Regions should be at the heart of EU innovation, local leaders say

​​​​​​​Regions are playing an increasingly key role as drivers of innovation and should therefore be placed at the centre of the new EU industrial policy narrative, the European Committee of the Regions says in a set of recommendations adopted on the 31 January. 

The recommendations, contained in an opinion drafted by Andrea Putzu (IT/ECR), call for better coordination at all levels of government and for better synergies between EU funds and programmes that aim to stimulate green and digital innovation. Regions and cities are often tasked with coordinating these initiatives on the ground, but the task can be extremely demanding as each tool is subject to its own regulatory and governance framework.  

European funds and programme designed to stimulate place-based innovation include Horizon Europe, EU structural and investment (ESI) funds, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Erasmus, InvestEU, and sectoral programmes. 

The opinion argues, however, that the cornerstone on which to strengthen innovation capacity at local and regional levels is cohesion policy, and that cohesion policy must therefore continue to benefit all EU regions in the next programming period, after 2027. 

Partnerships between the public sector, universities, businesses and civil society are also identified as being critical to innovation. The CoR argues that such partnerships help to develop solutions tailored to regional and local needs and increase the competitiveness of regions. to develop solutions tailored to regional and local needs. 

An example of a success story is the Partnership for Regional Innovation – a pilot project implemented by the European Commission in partnership with the European Committee of the Regions. The Committee argues that it demonstrates a strong need to better link the EU's innovation policies with 'smart specialisation' strategies developed in the framework of ESI funds programme and therefore calls for the pilot project to be continued and extended to other regions. 

Finally, CoR points out the increasingly important role that regions play as drivers of innovation and that they should be at the heart of EU industrial policy in the New Innovation Agenda, to be defined after 2024, as well as in the next 10th Programme for Research and Innovation, whose purpose is to boost regional innovation ecosystems and reduce the innovation divide between regions. 

Quote: 

The rapporteur, Andrea Putzu(IT/ECR), member of the Regional Council of Marche, said: "The importance of fostering place-based innovation cannot be overstated. Our regions are creative ecosystems full of untapped potential and policymakers must recognize that one small spark of an idea from a region can ignite transformative change across Europe and beyond. This Opinion is a wakeup call – in a time of immense global competition, it is our duty to act, and show the world the power of Europe's creativity."  

More Information: 

CoR opinion on A New Innovation Agenda for Europe. 

Partnerships for Regional Innovation was an initiative developed by the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions. It brought together 63 regions, seven cities and four Member States in a pilot project in which participants shared good practices and took part in the co-development and testing of tools to mobilise multiple sources of funding, to develop policies, and to link regional and national programmes to EU initiatives for the green and digital transformations. 

The New European Innovation Agenda, adopted in July 2022, aims to position Europe at the forefront of the new wave of deep-tech innovation and start-ups. It will help the EU to develop new technologies to address its most pressing societal challenges, and to bring them onto the market.  

The Joint Research Centre has published, together with the European Committee of the Regions, a report on Innovation for place-based transformations: ACTIONbook, practices and tools. The document aims to accompany territories towards innovative initiatives for place-based transformations. 

​​Contact: 

Ângela Machado  

Tel: +32 475 41 31 58 

Angela.machado@cor.europa.eu