Skip to main content
Research and innovation
Banner
Become a Friend

Are you interested in becoming a Friend of EU Research and Innovation?

Together we can achieve so much more. We team up with inspiring networks, associations, and organisations committed to acting as promoters and key interlocutors of EU Research and Innovation.

Call for Friends

EU Research and Innovation plays a key role in creating growth and jobs and tackle our biggest societal challenges. The role of friends is to help build and inspire the EU research and innovation community to shape the future we want to live in.

Who can apply to become a Friend?

Any organisation or individual can become a Friend of EU Research and Innovation.

Friends represent a resource for the EU research and innovation community. They are organisations or individuals with a significant outreach capacity who are trusted members of their networks. Their core activities are linked to EU research and innovation. They promote the core values of the European Union: human rights: freedom, democracy, equality and rule of law. Finally, they support the priorities of the European Union.

Universities, NGOs, businesses, networks and umbrella organisations in the EU, at national and sub-national level are ideal candidates. Entities outside of the EU can apply if their activities involve EU citizens and/or stakeholders significantly.

What will Friends do?

Friends offer support to several types of activities, for example

  • help move faster towards a sustainable and prosperous future for people and planet, based on solidarity and respect for shared European values
  • advance new knowledge and breakthrough innovation that will drive the green and digital transformations underway in our society
  • connect with policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and the public to co-design the future of research and innovation in Europe and beyond
  • act as promoters and key interlocutors of EU research and innovation

Please note that the Friends’ commitment is not subject to financial support.

How to become a Friend?

Candidates apply through an online process, which asks them to confirm their commitment to the initiative and collects basic information that will be made public on the dedicated EU research and innovation community platform, open to all Friends of EU Research and Innovation.

How are Friends selected?

The call for Friends of EU Research and Innovation is permanently open. Organisations and individuals become Friends based on their declaration and commitment to support the initiative.

What do Friends receive in return?

They are featured on the official EU Research and Innovation community platform.

Friends have access to a dedicated online platform hosted and maintained by the Commission. The platform supports networking, community building and knowledge sharing.

Their activities, when relevant, appear on the official page with events and sometimes receive additional exposure on EU research and innovation public engagement campaigns.

Friends get access to a wide set of information and working sessions hosted and facilitated by the European Commission. The Commission also facilitates online and offline interactions.