A private Science|Business Network roundtable
As discussions around the next MFF are proceeding, innovation clusters have - more than ever - become a ground for synergies between several EU programmes including Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, Structural Funds and the Single Market Programme. While the European Commission already invested billions to support innovation at cluster level, stakeholders on the ground highlight the complexity of EU schemes for regional innovation and claim that “European innovation ecosystems” do not yet receive the recognition they deserve.
With the emergence of new forms of innovation hubs and the rapid advancement of digital technologies, the opportunities to bridge current gaps are huge. This raises a critical question: how can we better connect regional innovation ecosystems, so that frontier research, high potential technologies and success stories are available to the greatest number of actors across Europe?
In a closed-door setting, a select group of experts from industry, research, public authorities and regional development agencies will review the current obstacles, discuss new opportunities and address recommendations to the new European Parliament and incoming Commission on how to accelerate innovation within and between regional and digital clusters.
Hosted by the Delegation of the Basque Country to the EU
09:30 Welcome by Maryline Fiaschi, Managing Director, Science|Business, and Marta Marin, Delegate of the Basque Country to the EU
09:35 Clusters, synergies and politics: the state of affairs
Introductory remarks by Katalin Cseh, Member of the European Parliament, and Nicola de Michelis, Director, Smart and Sustainable Growth and Programme Implementation IV, DG REGIO, European Commission
10:15 Innovation ecosystems: The perspective of regional stakeholders
A group discussion based on case studies from Catalonia, Stockholm and Lower Saxony, followed by a group discussion
11:00 Coffee break
11:30 Digital hubs: How do they reshuffle the cards of regional innovation?
Presentations from Twente and Tallinn, followed by a group discussion
12:00 The value of inter-connecting clusters
Introductory remarks by Agnès Paillard, Member of the EIT Governing Board
12:25 Moving forward: How to improve synergies between clusters and EU programmes?
12:55 Conclusions
13:00 Networking lunch
For more information, please contact [email protected].
Partners
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
