Article 9 · Regulation (EU) 2021/819

Contents

Article 9Selection and designation of the KICs#

1.A partnership shall be selected and designated by the EIT as a KIC following a competitive, open and transparent procedure. The conditions and criteria laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/695, inter alia in Article 28(3) thereof, as well as the criteria for the selection of European Partnerships, shall apply. The Governing Board may further specify those criteria, by adopting and publishing criteria for the selection of the KICs based on the principles of excellence and innovation relevance in delivering on global challenges and Union policy priorities.

2.The EIT shall launch the selection and designation of KICs according to the priority fields and timetable set out in the SIA, taking into account the priorities set out in the strategic planning of Horizon Europe.

3.The minimum condition to form a KIC is the participation of at least three independent partner organisations, that are comprised of at least one HEI, one research organisation and one private company and that are established in at least three different Member States.

4.In addition to the condition set out in paragraph 3, at least two thirds of the partner organisations forming a KIC shall be established in the Member States.

5.The EIT shall adopt and publish criteria and procedures for financing, monitoring and evaluating the activities of the KICs prior to the launching of the selection procedure for new KICs. The EIT shall promptly inform the MSRG and the European Parliament of those criteria and procedures.

Defined terms · 12

Show every defined term

co-location centre
means a physical hub, established in an open and transparent manner, which promotes links between and active collaboration among knowledge triangle actors and acts as a focal point for knowledge exchange and through which the KICs’ partners are able to access facilities and the expertise needed to pursue their common objectives;
cross-KIC activities
means activities that aim to enhance cooperation and synergies between KICs, foster a more inter-disciplinary approach and create a critical mass among KICs to tackle topics of common interest;
financial sustainability
means a capacity of a KIC to finance its knowledge triangle activities independently of contributions from the EIT.
HEI
means a university or any type of higher education institution which, in accordance with national law or practice, offers degrees and diplomas in particular at master’s or doctoral level, regardless of its denomination in the national context;
innovation
means the process, including its outcome, by which new ideas respond to societal, economic or environmental needs and demand and generate new products, processes, services, or business, organisational and social models that are successfully introduced into an existing market or that are able to create new markets and that provide value to society;
KIC
means a large-scale Institutionalised European Partnership, as referred to in Regulation (EU) 2021/695, of higher education institutions, research organisations, companies and other stakeholders in the innovation process in the form of a strategic network, regardless of its legal form, based on joint mid- to long-term innovation planning to meet the EIT challenges and contribute to attaining the objectives established under Regulation (EU) 2021/695;
memorandum of cooperation
means an agreement between the EIT and a KIC, aiming to keep the KIC as an active member of the EIT Community after the expiry of the partnership agreement, and which includes the conditions for access to EIT competitive calls for some specific activities and transnational activities with a high Union added value;
partner organisation
means a legal entity which is a member of a KIC and may include, in particular, higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, research organisations, public institutions, public or private companies, financial institutions, regional and local authorities, foundations and not-for-profit organisations;
research organisation
means a public or private legal entity which undertakes research or technological development as one of its main objectives;
RIS
means a scheme fostering the integration of the knowledge triangle and the innovation capacity of countries (and regions in those countries) that are classified as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest’ innovators in the European Innovation Scoreboard as referred to in the SIA and of the outermost regions within the meaning of Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular by attracting and integrating new partners into the KICs and bridging regional disparities, thereby mitigating the innovation divide;
SIA
means an act setting out the priority fields and the strategy of the EIT for future initiatives, the EIT’s capacity to generate the best innovation added-value, the EIT’s objectives, key actions, mode of operation, expected results and impact, as well as an estimate of the resources needed for the period of Horizon Europe and the MFF;
stakeholder forum
means a platform open to representatives of Union institutions, national, regional and local authorities, organised interests and individual entities from business, higher education, research, associations, civil society and cluster organisations, as well as other interested parties from across the knowledge triangle;