Twelve cities have advanced to the semi-finals of the 10th European Innovation Capital (iCapital) Awards, competing for the title of European Innovation Capital or European Emerging Innovative City in 2024.
Supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under Horizon Europe, the iCapital Prize recognises cities that aim to open up their governance practices to experimentation and set an example for other cities by pushing the boundaries of technology for the benefit of their citizens.
The 2024 semi-finalists, selected by two high-level juries of independent experts, are (in alphabetical order):
European Innovation Capital
Bristol (UK)Espoo (Finland)Tallinn (Estonia)Tampere (Finland)Turin (Italy)West Midlands Combined Authority (UK)
European New Innovative City Award
Braga (Portugal) Bruges (Belgium) Leiden (Netherlands) Linz (Austria) Oulu (Finland) Tartu (Estonia)
What happens next?
Each city will be invited to a private online hearing with the jury in September, which will follow strict rules and allow cities to present their submitted application and answer questions related to the award criteria.
The jury will then select three finalists in each category. One Winner and two Runners Up in each category will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held on November 13, 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, the 2023 iCapital winning city.
In addition to the prestigious award, the winner of the European Innovation Capital category will receive a prize of €1 million, while the two runners-up in the category will receive €100,000 each.
In addition, the winner of the European Emerging Innovative City category will receive €500,000, and the two runners-up will each receive €50,000.
All finalists will be invited to join the prestigious iCapital Alumni Network, which is made up of past finalists of the iCapital Awards.
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This marks the 10th edition of the European Innovation Capital Award, also known as iCapital, supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under Horizon Europe.
The European Union, through iCapital, recognizes cities with comprehensive innovation ecosystems. The award recognises cities that successfully connect their citizens with academia, the private sector and the public sector to improve the overall well-being of society while fostering groundbreaking innovation.
Previous winners of the title are European Innovation Capitals: Barcelona (2014), Amsterdam (2016), Paris (2017), Athens (2018), Nantes (2019), Leuven (2020), Dortmund (2021), Aix-Marseille Provence Métropole (2022) and Lisbon (2023).
Previous winners in the Emerging Innovative City category are Vantaa (2021), Haarlem (2022) and Linköping (2023).
iCapital is one of four EIC awards awarded under Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation framework programme. The awards are administered by the European Innovation Council and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises, and winners are selected following evaluation by two high-level juries made up of independent experts.
More information:
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