Excellence Hubs: How to Choose Partners Based on the Work They Will Deliver

The Excellence Hubs programme supports long-term cooperation between regional innovation ecosystems. When preparing a specific consortium, a further question arises: how should the work be divided so that research, business needs, regional priorities and users' experience effectively inform one another?

Choose a Shared Problem That Both Regions Need to Address

Consider an illustrative initiative focused on the circular use of industrial residual materials. The first region has research teams experienced in material characterisation and companies that produce these materials. The second has technology suppliers and businesses seeking alternative inputs for production.

The shared agenda could address gaps in knowledge about the materials' properties, their availability and the conditions for their use, cooperation between companies and researchers, and preparation for follow-on investments. Partners should first clarify which barriers matter to both regions and how their capabilities complement one another.

Map Out Each Partner's Work

For the first meeting, we recommend a simple table connecting each organisation with its task and the specific information it should provide. In our illustrative initiative, it could look as follows:

Partner	Specific Task	What to Bring to the Meeting
University or research centre	Identify knowledge gaps and propose joint research tasks.	An overview of existing results, available methods, equipment and team capacity.
Material-producing company or technology supplier	Define industrial needs, input availability and the constraints of the proposed solution.	Data on material quantities and variability, technical requirements and data-sharing rules.
Regional or local public authority, or an agency acting on its behalf	Connect the shared agenda with regional priorities and prepare inputs for the investment plan.	Relevant sections of RIS3, an overview of related initiatives and a proposal for involving regional organisations.
Organisation representing users or civil society	Help identify practical requirements and how feedback will be gathered.	A description of user needs, contacts for participating groups and a proposed consultation process.
Consortium coordinator	Bring the outputs together in a shared plan and establish the decision-making process.	A working timetable, named responsible people and a list of open questions.

This map should be prepared for each participating ecosystem, after which their tasks should be connected. The call requires at least two ecosystems from two different Widening countries, with academia, business, public authorities and societal actors represented in each. Detailed requirements for the consortium's composition are provided in the official Excellence Hubs call documentation.

Discuss Capacity and Funding at the First Meeting

For every task, clarify who is responsible, what output they will pass on to other partners and when. Also record the required staff capacity, access to equipment and availability of data. In our example, the research team needs timely access to information about the materials, while the company needs to know which results it can expect and when.

Funding covers 70% of eligible costs. The proposal must explain how the remaining 30% will be secured and shared among beneficiaries. Each partner should therefore confirm during preparation how it will finance its share. The agreement should also address access to results, the handling of confidential information and the procedure to follow if a partner's capacity changes. Naming a responsible person and setting a deadline will help identify dependencies that could slow down preparation.

Separate Research Tasks from Follow-on Investment

In our example, joint research tasks can provide the knowledge needed to assess different ways of using the materials. This can inform the selection of investment priorities and preparation for a future pilot operation.

The research component must have its own work package in the proposal and be balanced against the other activities. Conceptual design and preliminary planning for pilots and demonstrators can be part of the project, while their subsequent implementation is to be financed from sources other than the Excellence Hubs contribution. The proposal should describe the route to securing that funding.

For each planned investment, identify who will prepare the technical specifications, who the potential investor will be and who will assess follow-on funding sources.

Work with enovation

Are you preparing an Excellence Hub or looking for a role for your region, research team or company? We can help you assess your partnership's readiness and turn the shared agenda into tasks, a budget and a project proposal. Get in touch to arrange a no-obligation consultation about your initiative.