Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2027.1)

Today’s challenges are inherently complex and systemic and cannot be solved by individual actors or territories in isolation. Enhancing the innovation ecosystems across the European Union (EU) requires a holistic approach that is nuanced, collaborative and inclusive, connecting diverse actors along the research and innovation cycle.

Interconnectedness is particularly crucial to boost Europe’s competitiveness. Despite the competitive advantages of the European innovation ecosystems, much of the knowledge produced in Europe remains unexploited. As has been highlighted by the Draghi report^[1], a key reason behind this failure is the fact that researchers in Europe are less well integrated into networks of universities, startups, large companies and venture capitalists, which account for a large share of successful commercialisations in high-tech sectors. This indicates that strengthening the links between resources, organisations and investors is a crucial step to putting research and innovation at the heart of our economy.

Such effectively connected ecosystems can provide innovative companies with the necessary support and conditions to thrive through access to capabilities, data, customers, knowledge, and talent. Network connectivity within and between innovation ecosystems greatly contributes to sustainable business growth with high societal value. In line with the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, this destination improves the framework conditions for startups and scaleups, enabling them to capitalise on new geopolitical opportunities and reducing the reasons to relocate outside the EU.

Therefore, the actions of this destination aim to shift the European economy towards a more entrepreneurial, innovative and inclusive model by strengthening and expanding cooperation between innovation players. They aim to create a dynamic ecosystem to better support the next generation of innovative companies whose solutions will lead the shift towards a more competitive EU and a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world.

In addition to stronger innovation performance, increased competitiveness and faster transitions to a green and digital society, ecosystem integration can provide innovation actors and companies with access to new resources, markets, customers, and contribute to disruptive and innovative solutions. By being actively engaged in their local, regional, national, and European networks, companies can increase their overall growth potential.

Accordingly, this destination offers a holistic package of actions that:

• Increase the capacity to convert research results generated in Europe into innovative products and services, leading to a higher rate of successful commercialization of these solutions by companies based in the Member States and Associated Countries;
• Reinforce EU strategic autonomy and increase resilience in the supply chains by opening up opportunities for innovative companies to access the public procurement market and scale up their business;
• Establish robust, pan-European alliances of top-tier deep tech startup and scaleup hubs embedded in research and higher education ecosystems;
• Facilitate market expansion for deep tech startups across regions and sectors, thus enhancing cohesion and competitiveness across the EU;
• Strengthen less-connected innovation ecosystems by integrating them into a Europe-wide collaborative network;
• Increase the level of public and private investments in innovative companies, particularly startups and scaleups, through strengthened links with investors, including foundations;
• Establish stronger links between regions and countries with different innovation performances across the EU and Associated Countries;
• Promote a better alignment of the innovation policies of the Member States and Associated Countries, in line with the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, through the EIC Forum;
• As a result of the above, achieve an increased level of retention of promising startups and scaleups in Europe, particularly in the deep tech sector and strategic sectors like life sciences, artificial intelligence, clean tech, biotech, security, defence (including dual use technologies), robotics, advanced and raw materials, quantum technologies, cybersecurity, and many others.

Where appropriate, the applicants should consider and actively seek synergies with possibilities for further funding from other relevant EU, national and/or regional innovation programmes, including Cohesion Policy funds, the Recovery and Resilience Fund and other public and private funds or financial instruments.

Expected impact

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to strengthening robust interconnected innovation ecosystems and creating a favourable environment to promote the scalability of businesses, including in the deep tech sector, and more specifically covering one or several of the following impacts:

• More competitive and more efficient European innovation ecosystems which provide favourable framework conditions for the development and market uptake of innovative solutions, drawing on the existing strengths of national, regional, and local ecosystems;
• Enhanced cross-border network connectivity and inter-regional collaboration to untap Europe’s potential for successful commercialization of innovative products and services, notably through reinforced links between resources, organizations, investors and policymakers;
• Improved access to funding by European startups and scaleups, notably in the deep-tech and strategic sectors, through diverse sources, including innovation procurement and philanthropy;
• Enhanced knowledge and technology transfer and capacity building within the European innovation ecosystems, providing innovative companies with the necessary conditions to thrive;
• Increased participation of less represented R&I stakeholders and less advanced innovation territories in the R&I cycle, capitalising on the experience and vision of an increasingly diverse range of people, companies and territories while promoting social cohesion, inclusion, accessibility and gender balance;
• Improved systemic conditions to tackle key EU strategic priorities, including the green and digital transitions, through building innovative capacities;
• Increased coordination of innovation policy and networking activities by the Member States and Associated Countries through the EIC Forum.

