The Opinion of the Partnership Knowledge Hub (PKH) on European Partnerships highlights the central role of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) in driving innovation across Europe.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation published its latest report, titled, Opinion of the Partnership Knowledge Hub (PKH) on European Partnerships under the upcoming EU Framework Programme (FP10). The report intends to ‘take stock of the experiences with the current Horizon Europe policy approach on R&I partnerships and presents a concrete vision and practical recommendations on how to make full use of R&I partnerships’ potential to contribute to the EU’s policy objectives’. Horizon Europe is the EU’s 9th framework programme for research and innovation (2020-2028) that strategically supports European partnerships by pooling resources, aligning national and private-sector R&I agendas, and combining funding to strengthen innovation ecosystems and research capacity across the European Research Area. The opinion emphasises how the EIT serves as a crucial partnership enabler within the Horizon Europe framework, fostering collaborations that significantly extend the impact of EU funding.
Leveraging investments to drive competitiveness and sustainability
The EIT is singled out in the report for its ability to leverage both public and private investments effectively, achieving the highest «leverage effect» among European partnerships:
(The) leverage effect’ of European partnerships (i.e. the amount of private-sector funding attracted to co-invest in a partnership for every euro of public money invested in that partnership) has been analysed for each of the partnership types, and the full leverage factor varies between 1.64 and 5.60, with the EIT-KICs achieving the highest leverage.
The EIT’s integrated approach, which combines regional, national, and European innovation efforts, plays a vital role in advancing Europe’s competitiveness and sustainability goals.
Fostering regional innovation through EIT KICs and the RIS
Building on its strengths, the report concludes that the EIT is particularly impactful in Widening countries, through the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (EIT RIS) where local hubs help align national and European priorities, fostering a bottom-up approach to innovation.
The opinion is consistent with the 2024 Evaluation Study of the European Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation for Innovative Europe which acknowledged that ‘grassroots connections across all EU Member States enable the EIT a flexible and dynamic approach that allows Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) to act quickly.’ The Biennial Monitoring Report 2024 on Partnerships in Horizon Europe also reinforced the strong performance of the EIT in advancing Europe’s research and innovation agenda.
Ensuring clearer collaboration within the partnership portfolio
The opinion also acknowledges the well-accepted governance of the partnership portfolio in the strategic coordinating process. It calls for more attention to ‘the integration of the EIT-KICs as part of the partnership portfolio’ and emphasises the need for better integration and clearer collaboration between EIT KICs and other partnerships within the same portfolio.
In summary, the opinion emphasises that the EIT is a key enabler of innovation, leveraging public and private investments to drive regional and European growth. To fully realise their potential, future European partnerships must integrate the unique contributions of EIT KICs, ensuring they receive the recognition they deserve within the broader FP10 framework.