The European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC) have launched a call for expressions of interest for a new pilot action on regional innovation partnerships.

The pilot action will involve up to 24 European participants (Member States, regions or groups of regions) who feel motivated to transform their economies and societies and who are ready to further develop their own strategic policy framework dealing with innovation, industrial development and transition. sustainability and wider economic and social development.

Regional Innovation Partnerships are a complementary approach based on positive experiences with smart specialization strategies. The initiative aims to improve the coordination and direction of regional, national and EU research and innovation policies in order to implement Europe's green and digital transition and address the gap in innovation in the EU.

The partnerships will be firmly established in the EU's policy framework, supporting the implementation of the European Green Plan, Horizon Europe, cohesion policy and the NextGenerationEU. Particular attention will be paid to tools and governance mechanisms that mobilize more sources of funding and policies to increase performance and that can help link regional and national initiatives with EU initiatives for dual transition.

It is expected that the participants in the pilot action, in close cooperation with the JRC and the CoR, will identify the areas they want to target the pilot action. These can be socio-economic or political challenges, specific economic sectors and / or policy areas or instruments. The activities of the pilot action will be tailored to the areas of greatest interest to each participant.

The application deadline is April 25, 2022.
More information and instructions on how to apply can be found here.
Selected territories will be announced in May, and the official launch event is scheduled for May 17.