News | 15 Jun 2026

Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument opens two new calls for proposals

The European Commission’s Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument has launched two new calls offering financial and advisory support for joint innovation projects. Apply by 12 November 2026.

Image by Business from Getty Images on Canva

Image by Business from Getty Images on Canva

The Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument, under the European Regional Development Fund, supports interregional innovation projects in their scale-up and commercialisation phases. It helps overcome regulatory and market barriers, bringing projects to investment level 

The two calls for proposals offer financial, advisory and networking support to interregional innovation projects under two strands.  

Strand 1: shared smart specialisation areas 

Strand 1 of the I3 Instrument aims to increase the competitiveness and resilience of EU value chains. It supports consortia from regions with shared smart specialisation areas, ready to invest in interregional innovation projects.  

Applications for this call can be submitted until 12 November 2026 through the EU Funding & Tenders platform. 

The estimated available budget is EUR 28.2 million. 

Strand 2a: value chain development  

Strand 2a of the I3 Instrument supports the development of value chains in less developed and transition regions, integrating them into EU value chains. 

Applications for this call can be submitted until 12 November 2026 through the EU Funding & Tenders platform. 

The estimated available budget is EUR 30.2 million.