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  1. An institution, body, office or agency established by or based on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

    All education and training facilities for people of different age groups.

    An intergovernmental organization having legal personality under public international law or a specialized agency established by such an international organization. An international organization, the majority of whose members are Member States or Associated Countries and whose main objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe, is an International Organization of European Interest.

    A person with legal rights and obligations. Unlike a legal entity, a natural person does not have a legal act (e.g. association, limited liability company, etc.).

    An NPO is an institution or organization which, by virtue of its legal form, is not profit-oriented or which is required by law not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members. An NGO is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that does not represent business interests. Pursues a common purpose for the benefit of society.

    A partnership, corporation, person, or agency that is for-profit and not operated by the government.

    Any government or other public administration, including public advisory bodies, at the national, regional or local level.

    A research institution is a legal entity established as a non-profit organization whose main objective is to conduct research or technological development. A college/university is a legal entity recognized by its national education system as a university or college or secondary school. It may be a public or private institution.

    A microenterprise, a small or medium-sized enterprise (business) as defined in EU Recommendation 2003/361. To qualify as an SME for EU funding, an enterprise must meet certain conditions, including (a) fewer than 250 employees and (b) an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. These ceilings apply only to the figures for individual companies.

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  1. Governance, partnership: Projects aimed at increasing the application of multilevel and transnational or cross-border governance, designing and testing appropriate governance structures and mechanisms. Also cooperation between public institutions on any theme.

    Innovation capacity and awareness-raising: Actions that increase a person’s or organisation’s capacity for innovation (not innovation as such), and that establish the capacity to diffuse and apply innovation; projects that stimulate innovation in different areas and innovation capacities; strengthening and empowering of innovation networks.

    Institutional cooperation and cooperation networks: Projects working on the improvement of institutional cross-border co-operation and capacities, on renewing and simplifying administrative management through long term cooperation between institutions (e.g. Euregion), on establishing and sharing regional knowledge and intercultural understanding and cohesion. It also deals with cooperations between universities, health care facilities, schools and sports organisations, as well as with management and capacity building.

    Activities focussing on agricultural products, organic farming, horticulture, as well as forest management and wood products; furthermore the development of the food sector, food chains, organic food production, and seafood products and any topics related to animals and fishing.

    Agriculture and fisheries and forestry: Projects focussing on agricultural products (i.e. fruits, meat, olives, etc.), organic farming, horticulture, as well as forest management and wood products. Also the development of the agro-food sector, food chains, organic food production, and seafood products. Any topics related to animals (i.e. health, management) and fishing (i.e. sustainable fishery, aquaculture).

    Soil and air quality: Projects that deal with any topic against soil and air pollution, except water pollution, for example, reduction of soil and air contamination, pollution-management systems, but also prevention and eradication of soil erosion, new ways of improving air quality (also indoors) and soil/air knowledge in general.

    Climate change and biodiversity projects assisting mitigation and adaption to climate change and environmental impacts of climate change. Development of low carbon technologies and strategies, reduction of CO2 emissions from all sectors. Promotion of biodiversity, new instruments to enhance biodiversity and natural protection.

    Soil and air quality projects that deal with any topic against soil and air pollution, except water pollution, for example, reduction of soil and air contamination, pollution-management systems, but also prevention and eradication of soil erosion, new ways of improving air quality (also indoors) and soil/air knowledge in general.

    Water management projects about management and distribution of drinking water, integrated sustainable water management, monitoring systems for water supply and improving drinking water quality; also water treatment (wastewater), in particular, innovative technologies to improve wastewater, treatments in the purification of industrial and domestic wastewater and water reuse policies. Waterways, lakes and rivers: This deals with any topics on waterways, lakes and rivers, from improving water quality, protecting and developing of ecosystems or sustainable wetland management.

    Activities that protect, promote and enhance cultural and natural heritage, increase the attractiveness through preservation and valorisation of common cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable manner, and improve and develop cultural and natural heritage objects, services and products. Cultural heritage management, art and culture, (maritime) heritage routes, access to cultural and natural heritage. Also all topics on cultural services such as festivals, concerts, art workshops.

    Cultural heritage and arts projects that protect, promote and enhance cultural and natural heritage, increase the attractiveness through preservation and valorisation of common cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable manner, and improve and develop cultural and natural heritage objects, services and products. Cultural heritage management, art and culture, (maritime) heritage routes, access to cultural and natural heritage. Also all topics on cultural services such as festivals, concerts, art workshops.

