In the week of 15 till the 21st of June, Think East Netherlands participated in the conference “I3 Instrument: The Financial Bridge to Innovation Partnerships” in Kraków. The event brought together representatives from the European Commission, regions, innovation clusters and project partners to discuss current and future opportunities within the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument.&nbsp;For East Netherlands, the conference clearly demonstrated that significant opportunities remain to develop new I3 projects under the final calls of the current programming period. The instrument continues to be a powerful mechanism for bringing innovative technologies and regional strengths to market through European cooperation.&nbsp;The discussions on the future of I3 were equally encouraging. Europe is looking beyond 2027 and exploring how interregional innovation investments can play an even stronger role in building strategic European value chains, strengthening regional innovation ecosystems and connecting Smart Specialisation Strategies across regions.Representing the Vanguard Initiative, Ellen Mulder joined a panel discussion to showcase how Vanguard enables regions to work together around shared industrial strengths and innovation priorities. It was encouraging to see the growing interest across Europe in this approach of building innovation partnerships through regional specialisation and collaboration.&nbsp;The conference also provided an excellent opportunity to connect with innovation clusters from the Małopolska region. These exchanges revealed promising opportunities for future cooperation on several TEN themes, including knowledge exchange, innovation projects and stronger connections between businesses, knowledge institutions and public authorities in both regions.Over the coming months, we look forward to exploring these opportunities further together with our partners in the Vanguard Initiative and across Europe.Because Europe’s biggest challenges require strong regions that innovate together.

From Kraków to East Netherlands: new opportunities for European innovation investments through I3