SustainX – Fostering Sustainable Digital Innovation Investment
Empowering European Regions for a Green and Digital Future
The SustainX project (Grant Agreement No. 101184410), funded by the European Union under the Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument (I3), brings together leading innovation actors from across Europe with the shared ambition of accelerating regional transitions toward sustainability and digital competitiveness. The initiative focuses on strengthening the innovation ecosystems of less developed and transition regions by providing them with tailored tools, capacity-building, and cross-border learning opportunities. Through an integrated approach, SustainX supports the design and implementation of concrete innovation investment projects that align with Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3) and contribute to the European Green Deal and Digital Decade objectives.
SustainX operates on the conviction that Europe’s transformation will only be successful if all regions participate in shaping the twin green and digital transitions. Many European territories, especially those with modest or emerging innovation performance, still face barriers such as fragmented ecosystems, limited SME innovation capacity, and uneven access to European funding. SustainX addresses these gaps by helping regional actors identify shared challenges, strengthen collaboration structures, and create actionable roadmaps for innovation investment.
A Mission for Transformation
The project’s mission is to foster sustainable digital innovation across European regions by supporting the development and testing of investment-ready initiatives that respond to local needs while remaining aligned with European priorities. SustainX does this through a structured methodology involving ecosystem mapping, competence assessment, stakeholder engagement, and the co-creation of regional and transnational action plans.
Each partner region—Bulgaria, Greece (Thessaly), Romania (North-East), Latvia, and Spain (Canary Islands)—has undertaken a detailed diagnostic of its innovation ecosystem. These analyses identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities within key Smart Specialisation domains such as clean technologies, ICT, bioeconomy, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries. The resulting action plans outline targeted measures to boost SME capacity, improve policy coordination, and promote transnational cooperation.
ARC Fund’s Role in SustainX
The Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund, Bulgaria) serves as the Work Package 1 leader, responsible for the analytical and strategic backbone of the project. ARC Fund coordinates the development of regional action plans, stakeholder mapping, competence assessment, and value-chain analysis across all partner regions. Its work ensures that SustainX actions are grounded in robust evidence and aligned with both national RIS3 priorities and EU-level policy frameworks.
Building on its long-standing experience in innovation policy, digitalisation, and ecosystem development, ARC Fund leads the co-creation process that translates research insights into actionable priorities. The organisation also contributes to the policy learning dimension of the project, helping regions transform analytical findings into investment pipelines and governance models that strengthen long-term innovation capacity.
ARC Fund’s specific tasks include:
-
Coordinating the overall methodology for mapping regional ecosystems and identifying sustainability-related challenges;
-
Leading the preparation of national and regional Action Plans for Bulgaria and supporting the peer review of other partner regions’ plans;
-
Integrating regional findings into a transnational synthesis that informs EU-level learning and policy alignment;
-
Facilitating stakeholder engagement in Bulgaria through workshops, interviews, and digital tools;
-
Ensuring coherence between the project’s regional work and its policy-oriented activities under WP6 (Policy Co-creation Rounds).
Understanding Regional Challenges
The SustainX regional analyses reveal shared structural barriers across participating countries:
-
Limited SME capacity for scaling innovations beyond pilot stages due to insufficient access to finance, testing facilities, and international markets;
-
Fragmented ecosystem governance, with weak collaboration between academia, business, and public administration;
-
Skills mismatches in critical areas such as AI, green technologies, and circular economy;
-
Regulatory and administrative complexity that slows down innovation deployment;
-
Uneven access to European networks and programmes, limiting transnational cooperation and knowledge transfer.
At the same time, all regions demonstrate remarkable strengths that SustainX seeks to amplify—dynamic SMEs, strong universities and research centres, and emerging digital and green clusters with international potential. By connecting these assets through structured collaboration, SustainX creates pathways for cross-border synergies and shared investment opportunities.
From Analysis to Action
Under ARC Fund’s methodological guidance, each region has developed a detailed Action Plan that translates analytical findings into concrete actions. These include the establishment of regional collaboration services, SME training and recognition schemes, innovation dashboards, and policy dialogues that align regional initiatives with European objectives.
For Bulgaria, ARC Fund’s plan emphasizes:
-
Enhancing SME innovation scaling in clean technologies, ICT, and creative industries;
-
Building cross-sector collaboration platforms connecting universities, clusters, and digital innovation hubs;
-
Promoting digital and green skills through modular training and recognition mechanisms;
-
Strengthening Bulgaria’s integration into European innovation networks through the Enterprise Europe Network and Interreg frameworks.
Similar approaches guide partner regions: Thessaly focuses on agri-food and circular economy innovation; Latvia on bioeconomy and smart energy systems; Romania on ICT and sustainable manufacturing; and the Canary Islands on green tourism, mobility, and renewable energy integration. Together, these plans form a coherent framework for sustainable digital transformation across Europe.
Expected Impact
By the end of 2026, SustainX will have:
-
Supported at least 70 companies working in shared Smart Specialisation areas such as digital transformation and sustainable innovation;
-
Developed five regional Action Plans and one transnational roadmap for innovation investment;
-
Created collaborative mechanisms for knowledge transfer among more than 150 ecosystem stakeholders;
-
Launched training and recognition schemes to improve SME readiness for EU funding and market scaling;
-
Facilitated interregional peer learning between advanced and emerging innovation ecosystems.
These outcomes contribute directly to the objectives of the I3 Instrument—bridging regional innovation gaps and promoting the diffusion of innovative solutions across Europe.
Partnership
SustainX is implemented by a consortium of complementary partners representing academia, innovation agencies, and development organisations:
-
ARC Fund (Applied Research and Communications Fund) – Bulgaria – WP1 Leader; responsible for Action Plans and ecosystem mapping.
-
Digital Innovation Zone (DIZ) – Romania – Project Coordinator and WP3 Lead; overseeing innovation investment project development.
-
Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (iED) – Greece – Leader of stakeholder engagement and regional development in Thessaly.
-
Technical University of Iași (TUIASI) – Romania – Academic and research expertise in sustainable technologies.
-
Fundación Santa Cruz Sostenible – Canary Islands, Spain – Driving green transition and circular economy actions.
-
Latvian Technological Center – Latvia – Leading digitalisation and RIS3 alignment efforts in the Baltic region.
-
IMP³rove / KPMG Innovation Consulting – Germany – Providing methodology for SME assessment and capacity building.
The consortium is supported by numerous regional stakeholders, innovation intermediaries, and SMEs participating in training and pilot actions.
A Shared European Vision
SustainX embodies the EU’s commitment to cohesive, place-based innovation. It demonstrates how targeted support for regions with emerging innovation capacity can generate lasting transformation by combining local insight with European cooperation. By connecting regional ecosystems, SustainX promotes balanced growth, strengthens innovation governance, and accelerates the integration of sustainability and digitalisation into regional development.
ARC Fund’s contribution ensures that the Bulgarian innovation community is actively represented in this European transformation journey, transferring knowledge across borders and amplifying Bulgaria’s role in shaping the future of sustainable innovation.
Project Information
Title: SustainX – Fostering Sustainable Digital Innovation Investment
Acronym: SustainX
Duration: 2025–2026 (24 months)
Funding Programme: Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument (I3) – Strand 2b
Grant Agreement: No. 101184410
Coordinator: Digital Innovation Zone (Romania)
Website: [www.sustainxproject.eu] (placeholder)
ARC Fund Role: Leader of Work Package 1 (Regional Action Plans and Ecosystem Mapping)
Funded by the European Union.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