    Tourism projects dealing with the promotion of natural assets, and the protection and development of natural heritage, as well as increasing the touristic attractiveness through the better use of natural, cultural and historical heritage. Also projects about improved tourist services/products, development of ecotourism models, tourism development strategies.

    Sustainable management of natural resources projects focussing on the protection, promotion and valorization, and sustainable management and conservation of natural areas (habitats, geo parks, protected areas, etc.). Also projects focussing on preserving and enhancing cultural and natural heritage and landscape, as well as protecting the marine environment.

    Projects on waste management (innovative services and strategies), ecological waste treatment, treatment techniques/systems; waste disposal and recycling (improvement of recycling, innovative recycling technologies, recovery of organic waste, repair & re-use centres and networks); also prevention of pollution and pollution control (ecological and circular economy, marine littering, etc.).

    Labour market and employment: creating employment opportunities and/or optimising jobs, academic (un)employment and job mobility, workforce attraction and improvement of employment conditions for different groups.

    SME and entrepreneurship: strengthening SME capacities, boosting entrepreneurial activities in different sectors and for different groups, supporting social entrepreneurship, creating business support/advisory systems for start-ups/spin-offs/incubators, improving the competitiveness of SMEs, and promoting new business processes.

    Community integration and common identity projects that build identity, create a more cohesive society, promote positive relations through an increased provision of shared spaces and services.

    Demographic change and immigration is about projects tackling major societal challenges like demographic change in different areas and migration, in particular, aging society (active aging, best agers, silver economy strategies) and related new public services (adaptation of key services and infrastructure), social and spatial segregation, and brain drain. Also all topics on migration (policy tools, strategic planning, integration).

    All projects where ICT has a significant role, including tailor-made ICT solutions in different fields, as well as digital innovation hubs, open data, Internet of Things; ICT access and connecting (remote) areas with digital infrastructure and services; services and applications for citizens (e-health, e-government, e-learning, e-inclusion, etc.); services and applications for companies (e-commerce, networking, digital transformation, etc.).

    This is about the mitigation and management of risks and disasters, and the anticipation and response capacity towards the actors regarding specific risks and management of natural disasters, for example, prevention of flood and drought hazards, forest fire, strong weather conditions, etc.. It is also about risk assessment and safety.

    Education and training projects on expanding educational opportunities, reducing barriers in the field of education, improving higher education and lifelong learning, training and labour mobility, educational networks, higher vocational education, common learning programmes.

    Topics on energy management, energy-saving methods, evaluating energy efficiency measurements, energy rehabilitation/efficiency in buildings / public infrastructure, promotion of energy efficiency, cooperation among experienced energy efficiency firms, institutions and local administrations, co-generation.

    Projects focussing on wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal and other renewable energy, increasing the production of sustainable renewable energy and improving research capacities in biomass. Also projects focussing on storage and management of renewable energy, new technologies, sustainable regional bioenergy policies and financial Instruments for investments on renewable energy.

    Social projects concerning people with disabilities and excluded groups; enhancement of the capacity of children, young people, women and elderly; creation of infrastructure to improve access for disabled people, integration of socially vulnerable people; innovate in the care of victims of gender violence, social inclusion of women, etc.

    This deals with the development of health and social services and improved accessibility and efficiency for different groups (elderly, children, etc.). It is also about new healthcare models and medical diagnosis and treatments (dementia, cancer, diabetes, etc.), hospitals, care management, and rare diseases, as well as improving wellbeing and promoting sports.

    Projects about (organised) crime, efficient and secure borders, such as enhancing the effectiveness of the police in the prevention of drug crimes, the development of safety services, or tackling security and organised crime issues.

    Activities related to:

    • Transport and mobility covering all sorts of transport (incl. urban transport) and mobility.
    • Improving transport connections dealing with traffic and/or transport connections, rehabiliation/modernisation, better connectivity, improving accessibility/connections, but also public transport.
    • Multimodal transport and logistics and freight transport focusing on using different means of transport, developing multimodal connections, optimising intermodal transport chains; offering multimodal logistics solutions and providing access to clean, efficient and multimodal transport corridors and hubs; establishing cooperation among logistic centres and developing multimodal mobility strategies.

