On 29 April 2025, 200 territories including national governments, regions and cities from EU Member States and third associated countries like Ukraine, North Macedonia, Turkey and Norway will kick off the EU Preparatory Action “Innovation for place-based transformation” with a high-level event (stream available online).
Focusing on their own specific territorial needs, the selected territories will work side-by-side with the European Commission to drive change and develop specific solutions for implementing innovation policies. Territories will tackle burning challenges, such as achieving circularity, adaptation to climate change, digital transformation, food security, reducing reliance on fossil fuels or territorial preparedness, similarly to the challenge-based work of the Regional Innovation Valleys initiative.
The EU Preparatory Action initiative, led by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), aims to advance innovation across Europe and put policies into action.
A place-based approach to deal with complexity
“Innovation for place-based transformation” means finding solutions tailored to a specific location. The complexity of today’s challenges calls for a systemic approach for territories to implement transformative innovation. Such transformations would require concrete actions at local, regional, national and European level and across policy fields.
Territories will learn from each other and apply this mindset and knowledge to their unique territorial set-ups. By mobilising resources and expertise, the EU Preparatory Action addresses key societal challenges while driving competitiveness.
For example, Ostrobothnia in Finland will explore regulatory sandboxes to advance their net-zero efforts; while Overijssel in the Netherlands will explore how to master the digital transformation to foster regional competitiveness among SMEs. Malta will work on a more a resilient food system that tackles sustainability and security for both consumers and producers, through the collaboration of multiple policy departments of Health, Environment or Economy, as well as Culture, Education, Tourism and even Foreign Affairs.
Selection of territories and activities
Based on their application to join the EU Preparatory Action, their level of experience and the commitment expressed towards this initiative, the territories have been split up into three tracks.
- Experimentation: participants will develop an Experimentation Journey, based on a challenge, to create a specific policy outcome. Each journey will last 9-12 months and will have a unique inter-territorial setup with the support of the JRC and of a dedicated facilitator and thematic expert. Examples of these experimentation pathways are increasing the viability of circular economy businesses or developing resilient local food systems.
- Capacity Building: participants will gain knowledge, skills, and experience to initiate and sustain transformative innovation policies in their local setting. They will have the opportunity to exchange with peers and participate in practical assignments and collaborative tasks.
- Awareness Raising: participants will learn about place-based innovation policies and will gain access to online resources, audio-visual materials and webinars. A brand-new element in this repertoire of innovation knowledge is the podcast ‘Territories in ACTION: Where it all happens’. The podcast will have nine episodes, distributed monthly, covering the territories’ challenges and presenting the project.
Impact at national and regional level
One of the main objectives of the EU Preparatory Action ‘Innovation for place-based transformation’ is to encourage and empower European territories to collaborate for systemic transformation. Although many territories face similar challenges and transformation needs, they have distinct territorial set-ups and innovation ecosystems. The EU Preparatory Action will bring them together to develop more comprehensive and versatile approaches, enabling the creation of transferable and adaptable solutions that can be applied in various contexts.
To achieve this, the Preparatory Action will help territories gain a better understanding of transformative innovation policies and be equipped to put them into practice. These outputs will contribute to the overall goal of advancing innovation and policy development in the EU and beyond.
Background
For the past 5 years, the JRC has been working with European territories to develop new approaches to translate transformative innovation policies into actions at local and national level.
These efforts include the EU Preparatory Action ‘Innovation for place-based transformation’. This JRC initiative, supported by the European Parliament, aims to promote partnerships and drive transformative innovation policies across European territories. It will run until the end of 2026.
Its origins are rooted in the EU’s commitment to a green and digital transition for a just and sustainable economy. It builds on the longstanding JRC experience on innovation polices, including Smart Specialisation strategies, and aims to facilitate, promote and disseminate transformative innovation approaches within participating territories and beyond.
After the Call for Expression of interest launched in October 2024, more than 240 territories (Member States, regions and cities) expressed interest in working side-by side with the JRC on the challenges they have identified, also considering their available resources.
The Preparatory Action will inform the policy debate and the design of upcoming initiatives, such as the upcoming Innovation Act, and prepare the ground future legislative actions.
