The I3 Annual Forum in Brussels on 1 October 2026 offered a timely opportunity to consider what interregional innovation investment should achieve after 2027. For VECTORA Europe, the central question is how Europe can sustain partnerships that connect regional capabilities with real business investment. Our position is that the I3 Instrument should remain a recognisable part of that landscape.
This is an argument about the work the instrument enables and the improvements its next phase should pursue. A durable case for I3 needs to connect competitiveness, implementation and territorial opportunity in terms that companies and regional authorities can use.
Keep a clear bridge from cooperation to investment
Many partnerships begin with a shared challenge and a willingness to collaborate. The difficult transition comes when partners must choose a concrete investment, define its ownership and agree how the costs and benefits will be distributed. A dedicated interregional approach gives that transition a clear purpose and a framework around which organisations can prepare.
The 2026 Forum addressed the instrument's achievements and its contribution to future cohesion policy. Our practical reading is that continuity matters most where cooperation is already developing into an investment pipeline. Changing a funding framework should preserve the relationships, technical preparation and local knowledge that make those pipelines credible.
Read the evidence with the right distinctions
The I3 Instrument Observatory update published in September 2026 reports 84 funded or selected projects, more than 1,500 project participations and over €315 million in committed funding, excluding financial support to third parties. These figures describe a portfolio at a particular stage; participations are not the same measure as unique organisations.
That distinction is useful when deciding what to assess next. Portfolio size can indicate reach, while an investment decision requires closer examination of individual results. We would ask which assets or services are being used, which customers have engaged, what commercial assumptions have changed and who is responsible for the next investment. Those questions make evidence more relevant to future programme design.
Treat cohesion as an investment consideration
A partnership creates stronger regional value when each location contributes something that the investment needs. This might be a production capability, an application environment, a research facility or access to a particular industrial customer. Identifying that contribution early gives regional participation a practical basis and makes responsibilities easier to negotiate.
For less developed regions, the challenge may begin before a consortium is assembled. Companies and intermediaries need time to identify opportunities, articulate capabilities and build relationships with potential partners. Supporting that preparation can help ensure that participation involves substantive work and retained capability. It also makes it easier for other partners to understand why the region belongs in the investment plan.
Involve managing authorities around decisions
Managing authorities and organisations responsible for smart specialisation can provide an important connection between a project and its regional environment. We see particular value in involving them while investment concepts are being shaped, so that the discussion includes regional priorities, relevant infrastructure and the conditions needed for results to be used locally.
The conversation should be specific. Which element of the investment connects with the region's strategy? What complementary actions would make deployment easier? Who can resolve a practical barrier, and through which decision process? A clear agenda is more productive than requesting general support for a project whose local implications have not yet been worked through.
A strong European value chain needs credible investment decisions in the regions that make it work.
Build continuity beyond individual grants
A consortium's investment roadmap should distinguish the project period from the period in which results are operated, maintained or expanded. That means agreeing how partners will work together after the funded activities end, how shared assets will be accessed and who will lead commercial discussions. These responsibilities should be visible in the partnership's operating model.
Continuity also depends on knowledge remaining accessible. A useful handover includes validated technical information, agreed ownership arrangements, customer evidence and an updated financing plan. Preparing these elements throughout implementation reduces the risk that valuable work becomes difficult to use once the project team changes. The final report should record a transition that partners have already prepared.
Ask the next phase to make delivery easier
Keeping I3 should go together with a practical improvement agenda. Applicants benefit when the purpose of a funding route is clear and when advice helps them make choices before they commit extensive resources. Project teams benefit when the evidence expected during implementation is connected with the outcomes the instrument aims to achieve.
From our perspective, a useful next phase would encourage earlier investment preparation, clearer roles for regional actors and more deliberate planning for follow-on activity. It should also allow lessons from implementation to inform future support. The aim is a more coherent journey from an identified opportunity to a functioning cross-regional investment, with expectations that partners can understand and manage.
Prepare the next investment case now
For an organisation considering I3, the immediate task is to assemble a project that stands up to scrutiny on its own merits. Begin with the industrial need, identify the capabilities required across regions and test whether the partners share a credible route to use of the result. Select a funding opportunity once the underlying proposition is sufficiently clear.
Our support for I3's future reflects that delivery perspective. Europe needs ways to connect strong regional capabilities and to help more places participate in investment opportunities. VECTORA Europe works with companies, intermediaries and public organisations to translate that ambition into practical preparation. Explore our regional innovation expertise or discuss your investment concept with us.