EUSBSR and and Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme are closely connected. Since the launching of the 1st call of Interreg BSR, Policy Area Innovation has been actively supporting project developers and approved projects which, from EUSBSR, contribute mainly to PA Innovation.

From the approved Interreg BSR 1^st call projects, as many as 11 projects are supported by and contribute to PA INNO. The approved projects strongly focus on PA INNO Action 1 ‘Challenge-driven innovation’ (8 projects). In line with goals of the PA INNO Action 1, they make a strong and timely contribution to the green transition in BSR and strengthen the post-COVID resilience in the Baltic Sea region. Two of the approved projects were initiated and are led by PA INNO and its PACs themselves (‘Sustainability Reporting Tool’ by PAC EE; and ‘We Make Transition! - Towards sustainable and resilient societies through empowered civil society and collaborative innovation’ by PAC FI). One of the approved projects concentrates on the support to Ukrainian war refugees. In the project BSI_4Women, public authorities and business support organisations help women refugees from Ukraine and beyond start their own businesses and become active community members.

In Spring 2023, PA INNO actively contributed to the implementation of the 2^nd call of the programme by contributing to IBSR info webinars for applicants and through bilateral support and consultations with PA INNO related project developers. The following four new core projects supported by / under PA INNO were approved in the 2^nd call in June 2023: BSR Go-abroad - building market and supply chain opportunities for micro SMEs within the Baltic Sea Region; Interactive Gardens: Integrated system for interactive public garden development in Baltic Sea Region; Change(K)now! – A mindset change from single-use to circular or multiple-use of food delivery systems in cities of the BSR; RESIST: Regional Ecosystems for Social Innovation and Social Transformation. The projects’ implementation started in November 2023, and in early 2024 PA Innovation organized the first support and exchange meeting on the project implementation.

Now in connection with the 3rd call of Interreg BSR, PA Innovation has contributed to the programme webinars and provides bilateral support and consultation for project developers. Later in Spring, PA Innovation, together with other Policy Areas, will organize joint support webinars for project developers working on proposals harnessing digitalisation potential (Priority 1 Innovative societies) and innovative climate actions (Priority 3 Climate-neutral societies).

During the project implementation, PA INNO contributes to the dissemination of the projects’ results in EUSBSR and BSR networks and to other EU macro-regional strategies, as well as through policy dialogue with and support from the PA INNO steering group. PA INNO also contributes to exploring of synergies and exchange opportunities between the projects and other related BSR/EUSBSR projects and projects under other EU macro-regional strategies.

The total volume of 15 on-going Interreg BSR project supported by PA INNO reaches 40 million euros. Around 300 innovation stakeholders from the Baltic Sea region (innovation agencies, BDOs, cluster organisations, universities, cities, regions, companies) participate in the projects as partners or associated partners.