The European Capital of Innovation Awards (Rising)

The European Capital of Innovation Awards, part of the Horizon Europe initiative, aim to recognize cities that demonstrate innovative urban solutions. The program has two main categories: the European Capital of Innovation for cities with a minimum population of 250,000, and the European Rising Innovative City for those with populations between 50,000 and 249,999. Eligible applicants must be cities located in EU Member States or associated countries under Horizon Europe, defined as local administrative units where most of the population resides in urban centers.

The funding type is structured as a prize rather than a conventional grant. The total budget for the current call, HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2, is €1.8 million, with €1.2 million allocated to the Capital of Innovation winner and €600,000 to the Rising Innovative City. Application submissions must be made electronically by June 18, 2025, and they require a detailed application that includes an endorsement from the city Mayor.

Consortium applications are not permitted; only individual cities can apply. The evaluation process involves several stages, including admissibility and eligibility checks, followed by jury reviews and hearings for top candidates. Key evaluation criteria focus on innovation practices like experimentation, scaling, ecosystem building, and citizen engagement. The applications are evaluated on a scoring system with a maximum of 60 points, and the top six cities in each category are invited for public hearings.

Winners will gain access to increased visibility, media coverage, and a monetary prize, which not only serves as recognition but also as a catalyst for further innovation. The awards emphasize creating replicable models for urban development that address contemporary challenges such as climate change and social inclusion. The initiative encourages cities to collaborate and share knowledge, promoting a stronger, more sustainable urban environment.

The European Capital of Innovation Awards, under the Horizon Europe Programme, recognizes cities that demonstrate innovative solutions to urban challenges. The awards aim to promote experimentation, scaling, ecosystem building, and citizen engagement in urban development. The call HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2 is open for submission with a deadline of June 18, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The awards are divided into two categories: the European Capital of Innovation and the European Rising Innovative City. The European Capital of Innovation category is for cities with a minimum population of 250,000 inhabitants, while the European Rising Innovative City category is for cities with a population between 50,000 and 249,999 inhabitants.

Eligible applicants must be cities located in EU Member States or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe. A city is defined as a Local Administrative Unit or a group of Local Administrative Units where a majority of the population lives in an urban center of at least 50,000 inhabitants. Joint applications are not accepted. Winners of former European Capital of Innovation Awards editions, as well as runners-up of the edition 2024 are not eligible. This does not apply to previous finalist cities. Applicants that have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.

The total budget for the HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2 call is EUR 1,800,000. The budget is divided between two topics: HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2-01, the HORIZON Recognition Prize, with a budget of EUR 1,200,000, and HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2-02, the HORIZON Recognition Prize, with a budget of EUR 600,000.

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. The application must include an application form Part A (administrative information), an application form Part B (technical description, maximum 30 pages), and a mandatory annex consisting of a specific endorsement signed by the city Mayor (or equivalent) of maximum 2 pages.

The evaluation criteria include: Experimenting, Escalating, Ecosystem building, Expanding, City innovative vision, and Citizens’ rights. The maximum score is 60 points, with individual thresholds of 6/10 points and an overall threshold of 36 points. A jury will evaluate the applications, and the six best-ranked applications in each category will be invited for a hearing.

The indicative timeline includes evaluation by the jury between July and September 2025, hearings in September-October 2025, and information on the evaluation results in November-December 2025.

The call documents include the Rules of Contest, the Standard Application Form, the EIC 2025 Work Programme, the HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual.

In summary, this call for the European Capital of Innovation Awards seeks to recognize and reward cities that are at the forefront of innovation, using new technologies and approaches to address urban challenges and improve the lives of their citizens. The awards aim to inspire other cities to adopt innovative practices and to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing among cities. The application process involves demonstrating a city's commitment to experimentation, scaling, ecosystem building, and citizen engagement, with a focus on long-term strategic vision and the use of innovation to strengthen democracy and protect citizens' rights.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant type is a city, defined as a Local Administrative Unit or a group of Local Administrative Units where a majority of the population lives in an urban centre of at least 50,000 inhabitants. Legal entities with separate legal personality from cities, even if founded and funded by the cities, are not eligible to apply. There are two categories: European Capital of Innovation (minimum 250,000 inhabitants) and European Rising Innovative City (50,000 to 249,999 inhabitants).

Funding Type: The funding type is an award, specifically a recognition prize (HORIZON Recognition Prize).

Consortium Requirement: The consortium requirement is single. Joint applications by a group of applicants are not accepted.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is limited to candidate towns and cities located in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe.

Target Sector: The target sector is broad, focusing on municipality-enabled innovation, urban development, technology, digital transition, green transition, innovation ecosystems, citizen engagement, and addressing societal challenges such as climate change and social cohesion. This encompasses sectors like ICT, environment, climate, sustainable growth, and social innovation. It also includes deep tech and nature-based solutions.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but eligibility is restricted to EU Member States and Associated Countries to Horizon Europe.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on cities that have already developed and implemented innovative policies and established frameworks that boost breakthrough innovation. The award recognizes existing achievements and implemented initiatives.

Funding Amount: There are two prize categories: HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2-01 (European Capital of Innovation) has a prize of 1,200,000 EUR, and HORIZON-EIC-2025-PRIZE-2-02 (European Rising Innovative City) has a prize of 600,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a prize. The prize also brings high visibility in the form of renewed public interest and increased media coverage.

Application Stages: The application process involves multiple stages: admissibility check, eligibility check, pre-selection (if more than 60 applications in a category), jury review, and hearings for the top six applications in each category.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided text. However, the prize will be awarded to the applications ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with the best scores in each category.

Co-funding Requirement: There is no mention of a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

The European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) is a Horizon Europe initiative recognizing and rewarding cities within the EU Member States and Associated Countries that demonstrate exceptional innovation and improve the lives of their citizens. The awards are split into two categories: the European Capital of Innovation, aimed at cities with a population of at least 250,000, and the European Rising Innovative City, for cities with a population between 50,000 and 249,999. The goal is to highlight cities that act as testbeds for innovative practices, promote the acceleration of local innovation ecosystems, foster synergies among different innovation players, act as role models for other cities, and demonstrate a long-term strategic vision for sustainable and resilient innovation. The application process involves electronic submission of a detailed application form, including a technical description of the city's innovative initiatives and an endorsement from the city's Mayor. Applications are evaluated by a jury based on criteria such as experimenting, escalating, ecosystem building, expanding, city innovative vision, and citizens’ rights. The top six cities in each category are invited to a hearing in Brussels. The winners receive a monetary prize and increased visibility. The European Capital of Innovation receives 1,200,000 EUR, and the European Rising Innovative City receives 600,000 EUR. The call for applications is open until June 18, 2025.