Deadline Date: March 19, 2026
The European Commission has launched the Capacity Building Call to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems and enable less developed regions to participate effectively in interregional innovation projects across the European Union.
The overall objective of the I3 Strand 2b is to build capacity in less developed regions to develop and strengthen their regional innovation ecosystems and value chains through coordinated and interlinked investments in several regions. This call for proposals aims to improve the capacity of public authorities and innovation intermediaries, such as clusters, to support companies in the identification of investment portfolios at an interregional scale. The purpose of this activity is to build capacities for successful participation in Strand 1 or Strand 2a calls, enhancing interregional cooperation with a view to identifying and sharing good practices, deriving actionable policy recommendations, strengthening institutional capacities, and experimenting with new approaches. Projects can offer added value when promoting the participation of EU outermost regions and addressing their specific needs, as well as supporting regions with specific challenges such as difficulties in retaining and attracting talents. Proposals shall help create connected and well-performing regional innovation ecosystems, contribute to the preparation of interregional innovation projects in shared smart specialisation areas, facilitate the validation process of investment ideas through improved knowledge and practical skills in business and investment planning, identify and address gaps and business opportunities linked to smart specialisation priorities and value chain positioning, experiment with “out-of-the-box” approaches to deliver validated solutions and tested models, ensure that the knowledge and capabilities gained during the project can be replicated and embedded in the regional ecosystem, and ensure the active involvement of companies and civil society alongside public administrations, academia, and other quadruple-helix stakeholders.
The I3-2026-CAP2B Strand 2b call operates under the Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument, focusing on capacity building to prepare regions for active participation in future innovation investment activities. The programme supports less developed and outermost regions in overcoming challenges such as weak institutional frameworks, fragmented ecosystems, and limited access to interregional cooperation opportunities. By strengthening operational, governance, and policy capacities, the initiative aims to create a more balanced innovation landscape within the EU.
Expected outcomes include increased capacities of regional ecosystems to deliver interregional innovation investments, improved ability to tap into complementary EU funding instruments, and strengthened readiness of SMEs to engage in interregional value chains and attract private or public-private investments. Concrete outputs will involve updated S3-based innovation roadmaps, cooperation agreements with industry associations, tested tools for mapping investment opportunities, and prepared business cases ready for I3 investment applications.
Long-term impacts are expected to include stronger innovation intermediaries supporting interregional collaboration, improved support measures for innovation diffusion and investment identification, and enhanced cooperation capacity within quadruple-helix ecosystems. The programme will also foster a better business climate, encourage de-risking of innovation investments, and contribute to the development of globally competitive EU value chains.
The total indicative budget for the I3-2026-CAP2B call is EUR 9.8 million.
For more information, visit EC.