    Activities related to:

    • urban development, such as planning and design of cities and urban areas, urban renewal, urban-rural links (climate, sustainable mobility, water efficiency, participation, sustainable land use, smart cities, public urban areas, regeneration)
    • regional planning and development, such as the implementation of regional development policies/instruments and programmes, sustainable land use management plans, integrated regional action plans, spatial planning, and marine protected area management.
    • rural and peripheral development, referring to remote, sparsely populated areas, rural community development, and rural economics, in particular access to remote areas and policies for rural areas.
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Call key data

Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 2a

Funding Program

Interregional Innovation Investments

Call number

I3-2024-INV2a

deadlines

Opening
06.06.2024

Deadline
05.12.2024 17:00

Funding rate

70-100%

Call budget

€ 36,000,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

between € 2,000,000.00 and € 10,000,000.00

Link to the call

ec.europa.eu

Link to the submission

ec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

The objective of the I3 Instrument Strand 2a call for proposals is to support interregional innovation investments by offering consortia of innovation actors from the quadruple helix ecosystems the necessary financial and advisory support to bring their innovations to a more mature level, ready for commercialisation and scale-up, while bridging and reducing the innovation divide in Europe with a strong cohesion policy focus of integrating all regions and in particular the less developed regions into European value chains.

Call objectives

This call is for Strand 2a and focuses on reinforcing the integration of innovation actors from less developed regions in developing EU value chains. The term “value chain” is associated with both, a set of interdependent economic activities creating added value around a product, process or service, and a group of interlinked economic actors, operating in a strategic network across firms of different sizes, including SMEs, sectors and borders. (Strategic Forum for Important Projects of Common European Commission: Report of the Strategic Forum for Important Projects of Common European Interest) while creating local opportunities for innovation and smart economic transformation in regions with shared (or complementary) smart specialisation areas.

Applications under this call seek to facilitate:

  • the support of innovation actors with investment ideas that are ready to be developed into mature business cases;
  • the identification of new regional technological domains and market opportunities with the EU priorities and bridging the gap between the supply and demand sides to help innovation ecosystems overcome market failures;
  • the creation of new value chains in less developed regions and the integration into interregional and cross-border value chains with more developed regions;
  • the application and the deployment of innovative technologies and solutions in less developed regions;
  • the interaction and collaboration of SMES from less developed regions in interregional/multi-national value chains and with innovation actors form more developed regions.

The focus is on technology transfer and highly specialised advisory support for the implementation of experiments and demonstration cases in companies. Participation of innovation actors is based on shared or complementary innovation priorities, as defined in their regional and/or national smart specialisation strategies. Projects shall show a balanced participation of regions with varying levels of development and innovation performance.

I3 Instrument business investment cases start with a minimum TRL 6 and have the ambition to facilitate demonstration and to accelerate market uptake and commercialisation. The development of the business and investment cases is facilitated by the regional innovation ecosystems with companies in the lead.

The support to be provided shall be (a) financial (through direct funding of consortium’s beneficiaries or through cascade funding/financial support to third parties (FSTP)) or (b) nonfinancial (e.g. coaching, mentoring, matchmaking activities). See section 2.3 for conditions and details.

Thematic priorities - I3-2024-INV2a

Applications under this call for proposals must address one of the following thematic priorities:

  1. Digital transition or
  2. Green transition or
  3. Smart manufacturing

Each project application under this call must address one thematic priority.

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Expected effects and impacts

FOR ALL THREE THEMATIC PRIORITIES!

Expected impact at the closure of the project (non-exhaustive list)

  • Creation of new value chains in less developed regions;
  • Application and deployment of innovative technologies and solutions (new to the region) in less developed regions (innovation diffusion);
  • Exploitation of research results;
  • Innovative technologies tested and adopted by companies and public administration (minimum TRL 6 with the ambition to facilitate demonstration and to accelerate market uptake and commercialisation, see section 2.4).;
  • Innovative solutions deployed improving businesses confidence, competences and means to digitalise and grow;
  • Contribution to digitisation and health systems transformation, through various types of innovation and the supply of IT services;
  • Uptake of technologically/economically reliable and viable solutions on the market;
  • Deployment of new green and digital technologies fostering the growth of Europe’s manufacturing sector;
  • Innovative technologies adopted by SMEs;
  • Identification of possible sources of funding/funding mix, to cover the residual investment needs (public-private partnerships for the deployment of innovation, the collaboration with venture capitals, EIB group loans etc)
  • Strengthening innovation diffusion channels;
  • Reinforcing the capacity of regions to co-invest together, joining forces on common S3 investment priorities (interregional investments).

