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Advancing territorial transformation: EURADA partners in the EU Preparatory Action “Innovation for Place-Based Transformation”

Article written by Alessandra Frassetto - Policy and Project Officer

 

Transformative innovation is no longer a concept for the future – it is a practice being shaped today.

 

In April 2025, the EU Preparatory Action “Innovation for Place-Based Transformation” was officially launched at a high-level event in Brussels, hosted by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) with the support of the European Parliament. The initiative brings together more than 240 territories across Europe – including regions, cities, and national administrations – united by a shared ambition to transform their innovation systems and policies in response to the most pressing territorial and global challenges. At its core, the Preparatory Action (PA) seeks to promote and support transformative, place-based innovation approachesthat reflect the diverse realities, assets, and needs of European territories. By combining local experimentation, capacity building, and policy learning, the initiative empowers public administrations to co-develop systemic policy interventions and embed transformative governance models capable of accelerating Europe’s green and digital transitions.

 

Building on the experience of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) and the Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI), the initiative aims to translate these frameworks into a new generation of innovation policies. It does so through:

  • Awareness raising on the importance of place-based transformative innovation, engaging in dialogue and knowledge exchange and enhancing the understanding of transformative innovation policies;
  • Capacity Building - addressed to more than 120 territories and inspired by the JRC’s ACTIONbook methodology, it takes the form of 8 interactive modules combining online and in-person workshops, working group meetings and mutual learning activities supported by digital tools and platforms. through a comprehensive challenge-based 8-modules programme featuring online seminars, in-person events and working groups;
  • Experimentation Journeys – running in parallel and based on 7 key challenges (decarbonisation, circularity, digitalisation, health, food systems, climate adaptation, and the New European Bauhaus), a selected group of public administrations will co-create and and test innovative approaches guided by peer learning, cross-regional collaboration and expert facilitation, ensuring that policy experimentation delivers tangible and transferable results.

Through these combined activities, the Preparatory Action strengthens the capacities of local and regional governments to design and implement integrated policies that enhance resilience, cohesion, and long-term impact across governance levels. Lessons learned in each strand will feed back into the others, creating a continuous and sustainable loop of innovation, learning, and adaptation.

 

By being part of the consortium behind these activities, EURADA reaffirms its commitment to supporting place-based, systemic, and mission-oriented innovation as a driver of regional transformation. The initiative not only builds upon EURADA’s extensive engagement in Smart Specialisation and regional innovation ecosystems but also opens new opportunities to foster collaboration between territories. In this context, EURADA takes the lead in the facilitation of the capacity building working groups on New European Bauhaus, global food security and digital transformation. On the Experimentation Journey strand, we support the selected territories with the challenges on global food security and digital transformation for competitiveness.

 

What’s next? The Capacity Building Programme is getting closer to the territories through a two in-person event taking place in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 5-6 November, designed to encourage collaboration, peer learning and hands-on application of the online modules. Organised in cooperation with the European Committee of the Regions and the Municipality of Sofia, the event will gather representatives from participating territories for two days of joint learning and exchange organised and facilitated by JRC, EURADA, Climate KIC and ERRIN.

 

EURADA members taking part in the initiative:

SODENA, ADR North-East, Instituto de Fomento de la Región de Murcia, AACIISI – Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información, SVILUPPO ITALIA MOLISE S.P.A., SIMORA, ICECYL. Instituto para la Competitividad Empresarial de Castilla y León Castilla y León, Prigoda, Andalucía TRADE, and FUNDECYT-PCTEX.


To learn more about the Preparatory Action and follow its progress: