This policy brief proposes a way for regions to pursue regional missions by implementing mini missions. Mini missions follow a challenge-driven approach to focus on specific predefined place-based challenges, seeking solutions within a shorter timeframe.
By initiating mini missions, regional policymakers can embrace mission-driven approaches with:
Enhanced leadership
Agile institutional and governance capacities for breaking silos
Delivering strong coordination
Securing funding complementarities
Overall they can achieve large-scale system-level changes by setting visions and guiding innovation in a specific direction. Many Interreg Europe projects have already begun experimenting with local and regional challenge-driven innovation policies offering many insights for regional policy learning.
Explore five policy recommendations in this policy brief, deriving from the experience of Interreg Europe projects, that inspire policymakers to better design and deliver challenge-driven innovation policies.
Innovation voucher for Seal of Excellence projects
“Seal of excellence” initiative: innovation vouchers to support local companies, not funded by SME Instrument (Ph. 1), to scale up their innovation projects
The Call is an innovative ERDF instrument that puts objectives first rather than activities. Because it doesn’t define actions in advance, it is flexible.
Cooperation between Research Institutes and/or Universities and companies through high-level structuring R&D programs (Ambition Research Development 2020)
Strategic Research and Innovation Partnerships for S3 (SRIPs)
Increasing the cooperation between companies and knowledge institution to create, develop and market new innovative products and services in 9 priority areas S3
