Call for Nominations: European Capital of Innovation Awards

The Awards are a prestigious recognition for city administrators who are courageous enough to open up their governance practices to experimentation, to boost innovation by all means, to be a role model for other cities, and to push the boundaries of technology for the benefit of their citizens.

The award will raise the profile of the cities that have developed and implemented innovative policies; established frameworks that boost breakthrough innovation; enhanced the city attractiveness towards investors, industry, enterprises and talents; helped to open up connections and strengthen links with other cities, promoting the replication of best practices in the innovation field; enhanced citizens’ involvement in the decision-making process; and supported cities resilience.

Objectives

• The New European Innovation Agenda sets out a vision for harnessing the power of innovation to drive economic growth, social progress, and contribute to the green and digital transition in Europe. The agenda emphasizes the need for strategic investments in key technologies, including deep tech, and for strengthening and better connecting innovation ecosystems through stronger collaboration between regions, to close the innovation divide.
• The European Capital of Innovation Awards will recognize the cities’ role as catalysers of the local innovation ecosystem and will stimulate new activities aimed at boosting game-changing innovation.

Eligibility Criteria

• The candidate towns and cities must be located in one of the EU Member in order to be eligible, the applicant has to be a city and must comply with the following criteria:
  • The candidate cities must be located in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe.
  • For the category of European Capital of Innovation, the candidate city must have a minimum population of 250,000 inhabitants. In countries where there are no such cities, the city coming closest to 250,000 inhabitants is eligible to apply for the European Capital of Innovation category.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Winners of former European Capital of Innovation Awards editions, as well as runners-up of the edition 2024 are not eligible.
• Applicants that have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.
• Joint applications by a group of applicants are not accepted and will be rejected as ineligible.

For more information, visit European Commission.