Library FAQ
How are EIC Board members remunerated and what are the honoraria rates?
Members of the EIC Board (other than the President) receive honoraria and reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses paid by the Agency. Honoraria are EUR 2,200 for full attendance at a plenary meeting and EUR 1,100 for partial attendance; other meetings...
How many prizes are awarded each year and on what basis?
Six prizes are awarded yearly after the contest closes to the applicants who, in the opinion of the jury, best address the cumulative evaluation criteria defined for the competition.
What are the expected results and benefits of the European Capital of Innovation Awards?
The Awards aim to champion municipality-enabled innovation, recognise courageous city administrators, raise public interest and media coverage, and increase the profile of cities that developed innovative policies, attracted investment and talent, promoted bes...
What are the indicative prize amounts for the 2026 competition?
European Capital of Innovation winner: EUR 1,000,000; 1st runner-up: EUR 100,000; 2nd runner-up: EUR 100,000. European Rising Innovative City winner: EUR 500,000; 1st runner-up: EUR 50,000; 2nd runner-up: EUR 50,000.
What are the objectives and scope of the communication, outreach and events action?
To prepare and implement EIC communication and outreach activities to strengthen the EIC's reputation among stakeholders, attract applicants and investors, promote global outreach, position the EIC as a thought leader in deep tech, maintain the EIC website and...
What does the 'Citizens' rights' evaluation criterion require?
Showing use of innovation to strengthen democracy, protect citizens' rights, foster social cohesion, and ensure integration with attention to minorities, gender, disability, or race, with details on concrete results of the showcased initiatives.
What does the 'City innovative vision' evaluation criterion require?
Demonstrating a long-term strategic vision/plan highlighting innovative initiatives that contributed to city transformation and will support a sustainable, resilient innovation ecosystem ensuring green and digital transition, with details on concrete results a...
What does the 'Ecosystem building' evaluation criterion require?
Fostering synergies among innovation ecosystem players (public, industry, start-ups, civil society, citizens, academia) to develop a local innovation ecosystem, with details on concrete results of showcased initiatives.
What does the 'Escalating' evaluation criterion require?
Promoting acceleration of local innovation actors, supporting growth of innovative start-ups and SMEs, establishing innovation-friendly legal frameworks, attracting investments, driving innovation demand (including through innovation public procurement), with...
What does the 'Expanding' evaluation criterion require?
Acting as a role model by supporting dissemination and replication of tested solutions, promoting mutual learning, knowledge transfer and capacity building, and enhancing cooperation between front-runner and exploring cities, with details on concrete results.
What does the 'Experimenting' evaluation criterion require?
Demonstrating innovative concepts, processes, tools, and governance models that show the city acts as a test-bed and mainstreams these practices into ordinary urban development, with details on concrete results of the showcased initiatives.
What external expertise does the EIC procure and what allowance is paid to independent experts?
The EIC uses external independent experts for project monitoring, ethics compliance, other compliance checks (including Gender Equality Plans), communication, technology assessments (including economic security risks), policy advice, innovation intelligence, a...
What is covered by the EIC Data management and IT systems integration action and its budget?
This action covers the full IT development lifecycle for EIC tools (user stories, analysis, architecture, development, maintenance, cloud provisioning, testing, helpdesk, security), harmonising and consolidating data into a common model, webservices for BAS da...
What is the future-oriented strategic intelligence action with the JRC and its budget/timetable?
The action extends collaboration with the Joint Research Centre to provide future-oriented, data-driven, expert-based advice supporting EIC operations, feedback to policy, and equity-related activities. Work streams include short/medium-term signals and trends...
What is the indicative timetable for the contest(s)?
Opening of the contest: Q1–Q2 2026; Deadline for submission: Q2–Q3 2026; Award of the prize: Q4 2026 – Q1 2027.
What is the type of action and indicative budget for EIC Board honoraria?
Type of action: Expert contract action. Indicative budget: EUR 0.5 million. Indicative opening: From Q1 2026.
What special titles will be awarded in this edition and what is expected of the winning cities?
The titles “Capital of Innovation – iCapital – 2026” and “Rising Innovative City 2026” will be awarded in their respective categories; the winning cities (ranked 1st in each category) will be invited to sign a declaration of intent to commit to actions promoti...
Where can applicants find the common rules of contest for prizes?
The common rules of contest for prizes are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Who launches and manages the award?
The award is launched and managed by the Agency.
Are regulatory and consumer issues expected to be addressed in proposals?
Yes. Proposals are expected to consider regulatory aspects alongside consumer acceptance and to articulate strategies to support market entry within and beyond the EU.
What are the expected outcomes and impacts of the food Challenge?
Improve sustainability, efficiency and resilience of the European food supply by decoupling production from soil, minimising environmental impacts including water pollution, supporting radical technological innovation while preserving environment and biodivers...
What are the expected outcomes and impacts of the mAbs Challenge?
Enhance the EU’s response to future pandemics, provide solutions complementary to rapid detection and variant analysis (in coordination with systems like the HERA incubator), target variants of highest concern, and develop platform approaches to ensure treatme...
What are the expected outcomes and impacts of the RES Challenge?
Strengthen the European value chain producing RES, limit the EU’s dependency on imports of CRM and necessary components, and enable a more diversified and risk-aware configuration of the European RES value chain.
What assessment must all projects provide for the food-related Challenge?
All projects must provide a lifecycle assessment taking into account environmental, social and economic considerations.