News

The Vanguard Initiative, represented by the Vanguard Pilot Monitoring Task Group lead Wim de Kinderen, has been selected by the European Commission as a member of the Expert Group on Interregional Innovation Investments (I3). This is an important acknowledgment for our network, recognised as a relevant partner on the support of the commercialisation and scaling up of interregional innovation projects in shared smart specialisation priority areas having the potential to encourage the development of European value chains.

The I3 Expert Group will consist of Member States, regional authorities and cities, representatives of business, research, and civil society bodies active in the field of smart specialisation. The main purpose of the group is to establish cooperation and coordination between the Commission, the Member States, and relevant stakeholders on issues relating to the implementation of the I3 programme and other relevant activities.

The Vanguard Initiative is looking forward to providing support to the Commission in defining a long-term work programme and in preparing calls for proposals based on its experience of interregional collaboration around innovative value chains. The Policy Influencing TG will support the VI representative for its active participation in this Group. The first meeting of the Group is scheduled for 15 June 2021.