VInnovate
VInnovate is an innovative Interregional Funding
Mechanism that connects and integrates regional
resources to fund international innovation projects
with a two-steps approach to proposal submission. Conceptually, VInnovate operates
according to a model close to the “Virtual Common Pot Model”.
Since its start in 2024, VInnovate enabled already the funding
of 28 international innovation projects across 14 regions
national funding programmes or instruments (each programme providing grants to beneficiaries located in the region), and
applicants from participating countries/regions are to be funded according to the rules and decisions of the respective
regional/national funding programmes or instruments.
Compared to other EU/interregional instruments, the VInnovate Mechanism has a unique positioning in the interregional
funding landscape, combining the following strategic dimensions:
A “framed” bottom-up approach
Pursuing the goal of maximising the return on investments for applicants, a bottom-up (in established priorities) and user-friendly approach (regional procedures often known to applicants, relatively high success rate, flexibility in partnerships, etc.) is proposed.
Complete regional anchorages
PVInnovate is the only international mechanism combining “S3-based joint-programming”, “internationalization of regional funds” and a “regionally anchored decision-making process”, where every region keeps full control on which project can be funded, guaranteeing therefore full alignment with interests of all regions involved.
Integrated Innovation Support
The anchored in VI Pilots activities (structural and continuous) offers to stakeholders a holistic innovation support: roadmaps; joint programming; matchmaking; project design; access to implementation funding.