Air pollution and ambient pollution, carbon-related issues ranging from GHG emissions to carbon shortages in soil, the opportunities provided by NBS and the intricacies of urban ecosystems present an extremely complex set of interdependent problems and opportunities that have to be addressed as such – interactively, mutually and innovatively. Upsurge is considering all these aspects and is providing evidence-based targeted responses that will enable EU cities to transition into a more regenerative future. At its core, Upsurge is presenting the European Regenerative Urban Lighthouse, which will enable cities to unlock their regenerative potential and provide them with knowledge and guidance in regenerative transition. Supported by an innovative continuous self-check progress mechanism (Regenerative Index) and by the Clearing House as a knowledge nerve centre, Upsurge will motivate cities and other clients through its networking activities to engage and step aboard the regenerative transition under Lighthouse’s leadership. Upsurge is demonstrating technical excellence through a multimodal adaptable sensing system, through integrated and integrative digitalisation environment supported by IoT and AI, several real-life demonstrations and based on extrapolated criteria conducted simulative demonstrations showcasing the viability, feasibility and implementability of proposed technical solutions. The knowledge core of Upsurge will be introduced within the quintuple helix verification model bringing together all relevant factors affecting the implementation of NBS and thus regenerative change. Quintuple helix approach will truly enable the assessment and exploration of complementary beneficial effects provided by project solutions.

In recent years the manufacturing sector has been one of the stable pillars of European economic growth and therefore prosperity. Photonics, as one of the advanced technologies for industry identified by the European Union, is a relevant deep technology that plays a key role in supporting and innovating the manufacturing ecosystem. On the European landscape several initiatives exist that facilitate cooperation on Photonics, ranging from the public private partnership Photonics21, to European wide clusters like EPIC association and the Digital innovation hub Photonhub Europe. However, they focus mainly on support for individual organisations and while there is also the S3 platform partnership on Photonics, there is no support available to coordinate interregional cooperation in deeptech with the focus on Photonics for manufacturing. Goal of the project is the establishment of an interregional deeptech innovation support network for manufacturing with the focus on Photonics. Output will be a joint supra-regional strategy with best-practice measures for the use of Deeptech/Photonics to support European missions and company competitiveness. This strategy will be co-developed by relevant regional stakeholders from the government body, research, industry and makers communities and include tangible steps to use the complementarities and cooperation potential of the regions to ensure cross-fertilisation.

To contribute to catalyzing the transition towards a sustainable, circular economCircSyst, presents a series of shared Demonstration Experiences of new technological and societal adaptations to a Circular Economy involving 8 European regions: Valencia (SP), Maribor (SI), Flanders (BE), Gotland (SW), Paijat-Hame-Lahti (FI), Castila la Mancha (SP), Central Macedonia (EL), and Central and East Hungary (HU). The project focuses on three of the priority value chains of the Circular Economy Plan: Water Management, Biowaste, and Plastics and Packaging, as well as in the potential synergies among them. 4 Demonstrators are proposed developing and validating solutions for Water Management: 1 Reuse of industrial treated wastewater through on-demand treatment. 2 Agricultural industry and utilities uses for reclaimed urban water. 3 Smart wastewater management as a structural solution to water scarcity and floods in urban contexts. 4 Validation of a set of Integrated tools and methodologies for smart management of water symbiosis. In the Biowaste field the project will implement 2 Demonstrators dealing with waste from different sources and extracting valuable substances directly applicable in the other addressed value chains: 5 Flexible and intelligent biorefinery for the recovery of materials and components. 6 Valorisation routes of Food Industry Biowastes. In the Plastics and Packaging field, the project tackles main aspects of plastic waste management, including eco-design, cost-effective segregation, and recyclability: 7 Mechanical recycling of mPET. 8 Consumers engagement in plastics segregation 9 Food Packaging value chain redesign towards the substitution of plastics Work Packages on Communication & Dissemination, Knowledge Transfer, and Results Exploitation and Impact, are designed to ensure that that the results adequately reach key stakeholders in governments, private organizations, and civil society with the cooperation of the CCRI Coordination and Support Office.

