Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument

The agency will implement two call strands:

• Financial and advisory support for investments in interregional innovation projects in shared smart specialisation areas;
• Financial and advisory support, and capacity building for the development of value chains in less developed regions.

The I3 Instrument work programme aims at promoting innovation through Smart Specialisation and interregional collaboration. The I3 Instrument supports stronger interregional cooperation in investments and makes sustainable connections by linking regional ecosystems in shared smart specialisation areas vital to accelerate market uptake of research results and stimulate innovation.

The 2023-2024 I3 Instrument work programme covers the following key intervention areas and Strands:

• Strand 1 targets consortia of innovation actors from regions (of different levels of development and innovation performance) with shared or complementary smart specialisation areas, which are ready to make investments in interregional innovation projects.
• Strand 2a focuses on supporting interregional innovation investments aiming at developing value chains in less developed regions and reinforcing the integration of innovation actors in EU value chains.
• Strand 2b aims to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems and build their capacity to develop business cases for interregional innovation projects.

Calls

Three calls are currently open:

• Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 1 (I3-2024-INV1)
• Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 2a (I3-2024-INV2a)
• Capacity Building Strand 2b (I3-2023-CAP2b)