Stakeholders’ Questionnaire on the Innovation Ecosystems in Europe

Submitted by Alina Danieles… on 30 January 2020

Deadline: 31 January 2020

In its proposal for the next research and innovation framework programme Horizon Europe, setting out the EU’s priorities and funding for R&I from 2021 to 2027, the European Commission has included – for the first time – a section on European innovation ecosystems, under Pillar III of Horizon Europe, with a proposed budget of €500 million.

Concretely, the proposal calls for “connecting with regional and national innovation actors and supporting the implementation of joint cross-border innovation programmes by Member States and associated countries, from the enhancement of soft skills for innovation to research and innovation actions, to boost the effectiveness of the European innovation system. This will complement the ERDF support for innovation eco-systems and interregional partnerships around smart specialisation topics.”

As part of a broad consultation carried out by the Innovation Ecosystems Task Force of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation, stakeholders that had been consulted during the participatory workshops organised in November – January 2020 in Brussels by the Innovation Ecosystems Task Force (start-ups, SMEs and corporates in all sectors, business support organisations including cluster organisations, public authorities, universities and research organisations, science and technology parks, incubators and accelerators, venture capital firms, business angels and other types of investors in innovative businesses, etc.) are invited to respond to a questionnaire.

The questionnaire is aimed at understanding the challenges, needs and priorities of the innovation actors in Europe, with a view to gathering input as to how the European Innovation Ecosystems component of Horizon Europe can best support them, within the mandate set out in the Commission’s proposal.

The results of this questionnaire will be analysed and summarised in a synopsis report, and presented in a conference on 18 February 2020 to a representative group of actors of the European Innovation Ecosystems. The results will feed into the preparation of the next Innovation Ecosystems Work Programme for 2021, and will help prioritise the activities including targeted issues, tools for implementation, instrumental stakeholders and expected impact.

For further information please contact: Esra.AKSULAR2 [at] ec.europa.eu.

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