The European Capital of Innovation Award 2020 is funded by Horizon 2020, EU’s research and innovation program, the prize recognizes the European cities that develop vibrant innovation ecosystems to address public challenges and improve the lives of the people.
The top prize is €1 million and the second is €100,000 (for five runner-up cities). The prizes will be awarded to the European cities that are best able to demonstrate its ability to harness innovation to improve the lives of its citizens.
In particular, the cities that:
- contribute to open and dynamic innovation ecosystems
- involve citizens in governance and decision-making
- use innovation to improve the resiliency and sustainability of their cities
The award also recognizes a number of finalist cities specially acknowledged for their efforts in promoting innovation.
To be eligible the city needs to have at least 100,000 inhabitants, to be in an EU country or a country associated with Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation program.
Timeline:
5 March 2020 Contest opens
23 June 2020 Deadline for applications
22 – 24 September 2020 Announcement of iCapital 2020 and runners-up