Long-term impact (non-exhaustive list):

  • Reduction of the innovation divide and of disparities between more developed and less developed regions;
  • Increased companies’ productivity and efficiency;
  • Improved user-friendly, accessible and interoperable public services;
  • Improved level of digital skills;
  • Improved EU innovation capacity and competitiveness;
  • Creating new market opportunities for EU companies;
  • Making the EU industry more efficient and sustainable;
  • Improved way of living and of doing business;
  • Increased social and territorial cohesion as well as personal well-being ;
  • Improved education and vocational training systems (indirectly);
  • Reinforcing/reshaping EU value chains whilst increasing EU competitiveness in global markets;
  • Unlocking the innovation potential of EU regions/countries;
  • Contributing to the European Green Deal objectives;
  • Positive impact on environment, health, climate, social and economy;
  • Contribution to the twin transition and to the efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness of the EU manufacturing sector;
  • Economic growth and job creation;
  • Reinforcing/reshaping EU value chains whilst increasing the competitiveness of the EU in global markets.

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Expected results

Detailed description of the priorities:

1. Digital transition

Digital technologies present an enormous growth potential for Europe. In line with the Europe fit for the digital age priority, this thematic priority targets investments in businesses and public administrations (notably in the part related to the innovation sector) with regards to the digital transition. Projects will unlock the potential for digital growth, deploying innovative solutions that improve accessibility and efficiency of services (both for businesses and citizens) while bridging the digital divide.

This thematic priority encourages applications in one or more or a combination of the following investment areas (non-exhaustive list):

a. Digital economy innovation

  • The deployment of innovative solutions for businesses digitalisation and digital services, including the use of artificial intelligence;
  • ICT up-take in SMEs applied to traditional and emerging sectors; B2B; B2C; Customer to Customer, including infrastructures and services (digital innovation hubs, living labs, etc.);
  • Demonstration of innovative digital technologies in view of the commercialisation of research results and a better integration in EU value chains;
  • User driven innovation and valorisation of traceability and big data;
  • Companies reinforcing EU cybersecurity value chain and protecting from hacking, ransomware and identity theft;
  • “Digital based” open innovation, supporting entrepreneurial discovery processes and cooperation between academia and businesses in the framework of smart specialisation;
  • Digital skills for companies adopting innovative digital technologies (upskilling and reskilling) in the framework of investments relevant for Smart Specialisation.

b. Digital transformation of public administration and public services

  • New or significantly upgraded services for e-government, including the take-up of Europe wide interoperable services which improve the efficiency of services delivered by public administrations to citizens, companies and other public bodies by using information and communication technologies such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity;
  • Investments in innovative solutions helping administrations to make services user-friendly, accessible and more interoperable. Those investments might include the demonstration of the validity of new digital technologies in view of the large-scale adoption of new IT systems, e.g. technologies for digitalisation in the health care system.

2. Green transition

Turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities is the ambition of the green transition. The European Green Deal has the goal to make Europe a resource-efficient and competitive economy, while reducing EU reliance on fossil fuels. In this framework, the EU has set targets to reach climate-neutrality by 2050. This will require substantial investments. This thematic priority intends to support innovative value chain investments, to boost the economy through green technology and to create sustainable industry/transport.

It also intends to provide support to interregional investments in sustainable food systems, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, sustainable industry, building and renovating, sustainable mobility and eliminating pollution.

This thematic priority encourages applications in one or more or a combination of the following investment areas (non-exhaustive list):

  • Innovative investments in decarbonisation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to improve air quality, health and wellbeing;
  • Innovative investments in SMART cities;
  • Innovative business investments related to smart, sustainable/efficient transport solutions and/or alternative fuels;
  • Investments in the management of natural resources, including the use of recycled materials, especially construction materials, plastics and textiles, to stimulate demand for secondary markets raw materials;
  • Business investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency to make industry more sustainable;
  • Business investments related to energy efficiency in buildings;
  • Business investments related to a sustainable blue economy, contributing to the coastal protection;
  • Business investments in circular economy to replicate and scale up successful circular economy solutions, which can generate EU added value;
  • Investments in bioeconomy, efficient and sustainable agriculture and forestry, innovation in marine/ maritime and inland water sustainable solutions;
  • Investments in sustainable business models and alternative modes of production and consumption (e.g. leasing, repair, modular design, industrial symbiosis…).

3. Smart manufacturing

This thematic priority focuses on improving the delivery of new or improved products, processes or services in the manufacturing industry and fostering a circular economy approach. In the context of advanced manufacturing; knowledge and innovative technologies are used to produce complex products and improve processes to lower waste, pollution, material consumption and energy use. Robotics, 3D and 4D printing, artificial intelligence as well as high performance computing for modelling are important elements in advanced manufacturing.