The EC has within its Survey of 2011, carried out on request of DG Enterprise and Industry (DG EI), realized that the main barriers of innovation in the eyes of the SMEs, are lack of financial resources and inability to manage innovation process. Since different understandings of the term "Innovation Management System" (IMS) have been noted the EC has supported European Committee for Standardization to provide the stakeholders with a unified definition of relevant parts in the IMS. According to this definition the most important parts of IMS include company's innovation processes from idea generation to innovation result, but also leadership, management skills and other enabling factors, like the ability to cooperate with third parties like RD partners, clients, and suppliers. The objective of this project in Slovenia is to enable SMEs to bridge the knowledge gap in innovation management, get aware of shortages and improve their internal innovation management system and/or focus on achieving market value with their inventions. The consortium will achieve this objectives with providing: 1.) Enhancing the Innovation Management Capacity of SMEs. The beneficiaries will receive diagnostic of their innovation system based on the standardized IMP³rove tool. This will lead to the formation of tailored action plan to improve the SME’s capacity to better manage innovation. 2.) Key Account Managers – Facilitators for the H2020 SME Instrument. Key Account Managers will identify and source appropriate lead coaches (from predefined pool of coaches), facilitate linking the SMEs to innovation support services and to support the lead coach in delivering services to the SME. The SME Instrument participants will receive the most appropriate services and support to enhance the probability of successful exploitation of the innovation project and to leave a footprint for the future sustainable growth of these beneficiaries.

The EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ (Soil Mission) aims to lead the transition to healthy soils via sustainable soil management. This requires knowledge and awareness of the importance and value of soil health and its challenges and drivers across Europe. Engaging and activating municipalities and regions across Europe to protect and restore soil health is vital for a successful Soil Mission deployment. The creation of spaces for dialogue with Quadruple Helix stakeholders, including marginalized and/or vulnerable strata of the population, on soil health and land management issues may contribute to develop a shared understanding of the challenges and help co-create solutions for the protection and restoration of soil. Within this context, HuMUS main aim is to facilitate the deployment of the Soil Mission across regions and municipalities, through: (i) the creation and experimentation of spaces for social dialogue on soil health among public and private actors in Europe; (ii) the promotion of a shared understanding and co-assessment exercises of soil challenges (biophysical and socio-economic dimensions); and, (iii) the enhancement of knowledge sharing among municipalities and regions, including on the needed transformations in current S4 (Sustainable Smart Specialisation) strategies and the use of available EU funds to support the transition. HuMUS will support the involvement of stakeholders and citizens in the decision-making processes via case studies, educational and capacity building activities as well as exchanges of best practices at regional and local levels. HuMUS will further contribute to raising the problem awareness of regional and local governments, businesses and society at large through the use of the Bio-districts multi-stakeholder methodology, whereby well-informed local production and consumption patterns are planned in a coordinated way by all actors of the supply chain. HuMUS will particularly encourage social innovation and the implementation of a trans-disciplinary approach. At each partner territory, regional and local governments will be closely associated from an early stage in order to develop effective participatory processes, and stimulate extensive dialogues on soil health. Regions and municipalities will be empowered to reflect, deliberate and propose appropriate and realistic solutions together with citizens and stakeholders. HuMUS will create and manage collaboration opportunities and spaces of dialogue between citizens and other stakeholders (e.g. farmers and other land users) and public authorities to mutually benefit from discussions in HuMUS as well as from the latest developments and findings from European projects and networks. HuMUS will also support public authorities at local / regional level, associations of land managers (e.g. farmer associations), civil society organisations and research institutions throughout Europe to establish constructive dialogues on soil health, through the launch of an EU-wide Open Call aiming to provide funding to at least 20 exemplary pilot projects. Hence, HuMUS will also contribute to increasing knowledge sharing among municipalities and regions, matching needs with already available methods, tools and approaches for social engagement and knowledge valorisation. The consortium is composed of universities and research centres with experience in participatory approaches and multi-stakeholder associations with large coverage of EU, regional and municipal governance levels.