CFPs: Mutual Learning & Support Scheme for National & Regional Innovation Programmes

Scope

• Target group(s): national or regional innovation agencies or similar organisations, national and regional authorities in charge of management of innovation programmes, EIC Plug-in contact points.
• Start-ups and SMEs are the primary source of innovation in the European Union (EU) and globally. However, the fragmentation of innovation ecosystems and the lack of connectedness among public national and regional agencies and innovation support schemes appear to be one of the main bottlenecks towards ensuring sufficient support of the most promising start-up and scale-up companies in the EU.
• Building on the outcomes of different INNOSUP actions on peer learning of innovation agencies, as well as the Horizon 2020 pilot action under the enhanced EIC Pilot Work Programme “Mutual learning and common tools and resources for national/regional schemes supporting innovation projects of start-ups and SMEs”, this action aims at bringing together public innovation authorities and agencies to increase the dialogue and networking towards the design and implementation of regional and national innovation funding programmes in line with the requirements of the Plug-in certification for step 2 of the EIC Accelerator. In line with previous activities supporting peer learning of innovation agencies, use of the ‘Twinning+’ methodology is strongly encouraged in the context of this action. The project shall provide a Design Options Paper summarising the main findings in order to guide any innovation agency in translating and concretely implementing the identified good practices.
• The first pilot results of a mapping of national and regional programmes by the European Commission in close cooperation with Member States has shown that although 31 out of 52 programmes submitted were certified, several programmes did not pass the certification and some Member States have not submitted any programme to the review at all. This action aims to assist Member States and Associated Countries to improve or create national and regional funding programmes that could qualify for certification under the Plug-in scheme of the EIC Accelerator. Applications from regional and national agencies from ‘moderate’ and ‘emerging’ innovator countries and regions are particularly encouraged.
• The proposals are expected to include specific activities that will allow applicants to:
  • Enhance the quality of support provided at national and regional levels to the most promising innovative start-ups and SMEs;
  • To improve or set up national and regional funding programmes that could qualify for certification under the Plug-in scheme of the EIC Accelerator;
  • To share best practices in terms of design, functioning, operation, and monitoring of such programmes;
  • To broaden access to information and communicate to the applicants (start-ups and SMEs) on the opportunities to access the national and regional funding programmes and have their chance to be selected under Plug-in scheme to apply to step 2 of the EIC Accelerator.

Funding Information

• The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
  • public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
  • cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).

Expected Outcomes

Projects results are expected to contribute to at least four (4) of the following expected outcomes:

• Reduced fragmentation of innovation ecosystems and national/regional start-up support schemes;
• Increased cooperation, learning, and exchange of knowledge between national and regional innovation support public authorities and agencies in order to ensure that their innovation funding schemes respond to the requirements of the Plug-in certification for step 2 of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator;
• Improved ongoing and/or set up of new national and regional innovation funding programmes whose criteria are fit to pass the certification for the Plug-in scheme;
• The use, requirements, and access to the Plug-in scheme are well communicated to the innovation ecosystem stakeholders, particularly start-ups and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs);
• A more homogeneous, equal, and aligned approach in the evaluation of projects under national and regional support schemes;
• Enhanced cooperation among national and regional public authorities and agencies and SMEs and start-ups, particularly between innovation ‘leaders’/’strong’ innovators and ‘moderate’/’emerging’ innovator countries.

Expected Impacts

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to strengthening robust interconnected innovation ecosystems and creating a favourable environment to promote the scalability potential of businesses, including in the deep tech sector, and more specifically to one or several of the following impacts:

• Interconnected, inclusive, and more efficient innovation ecosystems across the EU that draw on the existing strengths of European, national, regional, and local ecosystems and engage new, less well-represented stakeholders and less advanced innovation territories, including rural areas, to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions tackling challenges for the benefit of society, including green, digital, and social transitions, and advancing the European Research Area and the New European Innovation Agenda;
• Enhance cross-border network connectivity and inter-regional collaboration of regional innovation valleys by reinforcing their capacity to create, reshore, and renew European value chains towards the sustainable green and digital transition and the EU’s open strategic autonomy in EU countries and/or regions;
• Strengthen and expand cooperation between innovation ecosystems worldwide;
• Foster more inclusive and gender equal innovation ecosystems;
• Reducing territorial inequalities in access to innovation support.

Entities Eligible for Funding

To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

• the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
  • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
• the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
  • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
• countries associated to Horizon Europe;
  • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit EC.