EU launches first EIE calls under Horizon Europe with more than €90 million

On 13 July 2021 the European Commission published the first calls under the new European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) work programme. The action is a novelty of Horizon Europe and is meant to create more connected, resilient and scalable innovation ecosystems across the EU and associated countries. The first tranche of calls opens three destinations with different aims and instruments and an overall budget in excess of €90 million.

Quick breakdown of the calls and deadlines

What the three destinations are designed to do

The first open calls are grouped under three destinations. Each destination uses different instruments and pursues complementary goals. The Commission positions EIE as complementary to the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and to national and regional innovation programmes.

SCALEUP - accelerate growth and deepen deep tech

SCALEUP focuses on better connecting acceleration services across ecosystems, on seeding the creation of deep tech ecosystems around pan-European research and technology infrastructures, and on tackling the gender gap in deep tech entrepreneurship. Three calls opened under this destination with a combined budget of €13.75 million and a deadline on 10 November 2021.

The other SCALEUP topics are: Expanding Acceleration Ecosystems, which funds schemes to link accelerators and incubators in less connected regions with stronger hubs to improve quality of services and cross-border pipelines; and Scaling up deep tech ecosystems, an R&I style action that pilots ways to seed ecosystems around pan-European research infrastructures. The deep tech topic explicitly aims to pilot grants to third parties and to increase the industrial uptake of research infrastructure capabilities.

CONNECT - building shared multiannual programmes and procurement capability

CONNECT funds preparatory and enabling actions that support national, regional and local authorities and other ecosystem actors to design multiannual, co-funded programmes of joint activity and to build procurement capabilities. Two calls were opened with a total budget of €8 million and a submission deadline of 26 October 2021.

CONNECT aims to bring authorities together to prepare joint action plans that can leverage national and regional funds, involve a wide set of quadruple helix stakeholders and address common challenges. Another call focuses on capability building to raise awareness and uptake of innovation procurement among buyers.

INNOVSMES - a European Partnership on Innovative SMEs

INNOVSMES funds the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs. The call opened with roughly €72.8 million available and a deadline on 1 September 2021. The partnership model (a COFUND under Horizon Europe) aims to coordinate national and regional schemes and to run transnational, market-led calls for collaborative R&I projects led by SMEs.

The INNOVSMES partnership explicitly targets SME internationalisation, improving SME access to research and innovation funding, and avoiding duplication of national efforts. The EIE work programme text signals the partnership should build on prior experiences such as the Eurostars programme and create a more streamlined international offer for SMEs.

Budget, instruments and practical details

The first calls use a mix of coordination and support actions (CSAs), research and innovation actions (RIAs) and COFUND mechanisms. Some calls intend to use lump sum financing for eligible activities. Women TechEU is structured around a fixed lump sum grant of EUR 75,000 per beneficiary plus EIC coaching. The deep tech SCALEUP topic envisages substantial grant budgets for third parties and indicates TRL progression aims consistent with early development and prototyping work.

Context and what to watch for

EIE comes at a moment when the Commission is trying to knit a very crowded innovation support landscape together. That ambition has advantages but also practical risks. The programme is explicitly intended to be complementary to EIC and EIT activity and to regional and national funds, but achieving complementarity will demand strong coordination. COFUND partnerships only work if national partners commit predictable resources and align procedures. Cascade funding and third party grants require careful design to avoid delays and administrative overhead.

The success of these calls depends on reality checks. For example, cross-border acceleration linkages will need measurable indicators of start-up flows and funding outcomes. Women TechEU is a welcome targeted measure but will require follow-on financing options and investor engagement to translate €75k grants and coaching into sustainable scaling. The INNOVSMES partnership sits at the centre of the EIE ambition and its COFUND design means it will need robust national buy-in to become more than a loose coordination forum.

How to apply and practical contact points

All proposals and application procedures are handled via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Applicants must register entities and use EU Login credentials. The EISMEA agency manages the EIC and EIE actions. For EIE enquiries, the contact provided in the announcement is EISMEA: EISMEA-EU-ECOSYSTEMS@ec.europa.eu. Women TechEU applicants should check specific eligibility: early stage deep tech start-ups founded or co-founded by women with leadership in senior roles and registered in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country for at least six months at submission.

Bottom line and implications for EU innovation policy

The EIE first calls represent a deliberate effort to fill gaps in Europe’s innovation support architecture. The money is not huge by EU standards, but the programme is intended to crowd in additional national and private funds. The priorities are sensible: scaling, ecosystem connectivity and inclusion particularly of women and less connected regions. Yet the headline ambition of building a truly integrated European innovation ecosystem will be realised only if projects deliver measurable pipelines to markets, if national partners show sustained co-investment, and if the Commission continues to streamline administrative complexity for SMEs.

Practical next steps for interested parties are to read the topic texts on the Funding & Tenders Portal, register the legal entity, check eligibility rules and partner search services, and consider alignment with national smart specialisation or regional innovation strategies to improve chances of complementary co-funding.

Further reading and references

Key resources on the portals include the EIE part of the Horizon Europe work programme, related EIC and EISMEA pages, the Funding & Tenders Portal submission system and the Horizon Europe programme guide. Applicants should also review the longer work programme text for detailed legal and financial rules, COFUND guidance and the specific eligibility and lump sum provisions that can apply to these calls.