InnovEU S5E16 with Tauno Kekäle -Can a Small City Beat Europe’s Capitals?

InnovEU S5E18 with Francesco Molica - Is Your EU Project Territorially Blind?

What if your Horizon Europe proposal is not weak because of the technology? What if it is weak because it has no real territorial logic? In this episode of InnovEU - The EU Project Chronicles, I speak with Francesco Molica, Director of EURADA, the European Association of Development Agencies. And the lesson is uncomfortable: * A project can be compliant. * It can match the call. * It can use all the right words: innovation, competitiveness, twin transition, resilience, ecosystem. But if it is not connected to a real territory, a real strategy and real local capability, its impact story becomes fragile. In this episode, you’ll discover: * Why regions are where EU strategies become real * Why compliance is not the same as impact * Why isolated projects rarely transform territories * Why SMEs need ecosystems, not only funding * How development agencies can orchestrate systemic change * Why place-based strategy matters for Horizon Europe proposals This is not just a conversation about regional development agencies. It is about how Europe turns projects into capability, funding into transformation and local ecosystems into competitive advantage. ▶️ Watch or listen to the full episode Watch the full episode: Substack: https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast]YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx] Spotify: Apple Podcasts: Stress-test your proposal before evaluators do Quick note before we continue. Most proposals are not rejected because they are bad. They are rejected because they trigger silent downgrade logic. The Grantshield Pre-Mortem™ helps teams stress-test the structure of a proposal before submission, using evaluator logic, transition alignment and impact plausibility. Use it before the evaluator does. Grantshield Pre-Mortem™: https://payhip.com/b/yUeiV [https://payhip.com/b/yUeiV] Go deeper My book Transition Science In The Economy develops the full framework behind the green transition, digital transition, new globalization, war economy and housing crisis. Book: https://a.co/d/c7RoOA4 [https://a.co/d/c7RoOA4] Let’s grow this community together If you enjoyed the episode: Like the podcast on your favourite platform. Subscribe on Substack or any podcast app. Restack this post. Leave a comment. Share it with colleagues working on EU-funded projects, regional innovation or Horizon Europe proposals. Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/] And if you would like to be featured on InnovEU - The EU Project Chronicles, send me a private message and let’s schedule it. Because Europe’s transitions are already reshaping the future. And your project may become part of that transformation. Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

InnovEU S5E17 with Technopolis' AnnaMaria Annicchiarico - What Makes Innovation Ecosystems Last?

What if the strongest innovation ecosystems are not the ones with the most money? What if the real difference is continuity? In this episode of InnovEU - The EU Project Chronicles, I speak with AnnaMaria Annicchiarico, from Technopolis Tech Park, Italy, about what 40 years of regional innovation can teach Europe today. Technopolis has worked across digital transformation, incubation, entrepreneurship, SMEs, EU funded projects and the green transition. And the lesson is clear: * Innovation does not scale just because a region has universities, talent or public funding. * It scales when there is direction, entrepreneurial capability and institutions that do not restart every political cycle. In this episode, you’ll discover: * Why universities can produce excellent professionals without producing enough entrepreneurs. * Why SMEs often see the green transition first as cost, investment and risk. * How EU funded projects can help de-risk innovation instead of simply financing activity. * Why regions need a clear destination before asking for ideas. * What Europe can learn from long-term regional innovation strategies. This is not just a conversation about a science park. It is about how Europe turns research into companies, projects into capability and funding into real transformation. ▶️ Watch or listen to the full episode Watch the full episode: Substack: https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast?utm_source=chatgpt.com]YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx] Listen only: Spotify: Apple Podcasts: 🎯 Escape the “Chaos of Transitions” Trap Quick note before we continue. When AI, energy, trade, security and infrastructure pressures all move at once, many organizations freeze... and others get the opportunities before they move. There’s a way to escape this “chaos of transitions” trap. The First-Mover Opportunity Radar™ helps you map those signals and identify 3 possible strategic moves for the next 90 days. It is self-guided, practical and designed to be completed in 60 minutes. 👉 Get the RADAR tool here: https://payhip.com/b/MJ6AY [https://payhip.com/b/MJ6AY] Let’s grow this community together If you enjoyed the episode: Like the podcast on your favourite platform.Subscribe on Substack or any podcast app. Restack this post. Leave a comment. Share it with colleagues working on EU-funded projects and innovation. Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/] And if you would like to be featured on InnovEU - The EU Project Chronicles, send me a private message and let’s schedule it. Because Europe’s transitions are already reshaping the future. And your project may become part of that transformation. Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

InnovEU S5E16 with Tauno Kekäle -Can a Small City Beat Europe’s Capitals?