[1] The future of European competitiveness – A competitiveness strategy for Europe

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Increasing the market footprint of European startups in strategic digital technologies and deep tech^[1] innovation, including but not limited to Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Computing, Cybersecurity, Next Generation Internet, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Metaverse, Energy, Greentech, AgriTech, and Fintech;
• Better connection of startups and scaleups, including European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and European Innovation Council (EIC)-supported startups and Seal of Excellence holders, to relevant local and/or European ecosystems, communities, and potential new markets;
• A scaling up of capabilities in matching technology solutions developed by highly innovative European Union (EU)-funded digital and deep tech startups with investment and growth opportunities in collaboration with other initiatives such as: the EIC, the EIT and the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), InvestEU, the Digital Europe Programme, Women TechEU, public and private buyers, or investors and corporate innovation ventures.

In pursuit of the above outcomes the projects are expected to prioritise:

• Startups and scaleups that have already achieved market-product fit or scale ups that have raised at least a round of financing (seed or later); and
• Startups and scaleups established in ‘moderate’ or ‘emerging’ innovator countries and/or regions; or
• Women-led startups and scaleups^[2].

Scope:

This action will connect local digital, deep tech, and manufacturing startup and scaleup ecosystems and support cross-border acceleration activities for startups and scaleups that demonstrate traction (i.e. market-product fit or at least a seed round raised). Among the startup and scaleup ecosystems to be connected, specific attention will be given to the inclusion of ecosystems in ‘moderate’ or ‘emerging’ innovator countries and/or regions.

While cross-border acceleration activities are open to all European startups and scaleups demonstrating traction, the action targets companies identified in Horizon Europe (e.g. though the EIC, including the EIC Scaleup 100 action, EIT-supported companies and companies supported through Regional Innovation Valleys) and the Digital Europe Programme (e.g. from European Digital Innovation Hubs), and the use of Innovation Radar intelligence^[3] and other relevant data set^[4]. Targeting of companies funded by national programmes, particularly those part of “Plug-in” certified programmes (see EIC Work Programme 2025 Annex 4) should also be considered.

In terms of outreach and amplification, actions should be publicised where relevant in the EIC Community^[5] and should actively engage with activities and events of the Europe Startup Nations Alliance^[6]. Special attention will be given to support European digital and deep tech startups and scaleups in accessing innovation procurement opportunities (public or corporate procurers).

The action may be implemented through financial support to third parties or directly by the consortium partners to allow companies to best benefit from the services described above. For consortia opting for the financial support to third parties scheme, the monitoring of the support to third parties provided for each action, as well as the management of the financial support to third parties, will be ensured by the coordinator.

The actions implemented must ensure that the companies that excel in technology get appropriate support to also thrive in product-market-fit, financial alignment, business model and revenue generation, team dynamics and leadership, and adaptability to external factors including regulatory challenges, industry trends, market changes and other factors to make them investment-ready.

The applicants should put in place proper communication and publicity of the actions engaged, including success stories of funded companies and case studies about the impact of the project.

The projects should monitor the development of supported startups and scaleups with relevant indicators. For this purpose, consortium partners should ensure the monitoring of supported companies for three years after the end of the project with a robust set of indicators including: (1) average percentage evolution in revenue of supported companies; (2) percentage of supported companies securing follow-on funding; (3) amount of follow-on funding secured; (4) average profitability of supported companies; (5) market share evolution of supported companies; (6) survival rate of supported companies (6, 12, 18 months after end of support for startups, and 1, 2, 3 years for scaleups).

[1] Deep tech is a technology that is based on cutting-edge scientific advances and discoveries and is characterised by the need to stay at the technological forefront by constant interaction with new ideas and results from the lab. Deep tech innovations are understood to be those that have the potential to deliver transformative solutions, rooted in cutting-edge science, technology and engineering, including innovation that combines advances in the physical, biological and digital spheres. Deep tech is distinct from ‘high tech’ which tends to refer only to R&D intensity.

[2] Startups founded, or co-founded by women, holding a top management position (chief executive officer (CEO), chief technology officer (CTO), or chief scientific officer (CSO) or equivalent).

[3] The EU Innovation Radar Platform (Actions can also have Application Programming Interface (API) access to the Innovation Radar data sets).More information under The EIC Community.

[4] Including the work of the Joint Research Centre in the areas of innovative Startups and scale-ups with high growth potential. More information under “New European Alliance to accelerate startups growth.”

[5] More information under The EIC Community.

[6] Including the work of the Joint Research Centre in the areas of innovative Startups and scale-ups with high growth potential. More information under New European Alliance to accelerate startups growth