On 1 October 2026, the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels hosted the Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) seminar “From Innovation Act to Regional Imp(Act): making Europe’s innovation agenda work for cities and regions”, organised in partnership with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.
Held only weeks after the Commission tabled the proposal for the European Innovation Act, the seminar was one of the first opportunities to hear the Act presented in public and to discuss its implications directly with policymakers and stakeholders from across Europe’s innovation ecosystem.
Jean-David Malo, Acting Director for ERA and Innovation at DG RTD, opened the discussion with a keynote presentation of the Act. Contributions followed from members of the Committee of the Regions and representatives of the innovation ecosystem.
The debate centred on three questions: how cities and regions can become launch markets for innovation, how public procurement can help innovative solutions move from the lab to the market, and how regional ecosystems can better connect research, start-ups, scale-ups, investors and public authorities.
The exchange gave national, regional and local stakeholders a first opportunity to feel how the Act will work in practice, as the proposal moves through the legislative process. The Commission will keep working with cities, regions and the Committee of the Regions so that the Act delivers concrete impact where innovators, businesses and citizens live and work.
Background
The Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) is a joint initiative between the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and the European Committee of the Regions. It supports structured dialogue between EU institutions, regional and local authorities, and stakeholders on research and innovation policies, with a strong focus on implementation on the ground.
The European Strategy for research and technology infrastructures sets out a long-term vision to build a more coordinated and accessible ecosystem across Europe. It aims to connect infrastructures into a coherent network, strengthen regional participation, and ensure that innovation investments deliver concrete economic and societal benefits across all territories.
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