Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 2a
Funds EISMEA Interregional Innovation Investments for small and medium-sized enterprises in developing European regions through cross-border transfer and capability building.
Eligibility · EU member states
I3-2026-INV2a is Strand 2a of the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument, managed by EISMEA. The call opened on 13 May 2026 with a total estimated budget of EUR 30.2 million for 2026. It targets technology transfer, demonstration, capability building, and knowledge transfer for SMEs, with a specific emphasis on reinforcing the integration of innovation actors from less-developed and transition EU regions into cross-border value chains. Projects must operate at a minimum of TRL 6. The single-stage application deadline is 12 November 2026 at 17:00 CET.
Eligible applicants are quadruple helix consortia spanning businesses, universities, research organizations, and public authorities, with balanced representation across regions at different EU development levels. A defining requirement is that participating regions must share or hold complementary smart specialisation priorities. A key change in the 2026 call is the increase of the Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) threshold for individual SMEs from EUR 60,000 to EUR 100,000 — expanding the cascade funding available to participating small and medium enterprises relative to prior cycles. Consortia may receive direct funding as beneficiaries or distribute funding to third-party SMEs via the cascade mechanism.
Strand 2a is explicitly focused on regions that have historically been underserved by EU innovation funding, making it complementary to Strand 1 (I3-2026-INV1), which targets mature business cases across a broader regional mix. Applications for both strands share the same 12 November 2026 deadline and are submitted via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal at the I3-2026-INV2a topic-details page. An information session was held on 27 May 2026 from 9:30 to 12:00 CEST.
Technology transfer, demonstration, and capability building for SMEs in less-developed and transition EU regions, integrating them into cross-border value chains at TRL 6+.
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