The Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), supports interregional innovation projects in their scale-up and commercialisation phases, by helping them overcome regulatory/market barriers and reach investment level.
As I3 Instrument opportunities expand, a recurring issue remains: strong interregional ideas often exist, but they are not always structured or “investment-ready” by the time a call opens. A rolling pipeline approach helps bridge this gap by maintaining a continuously updated, stage-gated set of interregional investment ideas that can be progressed over time – from early concepts to robust investment portfolios.
You will get a chance to learn and get answers to questions like:
- How do you define a “pipeline” in your context?
- What are the pipeline stages and the decision gates?
- What minimum information do you require at each stage?
- How do you connect the pipeline to funding windows?
- How do you source ideas and ensure industry pull (SMEs, corporates, users) rather than policy push only?
- How do you prioritise and avoid an unmanageable “long list” of ideas?
- How do you ensure interregional complementarity and build balanced consortia?
- How do you include less developed and outermost regions in a meaningful way?
- What are your top lessons learned?
Who is this virtual event for?
Organisations, SMEs, clusters, policymakers, and national/regional authorities responsible for innovation policy and/or Smart Specialisation (S3) – including stakeholders seeking to structure investment ideas, build interregional value chain projects, and strengthen readiness for I3 Instrument and complementary funding/investment instruments.
Format
To maximise exchange, the event will combine short case study spotlights with a substantial moderated discussion and audience Q&A. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions directly, and the discussion will focus on transferable, practical lessons (what works, what does not, and what you can apply in your own context).