What if the next European energy powerhouse is not in Berlin, Paris, Brussels, or Silicon Valley? That is the question behind this new episode of InnovEU: The EU Project Chronicles. This week, I spoke with Tauno Kekäle, Senior Advisor at Merinova, in Vaasa, Finland. Vaasa is not a huge capital city. It is not a global financial centre. It is not a giant metropolitan region. And yet, the Vaasa region has built one of Europe’s most impressive energy technology ecosystems: 180+ companies.13,000+ employees.More than €6 billion in annual turnover. So the real question is not: “How can small regions compete with big cities?” The better question is: What does Vaasa understand about innovation ecosystems that many regions still miss? Watch or listen to the episode 🎧 Substack: https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast] ▶️ YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx]🎙️ Spotify: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6bX13RniDhbH0w2PbWKklS?si=3a551f25f3a4458a]🍎 Apple Podcasts: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innoveu-the-eu-project-chronicles/id1740105796] Resources mentioned 📘 Book: [https://a.co/d/04pQpQkS] https://a.co/d/04pQpQkSTransition Science In The Economy [https://a.co/d/04pQpQkS] 🧭 First-Mover Opportunity Radar™Map AI, energy, trade, security and infrastructure signals into three possible strategic moves for the next 90 days. If this episode helps you see EU-funded projects, green innovation or regional strategy differently, please like, subscribe, restack and share it with one person working on European innovation. And if you are working on an EU-funded project, regional innovation ecosystem, cluster strategy or transition-related initiative, send me a DM on LinkedIn. You may be a great future guest for InnovEU: The EU Project Chronicles. Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

InnovEU S5E15 with Patras Science Park's Takis Konstantinopoulos

So - what if the biggest threat to your deep-tech project is not the technology itself… but the institutional culture surrounding it? For decades, many European regions generated brilliant academic research that never escaped the lab. Papers were published. Projects were funded. But startups failed to scale, local ecosystems remained fragile, and the economic value leaked elsewhere. Meanwhile, regions outside major capitals faced another structural problem: Isolation. No dense venture capital networks. No Silicon Valley-style ecosystem. No strategic coordination between universities, chambers, NGOs and local authorities. So how do regional innovators survive? How do they cross the “Valley of Death” between research and real economic impact? And how can EU projects become more than just funding applications? In this episode of InnovEU – The EU Project Chronicles, I speak with Takis Konstantinopoulos, Project Manager at the Patras Science Park in Greece. For more than 30 years, Patras Science Park has operated at the collision point between academia, entrepreneurship and regional survival. And this conversation reveals something most Horizon Europe teams still underestimate: 👉 EU projects are not just funding mechanisms. They are ecosystem-engineering tools. In this episode, you’ll discover: 🔹 Why R&D is not innovation Scientific excellence alone is no longer enough. Takis explains why many Horizon Europe proposals fail the “Impact” section because they confuse research activity with real-world value creation. Innovation means: * jobs * resilient ecosystems * market survival * regional growth Not just publications. 🔹 The “Distributed Local Network” strategy What do you do when your region lacks investors, accelerators and major tech hubs? You build collaborative networks instead. Takis explains how Patras Science Park aligned: * universities * chambers of commerce * NGOs * SMEs * local institutions into a coordinated ecosystem capable of attracting international partnerships and investment. 🔹 How EU projects import strategic know-how This episode shows how Horizon and Interreg projects can be used strategically to import: * acceleration models * business angel networks * innovation practices * international ecosystem connections directly into peripheral regions. 🔹 Why AI should remain an advisory tool Takis offers one of the clearest answers I’ve heard about AI and innovation. AI can accelerate execution. But humans must retain strategic agency. Because if you outsource your innovative thinking to algorithms, you eventually lose your structural advantage. ▶️ Watch or listen to the full episode Watch the full episode 📺 On Substack:https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast] 📺 On YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx] Listen only 🎧 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6bX13RniDhbH0w2PbWKklS?si=3a551f25f3a4458a [https://open.spotify.com/show/6bX13RniDhbH0w2PbWKklS?si=3a551f25f3a4458a] 🍏 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innoveu-the-eu-project-chronicles/id1740105796 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innoveu-the-eu-project-chronicles/id1740105796] 📘 My book — now available on Amazon If you want to go deeper into: * transition science * regional resilience * platform capitalism * digital transition * new globalization * and innovation ecosystems this episode connects directly with my book: 👉 Transition Science In The Economyhttps://a.co/d/c7RoOA4 [https://a.co/d/c7RoOA4] It presents the full framework behind the AWTY Index and the five global transitions shaping prosperity and risk. 💬 Let’s grow this community together If you enjoyed this episode: 👍 Like the podcast⭐ Subscribe on Substack or your favorite podcast app 🔄 Restack this post 💬 Leave a comment 📩 Share it with colleagues working on EU-funded projects 🔗 Follow me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/] And if you would like to be featured on InnovEU – The EU Project Chronicles, send me a DM and let’s schedule it. Because Europe’s transitions are already reshaping the future. And your project may become part of that transformation. Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

