Save the date!
The Annual I3 Instrument Forum 2026 will take place on 1 October 2026 in Brussels, bringing together the I3 community to showcase project results, strengthen interregional value chains and discuss the future of the Instrument within Cohesion Policy.
The Forum will highlight concrete achievements, with particular attention to the contribution of less developed regions and the impact of interregional innovation investments across Europe.
Registrations will open in spring 2026.
In the meantime, you can revisit the 2025 edition.
The annual meeting of the I3 coordinators aims to bring projects together, introduce them to one another and foster synergies. It will provide a platform to exchange implementation experiences, explore complementarities and identify concrete cooperation opportunities across regions and value chains.
The meeting will offer a dedicated space for peer learning, including sessions of the I3 Discussion Groups and the Capacity Building Heroes Working Group, facilitated by the I3 Support Facility. Overall, the day will strengthen the community of practitioners, foster closer connections across projects, promote shared learning and enhance the impact of I3 investments across regions and value chains.
The Annual I3 Instrument Forum 2026 aims to reflect on the achievements and regional impact of the I3 Instrument across European regions, foster networking across the extended I3 community, and provide evidence to support a strong I3 Instrument within post-2027 cohesion policy.
The Forum will open with a high-level session marking the mid-point of the I3 Instrument and reflecting on its results and impact across European regions. The programme will feature a plenary on achievements and portfolio trends, followed by panel discussions on strengthening regional innovation capacity, scaling investment outcomes across value chains and mainstreaming I3 results into Cohesion Policy programmes. The day will connect concrete project experience with forward looking policy reflections on the future of interregional innovation investments beyond 2027.
Taking stock
The morning session will celebrate the I3 Instrument at its mid point and focus on concrete results and regional impact. Through keynote interventions, project testimonies and a panel on advancing innovation capacity in regions, discussions will highlight how I3 projects have strengthened innovation ecosystems, supported policy change, and built interregional value chains, in particular in less developed regions.
The session will combine strategic overviews with practical lessons from capacity building and investment projects, illustrating how targeted capacity building actions and innovation investment efforts translate into tangible regional transformation.
Looking forward
The afternoon session will shift the focus towards policy perspectives and future priorities. It will explore how I3 Instrument results can be mainstreamed into regional and national programmes, how synergies with other EU instruments can enhance scale and sustainability, and how project outcomes can continue to generate impact after EU funding ends.
Through expert inputs and a forward looking panel on scaling results across value chains and markets, the discussion will contribute to shaping the role of the I3 Instrument within Cohesion Policy in the post 2027 period.
I3 Instrument in practice
I3 Coordinators' Day focuses on several closed sessions for the existing I3 community. It will bring together all I3 coordinators and inspire them to share their best practices and challenges, while also diving into interactive breakout sessions on key areas related to digital, green, and smart manufacturing.
I3 Discussion Groups and Capacity Building Heroes working groups will meet to tackle thematic, policy, and capacity building topics, discuss the future of the I3 Instrument, and enable projects and regions to learn effectively from each other by sharing challenges and good practices.
Venue
The event will take place at two locations in Brussels. Both venues provide ideal spaces for engaging in insightful conversations, fostering collaboration, and sharing best practices:
Invitation only.
EISMEA
Bd Simon Bolivar 34,
1000 Brussels, Belgium.
Open to all.
DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City
Rue Gineste 3
1210 Brussels