Innovation Broker Ilona Platonova from Vidzeme Planning Region along with representatives from 60 other European regions participated at the workshop “A Robust Innovation Ecosystem for the future of Europe” hosted by Innovation Ecosystems unit of the European innovation Council (EIC) Task Force of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation in Brussels on 25th of November, 2019.
European “Innovation Ecosystems” is a specific part of Pillar III of the Horizon Europe (HEU) proposal, with a proposed budget of 500 million €, that aims to “inter-connect regional and national innovation actors at EU level by supporting joint transnational and inter-regional innovation programmes by the EU Member States, regions and Associated Countries” (excerpt from Annex I, Pillar III, Section 2 of the Horizon Europe Decision Proposal on Innovation Ecosystems). The workshop was dedicated to EU regions and aims to map the regional challenges, needs and priorities, to explore best practices, ongoing and planned initiatives, as well as to gather suggestions on how Horizon Europe can support these activities to maximise the EU added value and impact. The workshop was co-organized with the European Regions Research & Innovation Network (ERRIN), the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) and the Start-up Europe Regions Network (SERN).
The workshop opened with a general framing of political context and definition of the Commission goals concerning the innovation ecosystems, followed by participatory sessions dedicated to challenges and opportunities for the future and short presentations showcasing good examples of interlinking ecosystems across Europe. The outcome of the workshop will be summarized in a short paper, which will be used in the further development of this initiative.
GoSmart project team are proud to be sharing experience and good practices and contributing to this initiative aimed to foster interregional partnerships around smart specialisation topics.
