Organizing The Week of Innovative Regions conference under the Hungarian EU Council Presidency

Project Information

HUPRES-WIRE

Grant agreement ID: 101194619

DOI

10.3030/101194619

Project closed

EC signature date 18 October 2024

Start date 1 July 2024

End date 30 April 2025

Funded under

• Widening participation and spreading excellence

Total cost

€ 249 062,50

EU contribution

€ 249 062,50

Coordinated by

NEMZETI KUTATASI FEJLESZTESI ES INNOVACIOS HIVATAL
Hungary

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HUPRES-WIRE (Organizing The Week of Innovative Regions conference under the Hungarian EU Council Presidency)

Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2025-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The National Research, Development and Innovation Office organized Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE) conference under the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The aim of the conference was to collect valuable inputs from multiple stakeholders that can be channeled into future research cooperative efforts and policy-making in the field of European competitiveness with RDI and combatting the fragmentation of the European innovation ecosystem as key factors of competitiveness for the European Union in the upcoming years. The conference brought together key players from the innovation ecosystem to enhance science-based competitiveness. It was focusing on knowledge-driven regional development and propose ways to optimize resource allocation for this purpose.
This year’s conference theme aligned with one of the priorities of the Hungarian presidency and is crucial for the European Union’s competitiveness in the coming years. Discussions contributed to analysing the current state, identifying challenges, and sharing best practices. The programme explored various initiatives, concepts, and tools introduced by the European Union, such as the Smart Specialisation concept, Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument, the Partnerships for Regional Innovation pilot, and Regional Innovation Valleys. To provide a comprehensive and detailed overview, speakers evaluated the effectiveness of these tools, present successful practices, and highlighted synergies between European and regional funding schemes.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Week of Innovative Regions in Europe conference under the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union was organized by National Research, Development and Innovation Office on 13-14 November 2024. The project consisted of the conference organization process, the completion of the event, and the preparation of three follow-up materials.
During the organization process in M1-M4, the program content was prepared and speakers were identified by the project coordinator consulting an expert stakeholder group. The invitation to the conference was sent out via NCP networks, targeted e-mails, and newsletters of NRDIO and Science|Business to attract a wide variety of stakeholders. Speakers were invited, and, in case of cancellations, new speakers were found based on recommendations. The program of the conference was slightly adjusted to fit the speakers’ expertise and availability. The operational background for the conference was prepared during the first four months of the project as well: the procurement process for a professional event management company was completed, and the venue was booked.
In M5, the conference was organized in a hybrid format: plenary sessions and panel discussions were livestreamed for maximizing outreach, sharing the insightful thoughts of speakers and findings from fruitful panel discussions, with the recordings available on YouTube after the event as well. The panel discussions were moderated by experts of European research funding schemes from the different regions. Various stakeholder groups were represented: Researchers (universities, research institutes), Funding agency representatives, NCPs, European and national policymakers. Speakers were invited on the basis of professional experience, with the aim of representing diverse stakeholder groups. Particular attention was given to the balanced distribution of speakers in terms of gender, geographical coverage and stakeholder group. Altogether 85 in-person participants attended the event that was hosted by the prestigious Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design.
Follow-up activities and the preparation of conference documents were completed in M6 to M10. Video recordings were published on YouTube to maximize outreach, an extensive LinkedIn campaign was conducted with follow-up posts, and two conference conclusions were produced (Conference conclusions: Set of Recommendations, Starter Kit).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The conference organized within the project catalyzed discussions in the topic of regional innovation, European competitiveness, innovation gap, European funding schemes, and cooperation of stakeholder groups. The conference addressed different aspects of the regional innovation concept, identifying gaps and mismatches between regions through tools, such as the Regional Innovation Scoreboard.
As deliverables of the project, a Set of Recommendations and a Starter Kit was produced, summarizing the main messages of the conference and collecting EU initiatives in innovation and regional development. The Set of Recommendations is based on lessons learnt from the implementation of innovation and success stories of the regions. The Starter Kit is a practical guide for overviewing the landscape of European regions’ development initiatives and best practices. Both documents are available on the website of the conference.