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The Vanguard Initiative was selected along with 63 regions, seven cities, and four Member States to participate in the pilot project for Partnerships for Regional Innovation, which is being run in cooperation between the European Committee of the Regions and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. 

The Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI) will aim at fostering the co-development and testing of tools to mobilise multiple sources of funding and policies and connect regional and national programmes to EU initiatives for the green and digital transformations. They will feed into the new Innovation Agenda for Europe, where innovation drives the transformation for sustainability, connecting local strategies with EU-level initiatives. 

In this context, The Vanguard Initiative participating authorities will explore new approaches and work across silos in government in line with the ambition of PRI to further interconnect regional innovation ecosystems and explore new cross-regional instruments to structurally support joint innovation projects to accelerate Europeans industry’s twin transition.     

The Partnerships for Regional Innovation Playbook is the initial support document for a pilot phase engaging Member States, regions and groups of regions who have volunteered to co-develop and test the approach, centred on a selection of practical policy tools. 

These Partnerships will feed into the new Innovation Agenda for Europe, where innovation drives the transformation for sustainability, connecting local strategies with EU-level initiatives.