Call for Cross-KIC RIS Task Partner in EIT Jumpstarter and Joint Innovation Incubator

Enhancing innovation capacity of the EIT RIS region

The EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (EIT RIS) was introduced by the European Parliament and the Council as part of the EIT’s Strategic Innovation Agenda (SIA) 2014-2020. The EIT RIS is designed to share good practices and experience emerging from the EIT Community’s activities, as well as to widen participation in KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Community) activities. The aim of the EIT RIS is to help disseminate the knowledge and know-how of the EIT Community and widen participation in the KICs across Europe.

The EIT RIS is designed for EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries in Europe who are modest and moderate innovators, and where Innovation Communities have few or no partners. Strategically, the Scheme is an additional offer to these countries to facilitate their engagement with the EIT Innovation Communities. As such, the EIT RIS is not the sole method of participating in the activities of the EIT Innovation Communities. The Scheme’s aim is to facilitate the access to services and programmes offered by the EIT Innovation Communities.

Within the frame of the EIT RIS there is a joint project existing, in which all KICs participate. The Cross-KIC RIS project in 2021 and further aims to build on the knowledge, experiences and results of the cross-KIC collaboration since 2017. The project will remain to be a platform for knowledge sharing and coordination between the KICs to ensure efficiency and avoid fragmentation of efforts and duplication among their activities.

In the framework of the Cross-KIC RIS project in 2021 – related to this call – there will be the following work packages:

WP1 – EIT Jumpstarter, the continuation of the award-winning joint pre-acceleration program started in 2017. EIT Jumpstarter provides fundamental entrepreneurial skills training to support teams building a business model around their innovative idea and launch their business. Involving 6 KICs, mobilising their networks and jointly upskilling the talent pool in EIT RIS continues to bring value to all KICs participating in the program. In 2021 the EIT Jumpstarter programme will be extended for the New Bauhaus Initiative.

WP2 – Joint Innovation Incubator, enhancing the innovation capacities of RIS regions by establishing individual concepts for regional ecosystem effective university-based incubators based on joint knowledge transfer and individual concept development. This work package is a follow-up work package of the previous year 2020.

Selected incubators in the work package from 2021 on will also contribute to the EIT Jumpstarter edition (1 bootcamp + 1 training) each year of their collaboration with the EIT Community as Joint Innovation Incubators (the EIT Jumpstarter is another part of the cross-KIC RIS project – WP1).

Expected role of RIS Task Partner

The multi-year objective of the Cross-KIC RIS project is to further strengthen the platform for KIC interaction and coordination of EIT RIS activities to ensure efficiency; and avoid fragmentation of efforts and duplication among KIC activities.