Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument

The Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument sits under EISMEA and uses EU Cohesion Policy to link businesses with innovation actors in other regions. The 2026 Strand 1 call carries a budget of €28.2 million and is built to strengthen EU value chains while bringing less-developed regions into them. I3 runs two main paths: Strand 1 funds mature business cases through consortium grants, while Strand 2a focuses on technology transfer and cascade funding to SMEs, with up to €100,000 per SME. Applicants need a quadruple-helix consortium, at least TRL 6 for the business-case routes, and partners from less-developed and more-developed regions. The program runs annually and is limited to EU-based consortia. This is a good fit for coalitions that already have a cross-regional commercialization plan and can show how the project will move from collaboration to market uptake. EISMEA also uses the umbrella to support open calls such as PRECISEU and RIVCircular, so individual SMEs often enter through cascade calls rather than applying directly to the agency.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.