Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 2a - Value Chain Integration for Less Developed Regions

Expected Impact:FOR ALL THREE THEMATIC PRIORITIES!Expected impact at the closure of the project (non-exhaustive list)Creation of new value chains in less developed regions;Application and deployment of innovative technologies and solutions (new to the region) in less developed regions (innovation diffusion);Exploitation of research results;Innovative technologies tested and adopted by companies and public administration (minimum TRL 6 with the ambition to facilitate demonstration and to accelerate market uptake and commercialisation, see section 2.4).;Innovative solutions deployed improving businesses confidence, competences and means to digitalise and grow;Contribution to digitisation and health systems transformation, through various types of innovation and the supply of IT services;Uptake of technologically/economically reliable and viable solutions on the market;Deployment of new green and digital technologies fostering the growth of Europe’s manufacturing sector;Innovative technologies adopted by SMEs;Identification of possible sources of funding/funding mix, to cover the residual investment needs (public-private partnerships for the deployment of innovation, the collaboration with venture capitals, EIB group loans etc)Strengthening innovation diffusion channels;Reinforcing the capacity of regions to co-invest together, joining forces on common S3 investment priorities (interregional investments). Long-term impact (non-exhaustive list):Reduction of the innovation divide and of disparities between more developed and less developed regions;Increased companies’ productivity and efficiency;Improved user-friendly, accessible and interoperable public services;Improved level of digital skills;Improved EU innovation capacity and competitiveness;Creating new market opportunities for EU companies;Making the EU industry more efficient and sustainable;Improved way of living and of doing business;Increased social and territorial cohesion as well as personal well-being ;Improved education and vocational training systems (indirectly);Reinforcing/reshaping EU value chains whilst increasing EU competitiveness in global markets;Unlocking the innovation potential of EU regions/countries;Contributing to the European Green Deal objectives;Positive impact on environment, health, climate, social and economy;Contribution to the twin transition and to the efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness of the EU manufacturing sector;Economic growth and job creation;Reinforcing/reshaping EU value chains whilst increasing the competitiveness of the EU in global markets. Objective:Objective of this call for proposalsThis call is for Strand 2a and focuses on reinforcing the integration of innovation actors from less developed regions in developing EU value chains. The term “value chain” is associated with both, a set of interdependent economic activities creating added value around a product, process or service, and a group of interlinked economic actors, operating in a strategic network across firms of different sizes, including SMEs, sectors and borders. (Strategic Forum for Important Projects of Common European Commission: Report of the Strategic Forum for Important Projects of Common European Interest) while creating local opportunities for innovation and smart economic transformation in regions with shared (or complementary) smart specialisation areas.The objective of the I3 Instrument Strand 2a call for proposals is to support interregional innovation investments by offering consortia of innovation actors from the quadruple helix ecosystems[1] the necessary financial and advisory support to bring their innovations to a more 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.Thereby, applications under this call seek to facilitate:the support of innovation actors with investment ideas that are ready to be developed into mature business cases;the identification of new regional technological domains and market opportunities with the EU priorities and bridging the gap between the supply and demand sides to help innovation ecosystems overcome market failures;the creation of new value chains in less developed regions and the integration into interregional and cross-border value chains with more developed regions;the application and the deployment of innovative technologies and solutions in less developed regions;the interaction and collaboration of SMES from less developed regions in interregional/multi-national value chains and with innovation actors form more developed regions. The focus is on technology transfer and highly specialised advisory support for the implementation of experiments and demonstration cases in companies. 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.I3 Instrument business investment cases start with a minimum TRL 6 and have the ambition to facilitate demonstration and to accelerate market uptake and commercialisation. The development of the business and investment cases is facilitated by the regional innovation ecosystems with companies in the lead.The support to be provided shall be (a) financial (through direct funding of consortium’s beneficiaries or through cascade funding/financial support to third parties (FSTP)) or (b) nonfinancial (e.g. coaching, mentoring, matchmaking activities). See section 2.3 for conditions and details.Thematic priorities - I3-2024-INV2a Applications under this call for proposals must address one of the following thematic priorities: Digital transition orGreen transition orSmart manufacturing Each project application under