What regional ecosystems actually need to drive European innovation

For Europe Day, we turn the perspective around – from practice to policy. What is the actual experience of local innovators? What is the concrete impact of EU programmes on the ground? What challenges do local actors encounter when accessing EU funding streams? We asked around for our latest Innovation Brief – our policy blog.

What pops into mind with the words “European Union”? For many of us, it is the image of a steel building with a peculiar shape and blue and yellow flags in front. But, in reality, Europe is much more: its citizens, territories, businesses, and civil society (obviously, you might say).  And when fostering innovation ecosystems, this is particularly relevant.

“Every European policy on research and innovation must mean concrete benefits for our citizens, no matter where they are living” recently declared Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, as she co-signed a new Joint Action Plan between the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions.

The Plan acknowledges that “the Union’s priorities […] require strong coordination across all levels of governance, and the effective mobilisation of regional and local innovation ecosystems.” This is particularly meaningful at a time where European resilience and competitiveness matter more than ever.

EU-funded projects are one way to translate these priorities into regional action. Yet, local innovators face several challenges when working to implement and scale their solutions: fragmentation, complexity, and capacity gaps are just a few of them. We asked around what this means in practice.

A perspective from Ireland

“Ireland has strong entrepreneurial energy and infrastructure, but its systems are not yet configured to consistently turn potential into outcomes”, told us Siobhán Finn, CEO of Community Enterprise Association Ireland (CEAI).

CEAI, a network of community enterprise centres and a SERN member, is part of the backbone of Ireland’s regional innovation, “providing space, mentoring, and local coordination”, Siobhán explains. Yet, national strategies and funding frameworks often remain top-down, complex, and slow to reach the actors delivering support on the ground.

For local innovation actors, this creates a familiar gap: limited influence over programme design, unpredictable funding, small teams, and funding frameworks that often prioritise compliance and capital spending over long-term ecosystem impact.

CEAI is working locally to close this gap through advocacy, strategic planning, and European cooperation. As Siobhán explains, European programmes can play a particularly relevant role by connecting Ireland’s community enterprise ecosystem with peers across Europe, creating space to share good practices and co-create innovative approaches to local development. They can also support the testing of new governance models and help build the capacity needed to turn local innovation potential into lasting impact.

But is it that easy?

Short answer: no.

Local innovators face several concrete challenges when accessing EU funding streams, as SERN’s Secretary General recently stressed in an Implementation Dialogue with European Commissioner Piotr Serafin (Budget, Anti-Fraud, and Public Administration), drawing on our experience working with local partners and members.

Building partnerships is one key challenge. European calls usually require balanced consortia with partners from different countries, sectors, and organisations. These requirements support diversity, complementarity, and impact.

However, building such consortia takes time, networks, and dedicated capacity — resources that smaller or locally rooted organisations may not always have. This can leave strong local actors out of EU projects, not because they lack expertise, but because they lack access to the right networks. This is especially relevant for EU neighbouring countries, as has emerged in discussions among SERN members. In theory, neighbouring countries  can access a variety of EU programmes, but the reality on the ground can be more complex.

Navigating programme complexity is another widespread challenge: administrative requirements, documentation, and reporting obligations require significant time and capacity. For associations, startups, and SMEs with limited resources and experience in EU programmes, this creates a structural barrier — often resulting in the same, well-equipped organisations repeatedly accessing funding and leaving others out.

Project and programme timelines can be another obstacle: application and spending deadlines are often tight, while payments can take much longer. For smaller organisations, this can create a double strain – both on cash flow and planning.

Another mismatch often emerges between local and market needs and funding priorities. While EU programmes respond to important strategic and policy objectives (rightly, if we might add), more place-sensitive approaches could better reflect local realities and necessities.

Last but not least, coherent communication should not be underestimated. With the wide range of different funding programmes and schemes available, it can be difficult for regional actors to navigate all the available opportunities, and useful platforms may not always reach the organisations that could benefit from them most.

From practice to policy

The issue is not lack of innovation — it lies in the system’s ability to absorb it.

The above-mentioned Joint Action Plan between the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions goes in the right direction by aiming to:

1. Build strong local and regional innovation ecosystems through research and knowledge transfer
2. Supporting place-based innovation for the digital and green transformations
3. Raise awareness and dissemination of funding opportunities through synergies and simplification
4. Support local evidence-based policymaking

Efforts have already been made through a larger use of lump sum and cascade funding, and the centralisation of most calls for proposals in the EU Funding and Tender Portal.

At the same time, further action is needed to simplify and harmonise access to EU funding, so that it can become a more effective driver of local — and therefore European — innovation. This should be a central part of discussions on the next EU budget and the successor to Horizon Europe, the next Research and Innovation Framework Programme for 2028–2034.

Grounding these discussions in the experience of local actors will be key to making this shift effective in practice – and building a more innovative and resilient Europe.