In 2021, the Commission will launch a new Interregional Innovation Investment (I3) initiative to help actors involved in smart specialisation strategies (S3) cluster together, scale up and bring innovation to the European market. I3 intends to support regional innovation stakeholders, well-integrated in the regional innovation ecosystems, providing mature joint innovation projects in value-chain investment portfolios. The new I3 Instrument will be implemented under ERDF with an indicative EU budget of EUR 0,5 bn. The ambition is to mobilise public-private investment, leveraging the impact of the available funding.
In July 2020, the European Commission launched a public consultation to gather stakeholders’ views on the future Interregional Innovation Investment (I3) initiative and help DG REGIO further shape the Instrument for 2021-27. CSIL has analysed the stakeholder consultation results on the Interregional Innovation Initiative. The assessment will help REGIO in the development of the multiannual Work Programme; the role of MS/regions/ networks and other triple helix stakeholders in the governance how to involve different categories of regions (outermost, lagging, leading regions); how to activate synergies with mainstream programmes and other EU funding programmes.