SeeRRI establishes a foundation for building self-sustaining R&I ecosystems in Europe by developing a framework for integrating RRI approach into regional development policies in 3 European territories: B30 Area (ES), Polymer and Mechatronic Cluster (AU), and Nordland Region (NO). To self-sustain, SeeRRI ecosystem will be “healthy”, i.e. adaptive, resilient, reproducible, continuous learning, and open or closed when needed. With 12 quadruple-helix partners from government authorities, clusters and SMEs, academics, and civil organization, SeeRRI will build an integrated framework based on literature review and co-creation with the relevant stakeholders. By mapping the territorial R&I ecosystem, SeeRRI will understand the supporting conditions for R&I and identify the stakeholders that will be involved to formulate a variety of scenarios for building a self-sustaining ecosystem in their territories. The engaged stakeholders will gain awareness and insights while engaging in creative collaboration using workshops and open-labs, thus will function as multipliers and promote RRI principles in their territories and beyond. The input from stakeholders will contribute to defining and validating a framework for self-sustaining R&I ecosystems developed by the project team, which will generate concrete activities to be implemented. Furthermore, SeeRRI will evaluate the activities carried out in the pilot territories and assess their impact at EU level, thus offering concrete guidelines for policies, suggesting conditions and governance structures for the R&I ecosystems with a roadmap tool identifying RRI openings in Smart Specialisation process. Finally, SeeRRI will establish a Network of Affiliated Territories, i.e. other territories with a composition that could mirror SeeRRI ecosystem, to help contribute, improve, and apply SeeRRI framework. Learning and best practices will be transferred across territories. This will facilitate its scaling-up at European and global level.

Overarching aim of the ERA_FABRIC project is to define, structure, populate and validate the “interconnected knowledge space” foreseen by the EU ERA Hubs initiative (COM 2020 628 final). Three distinct, and intertwined, dimensions, all of them relevant for policy making, are adopted as a structuring principle for the community to be built and cultivated during the project: 1) ERA Hubs as Knowledge Ecosystems: fostering the dynamic interaction of R&D and innovation actors at regional and multiregional levels, taking into account the different knowledge and cultural contexts and the alignment of research foci and industrial needs; 2) ERA Hubs as Multi Stakeholder Platforms: bringing together the representatives of the various involved interest groups in a seamless and uninterrupted discussion and deliberation on strategic priorities, actions and results evaluation; 3) ERA Hubs as a Policy Co Creation Toolbox: a transformative set of measures and tools operating in a “middle ground” needing to be configured as a distinct space from both the EU and the MS/Regional levels, historically presided over by “ad hoc” sets of instruments (e.g. Framework Programmes for R&I, Structural and Investment Funds, Interregional and Cross Border Cooperation Programmes). It is the consortium’s vision and assumption that the 3 above dimensions should be presided over and made interoperable, in order for the ERA Hubs initiative to become path breaking and impactful at broad EU level. ERA_FABRIC is designed by leading European actors in the domain of regional development. The 11 partners represent 8 Member States and 1 Associated State. With the addition of the letters of interest gathered before the proposal presentation, almost half of EU27 territorial coverage has been reached.

CLusters Innovation Programme (hereinafter CLIP) aims at revamping the cluster programmes of Catalonia, Denmark and Lower Austria, three historical locations with a long track record in cluster development. CLIP will begin by fully reviewing each programme to then focus the work in three specific challenges that are shared. Namely: analysing the pertinence of evolving from a single-level cluster programme towards a multilevel approach, improving the governance model both from a cluster perspective and from the system and, lastly, facilitating clusters reach their full potential as a core bordering different policies. To do so, CLIP will benefit from the longstanding relationship amongst the agencies and will use the Twinning+ methodology to go beyond the mere exchange of best practices so as to generate innovative approaches through collaboration. CLIP will result in a Design Options Paper (DOP) to be implemented in the participant cluster programmes as well as publicly disseminated to other agencies and wider audience.

It is demonstrated that Nature Based Solutions (NBS) efficiently and effectively contribute to climate adaptation. However NBS need to be adapted locally and to be coherently chosen in order to assure sustainability and “no side effects”. To achieve this, ARCADIA will mobilise 8 European regions and communities – from Italy, Croatia, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia - to accelerate NBS adoption and assist them in accessing up-to-date, evidence-based actionable knowledge, guidance, knowledge-intense tools and services, mutual learning and networking opportunities. The project will foster enabling conditions to accelerate regeneration using NBS, by analysing individual and socially determined perceptions of risks and solutions, and experimentally designing incentives and behavioural nudges fostering social acceptance and community actions. In ARCADIA, the definition of regional ambitions and of methodologies and approaches co-developed at consortium level, will be followed by the implementation of 15 co-innovation labs with the engagement of the interested communities and societal partners; the learning across policy areas will be exploited to up-scale and deploy at large scale the solutions in the regions, developing robust policy and economic tools (regulations, funding schemes, business models, investment tools). Strategic objectives of the proposal are: 1. Co-design regional strategies to accelerate transformative adaptation, building upon and mainstreaming innovative, actionable NBS with demonstrated feasibility, effectiveness and social value 2. Assist and empower communities, public administrations and businesses 3. Stimulate collaborative knowledge building and transfer, developing capacities and capabilities 4. Promote coherence and exploit synergies, value and production chains, and public and private spheres of business innovation 5. Advance EU research & innovation agenda on NBS and EU Mission Adaptation.