The programme provides financial and advisory support in form of grants to mature joint innovation projects in shared smart specialisation areas structured in value-chain investment portfolios.
Strand 1 of the I3 instrument seeks to increase the competitiveness and the resilience of EU value chains on the basis of interregional cooperation and shared smart specialisation areas.
The objective of the I3 Instrument Strand 1 call for proposals is to support interregional innovation investments by offering consortia of innovation actors from the quadruple helix ecosystems the necessary financial and advisory support to bring their innovations to a mature level, ready for commercialisation and scale-up, while bridging and reducing the innovation divide in Europe with a strong cohesion policy focus of integrating all regions and in particular the less developed regions into European value chains.
Applications under this call seek to facilitate:
Active participation of the less developed regions and outermost regions is strongly encouraged. Participation of innovation actors is based on shared or complementary innovation priorities, as defined in their regional and/or national smart specialisation strategies. Projects shall show a balanced participation of regions with varying levels of development and innovation performance.
Themes and priorities – Applications under this call for proposals must address one of the following thematic priorities:
Each project application under this call must address one thematic priority.
Digital transition
Digital technologies present an enormous growth potential for Europe. In line with the Europe fit for the digital age priority, this thematic priority targets investments in businesses and public administrations (notably in the part related to the innovation sector) with regards to the digital transition. Projects will unlock the potential for digital growth, deploying innovative solutions that improve accessibility and efficiency of services (both for businesses and citizens) while bridging the digital divide.
This thematic priority encourages applications in one or more or a combination of the following investment areas (non-exhaustive list):
a. Digital economy innovation
b. Digital transformation of public administration and public services
Green transition
Turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities is the ambition of the green transition. The European Green Deal has the goal to make Europe a resource-efficient and competitive economy, while reducing EU reliance on fossil fuels. In this framework, the EU has set targets to reach climate-neutrality by 2050. This will require substantial investments. This thematic priority intends to support innovative value chain investments, to boost the economy through green technology and to create sustainable industry/transport.
It also intends to provide support to interregional investments in sustainable food systems, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, sustainable industry, building and renovating, sustainable mobility and eliminating pollution.
This thematic priority encourages applications in one or more or a combination of the following investment areas (non-exhaustive list):
Smart manufacturing
This thematic priority focuses on improving the delivery of new or improved products, processes or services in the manufacturing industry and fostering a circular economy approach. In the context of advanced manufacturing; knowledge and innovative technologies are used to produce complex products and improve processes to lower waste, pollution, material consumption and energy use. Robotics, 3D and 4D printing, artificial intelligence as well as high performance computing for modelling are important elements in advanced manufacturing.
This thematic priority supports interregional innovation investments for the uptake of new or improved manufacturing solutions, as well as for supporting industry to face the challenge of digitalisation and to promote the shift towards a more environmentally sustainable production (zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment). This thematic priority encourages applications in one or a combination of the following investment areas (a non-exhaustive list):
The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rates fixed in the Grant Agreement (100% for the costs of providing financial support to third parties and 70% for all other cost categories).
Project budgets (maximum grant amount) are expected to range between €2 million and €10 million per project, but this does not preclude the submission/selection of proposals requesting other amounts, if duly justified in the application.
The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.
The costs for financial support to third parties cannot exceed 30% of the total eligible costs.
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
Consortium composition
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities), which complies with the following conditions:
The consortium coordinator must be a:
The support to be provided shall be:
Questions should be sent at the latest three working days before the submission deadline to the following email address: EISMEA-I3-INSTRUMENTCALLS@ec.europa.eu