The purpose of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is to address major societal challenges by improving the innovation performance of the EU through the integration of the knowledge triangle of research, education and innovation.
The EIT was established in 2008 by Regulation (EC) No 294/2008 (the “EIT Regulation”)
. The EIT Regulation establishes the mission, objectives and budget allocated to the EIT, and therefore it needs to be in line with the applicable Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
The Commission proposal establishing Horizon Europe, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for the period 2021-2027, sets out the proposed budget for the EIT for the next period as well as its rationale, added value, areas of intervention, broad lines of activity and performance indicators. In the proposal, the EIT is one of the main components of the "Innovative Europe" pillar.
The Horizon Europe proposal itself does not provide the legal basis for continuing the EIT operations beyond 2020. Therefore, the EIT Regulation needs to be amended.
Furthermore, Article 17 of the EIT Regulation requires that every seven years the Commission submits to the European Parliament and the Council a proposal for a Strategic Innovation Agenda that lays down the strategic, long-term priorities and financial needs for the EIT which needs to be in line with the applicable Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The current Strategic Innovation covers the period 2014-2020
. A proposal for a new Strategic Innovation Agenda of the EIT for 2021-2027 therefore needs to be submitted alongside the proposal to revise the EIT Regulation.
The present initiative aims to amend through a recast the EIT Regulation and align the SIA with Horizon Europe. It covers the new priority fields of the EIT as well as its financial needs. It also aims to improve the functioning of the EIT taking into account the lessons learnt from the past years.
In particular, the initiative focuses on tackling issues in three main areas. Firstly, it will address challenges related to the EIT funding model, Secondly, it will propose solutions to increase the impact of the education activities of the EIT, i.e. enhance the awareness of the EIT educational brand and support entrepreneurial and innovation capabilities and skills in higher education institutions. Finally, the initiative will help increase the EIT’s regional outreach through better integration of KICs into local innovation ecosystems. The initiative will also outline the future priority fields for KICs.
Furthermore, the initiative will address a number of technical issues in order to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of the EIT operations. This includes the KICs openness and transparency, the EIT governance and the contractual provisions of the EIT staff.
The issues identified will be addressed through an amendment to the EIT Regulation and the adoption of the Strategic Innovation Agenda of the EIT for 2021 – 2027. The present Impact Assessment builds on the Impact Assessment that was carried out for Horizon Europe.
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