This thematic priority supports interregional innovation investments for the uptake of new or improved manufacturing solutions, as well as for supporting industry to face the challenge of digitalisation and to promote the shift towards a more environmentally sustainable production (zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment). This thematic priority encourages applications in one or a combination of the following investment areas (a non-exhaustive list):

  • Demonstration processes, i.e. helping new products to reach the market faster or having more efficient and sustainable processes adopted by the industry.
  • Valorisation of research results and practical applications for innovation diffusion. This might include the active involvement of ecosystems and the co-creation process with stakeholders and end-users.
  • Connecting or making complementary use of testing and demonstration facilities at interregional level. In this framework, synergies with circularity hubs are encouraged.
  • Improving the use of natural resources and in the reuse of materials, promoting circularity models (de- and remanufacturing) and investments in carbon neutrality.
  • Specific implementation (including funding) strategies, ensuring the participation of all stakeholders (industry, SMEs, local authorities, educational institutions and civil society).
  • Implementation of interregional demonstration cases to test and replicate the results.
  • Innovation diffusion and involvement of SMEs in EU value chains.

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Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)

eligible entities

Education and training institution, International organization, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)

Mandatory partnership

Yes

Project Partnership

Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities), which complies with the following conditions:

  • at least three independent legal entities established in three different regions in at least two eligible countries;
  • the consortium shall represent at least one more developed region and must have a strong involvement of less developed regions and focus on their needs.
  • the consortium coordinator must be a:
    • Public body or
    • entity entrusted by national or regional governments to develop or implement innovation and investment actions for SMEs (i.e. a cluster organisations, development agencies, or innovation agencies etc.).

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must: 

  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
    • non-EU countries: listed EEA countries and countries associated to the I3 Instrument or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (list of participating countries).

Specific cases:

Exceptional funding — Entities from other countries (not listed above) are exceptionally eligible, if the granting authority considers their participation essential for the implementation of the action.

Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person.

International organisations — International organisations are eligible. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them.

Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offerguarantees for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons.

EU bodies — EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.

Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. Please note that if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).

I3 projects are primarily implemented by the consortium partners, in line with the project application. FSTP can and should be used to enable cascade funding where it offers an added benefit, e.g. in facilitating the involvement of SMEs, fostering replication and innovation diffusion. However, FSTP is only allowed under the following conditions: 

  • Based on the publication of one or more open call(s) that shall contribute to the objectives of the project;
  • the maximum amount of financial support for each third party (‘recipient’) may not exceed EUR 60,000;
  • the direct recipients of the financial support must be SMEs that are established in the regions covered by the consortium or in other less developed regions or outermost regions;
  • the calls must be open, published widely and conform to EU standards concerning transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality;
  • the calls must remain open for at least 2 months;
  • the outcome of the call(s) must be published on the participants’ websites, including a description of the selected projects, award dates, project durations, and final recipient legal names and countries;
  • the costs for Financial Support to Third Parties (i.e. SMEs) cannot exceed 30% of the total eligible costs;
  • Financial Support to Third Parties may only aim at supporting SMEs able to deliver tasks with added value to the project e.g., to complete a specific value chain and/or to offer a specific groundwork for testing and optimising products and production processes, or for the exploration of new processing technologies. 
  • If the proposal includes Financial Support to Third Parties, it must specify why financial support to third parties is needed and how it will be managed. It also has to include estimates of the proportions of financial support allocated to third parties across various types of regions. The proposal must also describe the results to be obtained and the expected effects on the innovation ecosystems of the participating regions.

Specific requirements 

  • At least 70% of the total eligible costs must be allocated to investments in companies, with a focus on SMEs. The proposal shall describe how this requirement will be met, specifying the total eligible costs for:
    • SME Consortium partners
    • Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP)
    • non-financial support provided to the SMEs of the portfolio.
  • At least 50% of the total eligible costs shall be incurred in less developed regions by consortium partners (and 3rd parties if FSTP is included. In case FSTP is used, the proposal shall describe how this requirement will be met.) 

