabala Innovation. “Through interregional cooperation, it is expected that less-advanced regions can take advantage of the opportunities offered by innovation and actively participate in European value chains, thus contributing to the creation of a more cohesive and competitive economic space,” she adds.

The programme comprises three calls, or strands, each with specific objectives, addressing different aspects of regional development through innovation. These projects must start from a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6, meaning that innovations should be at an advanced stage of development, ready for demonstration and subsequent commercialisation.

Strand 1: Promotion of interregional cooperation in key areas

The first call of the I3 focuses on promoting cooperation between consortia of innovative actors, made up of entities from different regions with varying levels of development. These regions must share complementary areas of smart specialisation. The main objective is to facilitate investments in interregional projects that create new value chains or reinforce existing ones, always with a commercialisation perspective.

A key feature of this call is its emphasis on integrating less-developed regions into European value chains. The participation of these regions is considered crucial for reducing the innovation gap within the EU. Additionally, the programme encourages the creation of regional innovation ecosystems involving businesses, authorities, research institutions, and civil society, known as the quadruple helix.

The total budget allocated for this first strand amounts to 31 million euros, with a deadline for proposal submissions set for 5 December 2024.

Strand 2a: Creating new opportunities in less-developed regions

The second call aims to strengthen the innovative capacities of the EU’s less-developed regions. Its focus is to facilitate the integration of these regions into interregional value chains, helping them identify new technological and market opportunities that can be exploited at the local and regional levels.

Specifically, this call is designed to provide financial support and specialised advice to innovative actors with advanced investment ideas, ready to be turned into business cases. The goal is for these regions to capitalise on new technologies and innovative solutions being developed, thereby generating intelligent economic transformation based on their own specialisations.

The budget allocated for this strand is 36 million euros, and once again, proposals can be submitted until 5 December 2024. Collaboration between SMEs and other local actors is particularly important in this context, as it is expected that these projects will serve as a springboard for the creation of new value chains in less-developed regions.

Strand 2b: Strengthening regional innovation ecosystems

Like the previous one, the third call also aims to increase the capacity of regional innovation ecosystems in less-developed regions. Its objective is to enhance the ability of authorities and other innovation intermediaries to identify investment opportunities and develop interregional projects that can have a significant impact on local economies.

Among the priority actions of this strand are the creation of innovative and resilient ecosystems, the improvement of governance of these ecosystems, and the identification of investment projects that align with major European challenges, such as the green and digital transitions, and smart manufacturing.

This call has a budget of 13 million euros, and the submission deadline is 14 November 2024. Selected projects will last between 18 and 24 months, with estimated funding ranging from 500,000 euros to 1.5 million euros per project.