During 2014–2020, some € 115 billion from the Cohesion policy funds were invested in cities via the Urban Innovative Actions initiative. The EUI is a novel initiative that will build on these past experiences. The EUI can support cities and regions that are seeking to test and transfer an urban innovative solution. Since the amount of funding is up to € 5 million, this might be most applicable for a specific component/element of the Circular Systemic Solution (CSS). In addition, this instrument offers a structured and systematic transfer mechanism to ensure the knowledge generated from successful innovative actions is effectively transferred and replicated to other urban realities across Europe. Participating in a project funded by the EUI can help access a pull of best practices and knowledge generated by other projects in an urban setting. Capacity-building activities organised for cities, such as peer-learning activities, a wide range of events, seminars, as well as a compilation of toolkits on good practices can further improve/increase the capacities of cities including in relation to the development of CSSs.

An applicant for the EUI must meet the following criteria:
 

1. As the urban problems are complex, urban authorities need to create a local consortium of partners. The consortium partners should be as diverse as possible, ideally reflecting the quadruple helix (i.e. public authorities, industry, academia and civil society) to ensure that enough thematic expertise and knowledge on the specific policy issue is mobilised.
2. To be supported, the project must be an innovative project that has never been tested anywhere else in Europe. Such projects are highly experimental and risky, and are not likely to be funded by traditional or mainstream sources of funding. The project must be participative (the partnership must be relevant to address the identified urban challenges and to implement the proposed solution), measurable (the project implemented must be measurable to draw meaningful conclusions regarding the added value of the project in the policy area concerned), transferable and scalable (the selected solutions address urban that can be relevant to other urban authorities in Europe and applicable to other local contexts), and of good quality (project proposals must show robustness and operational readiness. They must prove to be justified, realistic, consistent and coherent. They should also be ready to be managed effectively, implemented swiftly, and demonstrate value for money).
3. The applicant must be an urban authority, or a grouping of urban authorities – classified as cities, towns, or suburbs, with a total population of a least 50 000 inhabitants, located in one of the 27 EU Member States.

The EUI supports urban areas with the deployment of proof-tested urban innovations in the EU, which are innovative, participative, measurable, transferable, scalable and of good quality (more details on these criteria can be found here).

A project can receive up to 80 % funding with a total of € 5 million.

The EUI is currently being developed under Cohesion policy for 2021–2027. The proposal calls will be organised in pre-defined themes proposed by the European Commission. The EUI is not yet ready for applications.

The following two calls are currently open:

• The city-to-city call is open from 04 April 2023 until 17 November 2023. 
• The peer review call is open from 04 April until 29 May 2023.