Information
- Project ID: GA 101180298 – GreenStep
- Call: Capacity Building Strand 2b under the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument (I3-2023-CAP2b)
- Funding: Funded by the European Union
Duration
Consortium members
- Archipiélago Next (AN) — Spain
- Agentura regionálního rozvoje spol. s r.o. (ARR) — Czech Republic
- BalticNet-PlasmaTec (BNPT) — Germany
- Technical University of Liberec (CXI TUL) — Czech Republic
- Kaunas University of Technology (KUT) — Lithuania
- Mazovia Cluster ICT (MCICT) — Poland
- MetaIndustry4 (MI4) — Spain
- Nanoprogress (NP) — Czech Republic — Project Coordinator
- Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI) — Portugal
- Cluster for the Efficient Use of Water (ZINNAE) — Spain
Grants
- Total project budget: €1,339,386.94
- Instrument: ERDF Interregional Innovation Investments (I3)
- Funding rate: 100%
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Objectives
GreenStep is a transformative initiative designed to strengthen capacity in less developed regions by accelerating green and digital transitions, deepening cooperation, and aligning Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3). The project lays the groundwork for long-term collaboration across energy-intensive industry (EII) value chains, connecting 8 regions in 6 countries through a Q-helix approach (public sector, business, research/education, civil society).
ARR – Agentura regionálního rozvoje, spol. s r. o. participates as a partner in this cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary and interregional consortium composed of 5 clusters, 2 universities, 2 companies and 1 government body.
Approach & methodology (action plan)
Project activities are structured into five mutually reinforcing steps:
- Dive into S3 strategies in all GreenStep regions and analyse each region’s innovation ecosystem grounded in EIIs.
- Build the bridge between regions to create a shared GreenStep ecosystem for exchanging data, practices and insights.
- Connect Q-helix stakeholders to broaden networks and strengthen cooperation (workshops, matchmaking, joint challenges).
- Promote interregional investment projects that bring green and digital solutions to market and scale.
- Define a long-term roadmap that sustains results and advances investment projects beyond the project lifetime.
This collaboration is anchored by the GreenStep Platform, an “out-of-the-box” space where regional stakeholders exchange strategies, challenges and needs, ensuring continuity and impact.
Expected results & impact
- Interregional roadmap offering a practical path to strengthen capacities, upgrade EII value chains, and scale green/digital solutions.
- Replicable collaboration model that other EU regions can adopt to accelerate innovation and cohesion.
- Faster green & digital transition through concrete investment projects and transfer of successful practices across regions.
- Inclusive growth enabled by coordinated Q-helix engagement and better alignment between policies, support instruments and the needs of SMEs.
