Stakeholders’ Questionnaire on the Innovation Ecosystems in Europe

Introduction

This stakeholders’ questionnaire is part of a broad consultation carried out by the Innovation Ecosystems Task Force of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation. The respondents have time until 31 January 2020 to submit their replies.

In its proposal for the next research and innovation framework programme Horizon Europe, setting out the EU’s priorities and funding for R&I from 2021 to 2027, the European Commission has included – for the first time – a section on European innovation ecosystems, under Pillar III of Horizon Europe, with a proposed budget of €500 million.

Concretely, the proposal calls for “connecting with regional and national innovation actors and supporting the implementation of joint cross-border innovation programmes by Member States and associated countries, from the enhancement of soft skills for innovation to research and innovation actions, to boost the effectiveness of the European innovation system. This will complement the ERDF support for innovation eco-systems and interregional partnerships around smart specialisation topics.”

In this context, the objective of this questionnaire is to understand the challenges, needs and priorities of the innovation actors in Europe, with a view to gathering input as to how the European Innovation Ecosystems component of Horizon Europe can best support them, within the mandate set out in the Commission’s proposal.

The results of this questionnaire will be analysed and summarised in a synopsis report, and presented in a conference on 18 February 2020 to a representative group of actors of the European Innovation Ecosystems. The results will feed into the preparation of the next Innovation Ecosystems Work Programme for 2021, and will help prioritise the activities including targeted issues, tools for implementation, instrumental stakeholders and expected impact.

Who is invited to contribute to this questionnaire?

Contributions are sought from stakeholders that had been consulted during the participatory workshops organised by the Innovation Ecosystems Task Force of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation and held in November – January 2020 in Brussels. These stakeholders are actors of the EU innovation ecosystem: start-ups, SMEs and corporates in all sectors, business support organisations including cluster organisations, public authorities, universities and research organisations, science and technology parks, incubators and accelerators, venture capital firms, business angels and other types of investors in innovative businesses, etc.

For further info, please contact: Esra.AKSULAR2@ec.europa.eu