We are pleased to share with you the publication of EIT GOVERNING BOARD VISION FOR A COMPETITIVE EUROPE. LEVERAGING EUROPE’S LARGEST INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM, — a paper that highlights the EIT’s impact and added value as Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem while outlining its future role in driving Europe’s competitiveness under the next EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme (2028-2034).

Background:
• With 15 years of impact, the EIT has built Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem, uniting businesses, universities, and research centres to drive change. The EIT has supported over 2,400 new products and services, backed 9,900+ companies, trained 880,000+ learners, and helped start-ups raise €10 billion in external investment.
• In this context, the EIT Governing Board has unveiled its vision for the EIT’s role in the EU’s future Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The EIT Governing Board’s vision for the EIT includes:
• Continuing to steer and monitor EIT KICs towards maximum impact and financial sustainability.
• Continuing to grow its unique model and focus on fields where the EIT model can provide added value such as: Security, AI and Robotics, Space & Aerospace, Rural Innovation and Bio-Based Industries.
• Strengthening its efforts in closing the innovation gap, by launching an enhanced Regional Innovation Booster.
• Strengthening its efforts in closing the skills gap by launching the EIT Innovation Campus – uniting all EIT education and skilling programmes.
• Strengthening synergies and a common framework across EU innovation instruments (EIT, ERC and EIC).
• Proven innovation model: recent European Commission findings highlight EIT’s high leverage effect, generating up to €8 in investment (individually per KIC) for every €1 of public funding, as well as performance-based efficiency, with time-to-grant figures up to twice as fast as the Horizon Europe average. The EIT’s success is reflected in its recognition as the top performing investor behind Europe’s fastest-growing start-ups (Financial Times-backed Sifted ranking, 2024), and as one of Europe’s top five investors (European Patent Office, 2025).