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ENoLL Activity Report 2018
Towards Horizon Europe
ENoLL’s OpenLivingLab Days 2018 – excellently organised in the beautiful city of Geneva and with the participation of high level representatives of the United Nations – were an excellent illustration of our network’s growing, global expansion. Nevertheless, with the publication by the European Commission, last May 2018, of the “Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2021-2027” most of ENoLL members’ eyes were focused on the European level. Indeed, this marked the official start of the legislative process that will ultimately lead to the new context in which many of our Living Labs and their activities hope to find the financial resources so much needed for our common, cross-border activities. From a content point of view the proposed texts of Horizon Europe (the successor of the world’s largest Research and Innovation support programme Horizon 2020), Digital Europe (the newly proposed programme to support digital innovations), as well as Cohesion Policy programmes do not fall short in including crucial terminology close to ENoLL’s heart : cocreation, user engagement, open innovation, citizen science, innovation ecosystems, etc. In 2018 our network – the Office as well as the Chair, vice-Chair and Member representatives – has actively participated in meetings and reached out to EU officials to deepen the understanding and anchor the place of these approaches in EU policy and support programmes. And we will continue to do so in 2019. The unknown part in this, the budgets attached to these programmes, will only be discussed after the crucial elections for the European Parliament in May 2019. Crucial indeed, as different visions on the way how (and if ) the European Union must proceed have never before been so clearly on the table. Choose well, ENoLL colleagues and friends, and speak out loud to promote our unique way of collaboration. In the meantime, we will keep on defending the network’s interest to the maximum.
Wim De Kinderen ENoLL vice-Chairperson, elected council member representing Brainport Eindhoven
