EU launches new EIE calls to plug gaps in Europe’s innovation ecosystems

In early 2022 the European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) work programme under Horizon Europe opened a set of calls intended to make Europe’s innovation landscape more connected, inclusive and effective. The available budget totals €12 million and is split between two destinations: SCALEUP and CONNECT. The actions are framed as complementary to the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

What the calls fund and why the Commission frames them as necessary

The EIE calls focus on ecosystem building rather than direct deep technology research or large scale investments. Their stated aims are to strengthen linkages across regions and actors, support scaling of companies and ideas, and open existing networks to less well represented stakeholders and territories. In policy terms the calls are pitched as measures to reduce the innovation divide between high performing regions and those that lag on indicators such as the Regional Innovation Scoreboard and the Global Innovation Index.

The calls at a glance

SCALEUP: expanding entrepreneurial ecosystems

The SCALEUP destination funds a single topic in this 2022 tranche with a budget of €5 million. The topic emphasises partnerships that pair educational institutions or other actors in 'modest' and 'moderate' innovation ecosystems with private sector partners from 'strong' or 'innovation leader' hubs. The goal is co‑designed multi‑year programmes to strengthen technical and entrepreneurial skills among youth, increase the practical business and internationalisation experience of local innovators and improve acceleration capacity in underperforming territories.

Practical design requirements emphasise multi‑year programmes and co‑design between partners in different innovation strata. Activities that typically fit this brief include exchange of staff, joint training and internship schemes, curriculum co‑development with industry, mentoring and pathways that expose students and early founders to international acceleration processes.

CONNECT: two calls to widen participation and embed social innovation

CONNECT focuses on interconnected, inclusive innovation ecosystems. In the 2022 calls two distinct themes were opened with a combined budget of €7 million and the same deadline: expanding participation in existing networks and lifting social innovation actors into mainstream innovation flows.

The first CONNECT topic aims to open existing successful initiatives and networks to a broader range of stakeholders and territories, in particular those labelled as 'modest' or 'moderate' innovators. It asks applicants to set out an 'opening up' strategy, describe concrete activities to identify and meet stakeholder needs, and show how the initiative will extend its reach and add value across Member States and associated countries.

The second CONNECT topic targets social entrepreneurs and social innovation actors. Its priorities include capacity building among tech and business hubs so they can work with social innovators, creation or networking of social innovation hubs and centres of excellence, and testing innovation models that could be replicated or scaled. The Commission says the action should help social innovators access finance and broader ecosystem services.

Eligibility, complementarities and practical notes for applicants

The EIE calls are executed under Horizon Europe, administered by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Applicants should use the Funding and Tenders Portal for submission and follow the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe work programme for admissibility and eligibility rules. Several call texts explicitly encourage or require cross‑regional consortia that include partners from less advanced innovation territories together with partners from stronger ecosystems.

Applicants will need standard Horizon Europe preparatory steps such as obtaining a Participant Identification Code and an EU Login. Proposals for CSAs normally must present clear workplans, demonstrable partner commitment and measurable indicators of expected outcomes.

Budget scale and policy context — a critical view

The programme’s €12 million package is comparatively small in the context of Horizon Europe and the scale of the regional imbalances the calls intend to address. The funding is aimed primarily at preparatory, networking, capacity building and pilot activities rather than mass investment. That is consistent with the Coordination and Support Action model but means applicants should treat these calls as enablers rather than as financial solutions for large scale acceleration or capital needs.

The Commission frames these interventions as complements to the EIC, EIT, cohesion funds and other instruments. For applicants and stakeholders that means the calls make most sense when integrated into broader national, regional and private funding strategies. Projects that lean on synergies and present realistic scaling or pipeline plans for follow‑on funding will be stronger candidates.

Practical recommendations for bidders

Applicants should take the following practical points into account when preparing proposals.

Timelines, contacts and next steps

Deadlines for the 2022 calls are: 26 April 2022, 17:00 CET for the two CONNECT topics and 10 May 2022, 17:00 CET for the SCALEUP topic. Applicants must submit via the European Commission Funding and Tenders Portal and follow the work programme and general annex procedures.

Sources and further reading

Key source material used to prepare this article includes the European Innovation Council pages announcing the calls, the EIE work programme texts published under Horizon Europe, and the Funding and Tenders Portal call pages. Applicants should consult those primary documents for submission templates, detailed eligibility rules and full annexes.

Readers should also review the Regional Innovation Scoreboard and the European Innovation Scoreboard to check how partners and territories are classified when making eligibility and strategy choices.