🎙️ InnovEU S5E14 with Steve MacFeely (OECD) – Beyond GDP: Are We Measuring the Wrong Future?

And what does that mean for researchers, innovators and EU-funded projects? So… what if the reason people feel poorer while GDP keeps growing is not just politics, inflation or bad communication? I speak with Steve MacFeely, Chief Statistician at the OECD, about GDP, productivity, AI governance, data quality and why impact measurement is becoming one of the biggest strategic questions for Europe. Because once you understand that bad measurement leads to bad decisions, you start seeing research projects differently. In this episode, you’ll discover: * Why GDP was never meant to measure welfare and why using it as the main definition of success creates serious blind spots. * Why innovation is difficult to measure, especially when short-term success can hide long-term costs. * Why AI governance starts with data governance, and why “garbage in, garbage out” becomes much more dangerous at scale. * Why impact is not attribution, and what that means for Horizon Europe proposals trying to prove real-world change. * Why chasing one metric can damage policy, investment and public trust. This isn’t just about statistics. It’s about decision-making. And it’s about whether your next project is measuring what is easy… or what actually matters. ▶️ Watch or listen to the full episode Watch the full episode: * On Substack: https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast] * On YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx] Listen only: * On Spotify: * On Apple Podcasts: 📘 My new book — now available on Amazon If you want to go deeper into economic transitions, this episode connects directly with my book: 👉 Transition Science In The Economyhttps://a.co/d/c7RoOA4 [https://a.co/d/c7RoOA4] It explains why GDP is no longer enough, why the five transitions are reshaping prosperity and risk, and how the AWTY Index uses more than 150,000 observations to measure transition readiness across 180 countries. 🧰 My Digital Tools for EU Projects Want to improve your EU funding success rate? These tools help project managers, researchers, universities and SMEs across Europe save time and improve proposal quality. 🔵 SmartProposalAI Your AI co-pilot for improving EU proposals using evaluator criteria. It helps you identify weaknesses, clarify impact and strengthen your proposal logic. https://rpb.li/YAm2E [https://rpb.li/YAm2E] 🟢 Build Winning Consortia GPT A practical tool to map, assess and strengthen partnerships so you build consortia that win, not just apply. https://payhip.com/b/vEPZd [https://payhip.com/b/vEPZd] 💬 Let’s grow this community together If you enjoyed the episode: * 👍 Like the podcast on your favourite platform * ⭐ Subscribe on Substack or any podcast app * 🔁 Restack this post on Substack * 💬 Leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts * 📩 Share it with colleagues working on EU-funded projects and innovation * 🔗 Follow me on LinkedIn for short insights: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/] And if you’d like to be featured on the podcast, send me a private message and let’s schedule it. Because if we measure the wrong thing, we will build the wrong future. Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe [https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]