A programme of Innovative Europe
The European Innovation Ecosystems work programme is part of Horizon Europe (Pillar 3), which addresses innovation performance, innovation transfer and innovation scale-up in Europe. It aims to stimulate and support the creation and diffusion of breakthrough innovations; the focus is on creating technology giants through the commercialisation of technology.
European Innovation Ecosystems (including Eureka) aims to connect people and organisations working towards the goal of innovation and supporting the scaling of companies.
Areas of intervention
- builds interconnected, inclusive innovation ecosystems across Europe by drawing on the existing strengths of national, regional and local ecosystems and pulling in new, less well-represented actors and territories to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the benefit of society, including the green, digital, and social transitions
- reinforces network connectivity within and between innovation ecosystems to accelerate sustainable business growth with high societal value
- supports the European Partnership for Innovative SMEs (Eurostars 3)
- complements the European Regional Development Fund support for innovation ecosystems and interregional partnerships around smart specialisation topics
The European Innovation Ecosystems Work Programme
The open calls for this programme are in a single Destination, CONNECT: Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems; the actions of this destination aim to shift the European economy towards a more entrepreneurial, innovative and inclusive model by strengthening and expanding cooperation between innovation players. They aim to create a dynamic ecosystem to better support the next generation of innovative companies whose solutions will lead the shift towards a more competitive EU and a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world.
The Work Programme document outlines the expected impacts and details specific calls for proposals and their relevant conditions to apply. Review this information before beginning your application process.
There are not currently any planned info days for EIE: future events will be listed on the EIE info pages.
Calls which closed in 2026 have been removed from these listings.
-
Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in Horizon Europe actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State;
- and at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries (this includes the UK).
Our European team can help you find eligible partners to form a consortium.
There may be further eligibility conditions for specific topics. Please check the Work Programme and contact our team to ensure your eligibility before applying.
-
Single-stage calls opening 1 Jun 2027, deadline 15 Sep 2027
HORIZON-EIE-2027-01-CONNECT-01: Startup Europe. c.€2m per project for up to 9 projects.
At least 50% of the beneficiaries in a consortium must be established in ‘moderate’ or ‘emerging’ innovator countries or regions. See the work programme for full details.
HORIZON-EIE-2027-01-CONNECT-02: Reinforcing synergies between experimentation spaces and innovation procurement. c.€10m for a single project.
HORIZON-EIE-2027-01-CONNECT-03: Enhancing the involvement of philanthropic organisations in innovation ecosystems. c.€1m per project for up to 6 projects.
The coordinator of the project must be a higher education institution, or research technology organisation(s) (RTOs) or a network of such organisations. Consortia must include at least 3 participants from three 3 different member states or associated countries, including higher education institution(s) or RTOs and philanthropy organisation(s) or network of philanthropy organisations. See work programme for full details.
Review the application process
What are the steps? How long does it take? What resources are available to support your research and innovation? Explore everything you need to know to get started.
Navigating the process
