First EIC Summit: what happened, what was announced and why the numbers merit scrutiny
- ›The inaugural European Innovation Council Summit took place as a hybrid event on 24–25 November 2021 with about 2,300 participants, 40 sessions and 200 speakers.
- ›Organisers announced the launch of an EIC Forum, published the EIC Impact Report covering the pilot phase, and named EIC Ambassadors.
- ›Three flagship EIC prizes were awarded during the summit including the EU Prize for Women Innovators and the European Capital of Innovation prize.
- ›The EIC Impact Report claims significant follow‑on investment and job creation from the pilot phase but figures require context and careful interpretation.
- ›Sessions were recorded and a training track was offered to remote participants, with the organisers already preparing the next edition.
First European Innovation Council Summit: highlights, announcements and a reality check
The European Innovation Council held its first Summit on 24 and 25 November 2021. The event was run as a hybrid conference combining on‑site activity in Brussels with online participation. Organisers say more than 2,300 people joined either in person or remotely. The programme included roughly 40 sessions and around 200 speakers drawn from EU institutions, the new EIC Board, policymakers and innovators. The Grand Opening was led by Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice‑President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, and Jean‑David Malo, then Director of EISMEA. A keynote on technological sovereignty was delivered in the evening of day one by Commissioner Thierry Breton.
Event metrics and programme
| Metric | Claimed figure | Notes |
| Participants (on site and online) | More than 2,300 | Organiser figure for combined attendance |
| Sessions | 40 | Included plenaries, workshops, pitches and training track |
| Speakers | Approximately 200 | High‑level speakers included Commissioners and members of the new EIC Board |
| Prizes awarded | 3 (Women Innovators, iCapital, Innovation Procurement) | Award ceremonies were part of the Summit programme |
| Recordings | All sessions recorded | Replays made available after the event |
Major announcements and milestones at the Summit
During the one and a half day event the EIC announced several institutional milestones and information products. The organisers highlighted the launch of an EIC Forum intended to improve coordination within the Union's innovation ecosystem. They also published an EIC Impact Report covering the pilot phase of the Council up to 2020. Finally, a slate of EIC Ambassadors was announced to act as voices for the programme across member states. The Summit included training sessions targeted at remote participants and maintained replays of plenaries, award ceremonies, workshops and pitching sessions for later viewing.
Awards presented during the Summit
Three EIC prizes were celebrated and awarded at the Summit: the EU Prize for Women Innovators, the European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) and the European Innovation Procurement Awards. These prizes are part of EIC’s effort to showcase success stories and to promote policy objectives such as gender balance, city‑level innovation and innovative public procurement.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Monetary award (organiser figures where published) |
| EU Prize for Women Innovators 2021 | Merel Boers (NICO‑LAB), Mathilde Jakobsen (Fresh.Land), Daphne Haim Langford (Tarsier Pharma) | EUR 100,000 each for winners |
| European Capital of Innovation (iCapital) 2021 | Winner: Dortmund (Germany); Rising Innovator: Vantaa (Finland) | Recognition prize, non‑monetary (visibility and networking) |
| European Innovation Procurement Awards 2021 | Innovation procurement strategy winner: Galician Health Service (SERGAS); Facing societal challenges winner: Waterschapsbedrijf Limburg (Netherlands); Procurement leadership winner: Francesco Talone, Stefano Moni & Giuseppe Restivo (Italy) | EUR 75,000 for each category winner; EUR 25,000 for runners‑up |
EIC Impact Report 2021: headline numbers and how to read them
The EIC Impact Report published in connection with the Summit summarises performance during the EIC pilot phase up to 2020. The document lists several high level metrics intended to demonstrate the EIC’s influence on deep tech and scale‑ups in Europe. These are substantive claims but they need to be interpreted with caution because attribution, time horizon and selection effects shape the picture.
| Indicator | Reported value | Context and caveats |
| Start‑ups and SMEs supported (pilot phase up to 2020) | 5,500 | Portfolio across different instruments and calls during the pilot phase |
| Follow‑on investment crowded in | EUR 9.6 billion | Primarily venture capital plus other investors. Follow‑on numbers are commonly influenced by selection bias and market cycles |
| Approximate portfolio valuation | Around EUR 50 billion | Includes 91 'centaurs' (valuations > EUR 100m) and 2 'unicorns' (> EUR 1bn). Valuations are market driven and may be volatile |
| Women CEOs in 2020 | Over 20% of funded start‑ups | Reported as progress versus earlier years but remains short of parity |
| EIC Fund investment decisions (first half of 2021) | 137 companies; EUR 600 million committed | Investment decisions taken as EIC Fund entered operational mode |
| First 24 direct equity investments | Attracted EUR 395 million in co‑investment | Reported co‑investment multiple ~2.7x relative to EIC Fund amount |
| EIC Transition funding in 2021 | EUR 100 million | Programme aiming to move research proofs of concept toward market readiness |
| Portfolio addressing at least one Sustainable Development Goal | 90.5% | Self‑reported classification of innovation targets |
Numbers such as follow‑on investment and valuation are useful to signal market traction. At the same time they are prone to upward bias because successful applicants are already those with higher potential to attract finance. The EIC can be a catalyst but distinguishing what the EIC enabled from what market forces would have done without it requires careful counterfactual analysis. The EIC Fund’s co‑investment multipliers likewise need comparison to benchmarks from other public fund‑of‑fund or direct investment programmes to assess efficiency and crowding‑in effects over time.
How the Summit was made accessible and the materials preserved
Organisers noted a training track for remote attendees and said all sessions were recorded. The Summit replays were made available for plenaries, award ceremonies, workshops, pitching sessions and the training track. This practice increases transparency and access for the wider innovation community and helps with follow up learning. It also creates an auditable record that can be used to assess claims made during presentations.
Why the Summit matters for Europe’s innovation ecosystem and open questions
The Summit is an important visibility moment for the EIC. It brings together commissioners, agency managers, investors and entrepreneurs. That proximity can accelerate connections between policy, capital and projects. Yet summits can also overemphasise headline achievements and success stories. For a policy instrument that aims to build strategic autonomy and scale deep tech in Europe, the durable questions are execution, additionality and geographic balance.
Specific questions to watch as the EIC matures include whether the EIC Fund can sustain high quality co‑investment across market cycles, whether evaluation and selection processes remain impartial and transparent as scale increases, and how the EIC supports widening participation from underrepresented regions and groups. The appointment of Ambassadors and the creation of an EIC Forum are governance moves that may help bridge national and EU level actors but their impact depends on resources and mandate.
Practical next steps and where to find source material
The EIC said preparation for the next Summit would start soon. For those wanting to verify claims or dive deeper, the recorded Summit sessions, the EIC Impact Report 2021 and the EIC’s published prize announcements provide primary material. For applicants and managers the EISMEA pages contain details about calls, data protection and the operational rules for the EIC Accelerator and EIC Fund.
If you are following the evolution of EU innovation policy, pay attention to subsequent editions of the Impact Report, audits from the European Court of Auditors, and independent evaluations that can provide a fuller picture of additionality and long term outcomes.