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The European Commission (EC) has identified 151 regions in the EU as Regional Innovation Valleys (RIVs) through a competitive proceedure, as part of the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA. The EC supports them with €116 million to strengthen competitiveness and promote innovation. The initiative builds on the European Innovation Ecosystems Work Programme under Horizon Europe and Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument under European Regional Development Fund. It focuses on connecting regions across the EU and beyond that are committed to strengthening their innovation ecosystem and creating new EU value chains to contribute to key EU priorities. The resulting connected RIVs systematically involve regions with a lower innovation performance in order to further reduce the innovation gap.
In the list are also three regions from the Western Balkans, namely:
- BA Tuzlanski kanton
- ME Црна Гора (Crna Gora)
- MK Северна Македонија (Severna Makedonija)
The full list is avaiable here: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/document/download/12476e45-0413-4487-bdd6-668d7457f1cc_en
Out of those 151 regions now identified, 72 regions with different levels of development and innovation performance are on track to become Regional Innovation Valleys, subject to the signature of the grant agreements. These regions are committed to strengthening their innovation policies and investments, focusing on challenges faced by the EU as outlined in the NEIA. These include reducing dependence on fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity), improving healthcare and increasing circularity. An additional 79 regions are identified following a call for expression of interest to become the next RIVs, based on their commitments to enhance the coordination and direction of their innovation investment and policies, engage in interregional collaboration to further develop innovation, and to strengthen and connect their regional innovation ecosystems. In addition to funding, the Commission will also support these regions through community building activities, matchmaking events and targeted communication actions.
For more information, please visit the source page of this announcement: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_24_3368