Driving global innovation: how the West Midlands is leveraging European partnerships for growth
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) proudly marked a milestone in 2024 by securing on behalf of the region third place in the prestigious European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital), held in Lisbon. Competing against leading European regions, the West Midlands was recognised for its transformation into a globally significant innovation hub, powered by strong clusters in healthtech, cleantech, and digital creativity, and supported by eight universities and 11 science parks. This achievement earned the region €100,000 in prize money, reinforcing its reputation as a centre for inclusive, collaborative innovation.
Reinvesting in future opportunities and encouraging businesses to go global
The WMCA Innovation Board has agreed that iCapital prize money will be reinvested into exploring Horizon Europe opportunities and developing collaborative bids with other European regions to bring more funding and resources into West Midlands. Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme with a €95.5 billion budget, offers UK organisations full access following the UK’s association agreement in 2024. This opens doors for regional businesses, universities, and research organisations to collaborate internationally and secure funding for projects tackling global challenges such as health, climate, and digital transformation. WMCA are working to encourage and offers support to businesses and organisations to scale innovation internationally. In 2025, West Midlands Innovation Programme in collaboration with Innovation Alliance for West Midlands (IAWM), organised series of European funding workshops. One of the projects funded this year through WMIP programme is CreaTech Frontiers: European Exchange and Exploitation Pilot that will support creative businesses in developing connections and offering their products and services in European market.
Building Regional Innovation Valleys
WMCA is focusing on Horizon Europe Pilar 2 and 3 funding calls and is working across departments to identify the opportunities that will help tackle key regional challenges, address competitiveness in technology and innovation performance, leading to economic growth and improving lives of people in the region. In 2024 the West Midlands was officially recognised as a Regional Innovation Valley, creating opportunities for matchmaking with 150 other regions and enhanced access to EU funding calls. This collaborative approach aims to attract significant investment and strengthen the region’s innovation ecosystem, aligning with the European Commission’s vision for connected, place-based ecosystems that foster deep-tech innovation.
Liverpool joins the innovation leaders
The West Midlands has been a positive advocate for the iCapital Awards to its peers across the UK. So it was great to see that this year Liverpool followed in the West Midlands’ footsteps, securing third place in the 2026 iCapital Awards and €100,000 in prize money. Its bid, “Liverpool Innovates For Everyone,” showcased the city’s strengths in health and life sciences, AI, and materials chemistry, underlining the growing momentum of UK regions on the European innovation stage.
West Midlands Innovation Accelerator and the Local Innovation Partnership Fund
The West Midlands is a trailblazer for place-based R&D and Innovation in the UK. We demonstrated the benefits and impacts of empowering local triple helix partnerships of businesses, academia, and local government to accelerate applied R&D to grow innovation clusters. Following the initial £33m pilot, a further £10m was provided for additional delivery in 2025-26. In autumn this year the UK Government announced the pilot would be mainstreams to ten areas of the UK, and the West Midlands would receive a further £50m. This funding is helping our innovation clusters continue to grow and collaboration, export, and inward investment opportunities across Europe and globally. You can find out more at West Midlands Innovation Accelerator and UK regions given extra £20 million science and tech cash boost as new investment kicks off landmark growth summit – GOV.UK.
Why innovation matters
Innovation is not just about technology – it is about creating opportunities, fostering inclusion, and driving sustainable growth. For UK regions like the West Midlands and Liverpool, success in European competitions and access to programmes such as Horizon Europe signal a new era of collaboration and investment. By embracing innovation, our regions can unlock jobs, attract global talent, and deliver solutions to society’s biggest challenges.
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