€1 million to be awarded to most innovative city
06 March 2024
by Jonathan Andrews
Up to €2 million will be awarded to the most innovative cities in the 10th edition of the European Capital of Innovation Awards.
Supported by the European Innovation Council under Horizon Europe, the awards recognise those European cities that open their governance practices to experimentation and push the boundaries of technology for the benefit of their citizens.
“[These] awards celebrate cities that use innovation to reshape the urban landscape, tackle demographic and economic challenges and put citizens at the heart of their decision-making processes,” said Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. “Through spotlighting shining examples of creating a better future for people through innovation, the awards are a beacon for the green and digital transition in Europe.”
The contest will award a total of six prizes for two categories: the European Capital of Innovation and the Rising Innovative City.
The city winning the 2024 European Capital of Innovation title will receive €1 million and the first two runners-up will be rewarded with €100,000 each.
In the Rising Innovative City category, the winner will be rewarded with €500,000 accompanied by two runners-up that will receive €50,000 each.
The competition is open to EU member cities, and Horizon Europe associated countries, with a population of 50,000 or more. Two juries of independent experts will evaluate the nominations with the following criteria:
- Experimenting to make the city a testbed for innovative practices;
- Escalating and accelerating the growth of start-ups and SMEs;
- Ecosystem building and fostering of synergies among the public sector, industry, academia, and the citizens;
- Expanding the city’s innovation capacity to become a role model for other cities;
- City innovative vision that positively transforms the city and develops a sustainable innovation ecosystem.
- Citizens’ rights – the use of innovation to strengthen democracy, to protect citizens’ rights, to foster social cohesion, and ensure integration with a special view on minorities, gender, disability, or race.
Past winners include: Barcelona (2014), Amsterdam (2016), Paris (2017), Athens (2018), Nantes (2019), Leuven (2020), Dortmund (2021), and Aix-Marseille Provence Metropole (2022), and Lisbon (2023) as European Capitals of Innovation.
The contest is open for applications until 18 June 2024.
Image: EIC