Proposals have to demonstrate a comprehensive strategy for ensuring active participation of legal entities from less developed/transition/outermost regions, alongside specific measures for enhancing their active involvement and contribution to the consortium's objectives. This should include plans for replication of results in participating regions and engagement of relevant regional authorities for sustainable impact.

other eligibility criteria

Projects selected under this call for proposals will be implemented through an investment portfolio approach, which foresees the identification, within a specific thematic/technological area of cooperation, of a number of investment-ready sub projects that address one or several bottlenecks in a value chain identified in the application. These sub-projects are necessary to accelerate the uptake of innovation, thus increasing the competitiveness of EU value chains. 

The project application must clearly describe the progress from innovation towards commercialisation and upscaling that is expected as a result of the project and its investment portfolio.

The project application must also provide an outline of an exploitation plan that sets out the expected way forward following the completion of the project, in particular, if the new products/processes or services supported by the I3 Instrument are not yet ready for the market. 

Target investments can be both tangible and intangible1investments in the form of one or more of the following activities: 

  • Financial support for producing plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services such as demonstrating, testing and piloting activities by companies, large-scale product validation and market replication (new to Europe and new to the application sector);
  • Adaptation of existing prototypes (i.e., by combining two or more key enabling technologies) and tailoring them to the companies’ needs for the demonstration in a real environment (ex-novo prototyping is not eligible);
  • Development of portfolios of projects for close-to-market investments that deploy new or improved technologies or processes;
  • Activities directly aiming at producing plans, arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services (adaptation to the companies’ needs). This can include testing, demonstration, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication;
  • Activities connecting or making complementary use of testing and demonstration facilities to accelerate market uptake and scale-up of innovative solutions in shared smart specialisation areas;
  • Innovation services for the development of the business investment interconnecting value chains;
  • Test beds and complementary activities needed to improve regulations, standards and/or to remove barriers and bottlenecks to innovation;
  • Activities bringing innovative ideas and new products to the market;
  • Advisory support for investment (developing or implementing interregional business and “go to market” investment plans in specific value chains). 

Support actions for networking, for testing new approaches for better innovation support or for enhancing services to SMEs (through collaboration, peer-learning or matchmaking, etc.) are also encouraged, particularly when aimed at replicating project outcomes in less developed regions. These support actions will only be eligible in combination with the implementation of the tangible and intangible investment listed above. 

This I3 Instrument Strand 2a call for proposals will not support activities that do significant harm to environment objectives within the meaning of Article 17 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation. I3 funding therefore cannot be awarded to projects that do not comply with this principle (e.g. any proposal dedicated to increase the efficiency of fossil fuel technologies or of fossil fuels). Applicants will need to verify that their proposal complies with this requirement. 

Activities (financial and non financial support) should reflect a balanced participation of project partners from regions with varying levels of development and innovation performance, with a strong emphasis on supporting and leveraging the potential of less developed regions and other categories of regions (such as EU outermost regions or regions with specific challenges). Involvement of these regions should be reflected both in terms of balanced budget distribution and ensuring their participation results in concrete benefits for these regions.

Further information about the implementation of activities can be found on pages 14-15 of the call document.

Additional information

Topics

Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation, 
Agriculture & Forestry, Fishery, Food, Soil quality, 
Air Quality, Biodiversity & Environment, Climate & Climate Change, Water quality & management, 
Circular Economy, Natural Resources, 
Competitiveness of Enterprises, Employment/Labour Market, SME & entrepreneurship, 
Digitalisation, Digital Society, ICT, 
Disaster Prevention, Resilience, Risk Management, 
Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy , 
Health, Social Services, Sports, 
Justice, Safety & Security, 
Rural & Urban Development/Planning

Relevance for EU Macro-Region

EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region

UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)

project duration

between 18 and 36 months

Additional Information

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:

  • Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
  • Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded)
  • Part C contains additional project data (to be filled in directly online)
  • mandatory annexes and supporting documents (templates available to be downloaded from the Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded):
    • Detailed budget table
    • CVs (short outlines) of core project team
    • Outline of a project dissemination plan (in particular for knowledge sharing and replication)
    • Outline of a project exploitation plan (in view of commercialisation and up-scaling) (no template available)
    • Self-declaration, only from the Coordinator to confirm the alignment with the national/regional S3 policies, strategies and priorities of all Member States and Regions represented by organisations participating in this application (template available in the Submission System).

Proposals are limited to maximum 70 pages (Part B). 

The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rates fixed in the Grant Agreement (100% for the costs of providing financial support to third parties and 70% for all other cost categories).

Call documents

Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 2a Call documentInterregional Innovation Investments Strand 2a Call document(560kB)

Contact

EISMEA
EISMEA-I3-INSTRUMENT@ec.europa.eu
Website

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