New POLIS policy paper outlines how next EU budget can better support mobility innovation
POLIS has published an in-depth policy paper on the current debate regarding the FP10 and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), highlighting how cities and regions contribute and are crucial to urban mobility research and innovation.
Following ERTRAC's position paper on road transport research in FP10 and ECF, and EARTO's recent recommendations on ECF governance, the debate on the shape of the EU's next research and innovation architecture is intensifying. POLIS is now adding a complementary and currently missing perspective to that conversation: that of the cities and regions that deploy, procure, and de-risk mobility innovation on the ground.
In the new policy paper, 'Beyond Declarations: Delivering Urban Mobility Innovation in the Next MFF', POLIS outlines what is needed to secure the future of urban mobility research and innovation.
Cities and regions deliver mobility innovations on the ground
The paper builds on POLIS' experience with EU research and innovation dating back to FP3, connecting cities, regions, industry, and researchers. Its central argument is that local and regional authorities are not peripheral stakeholders in this system, but rather they are the ones that create markets for innovation, regulate mobility, and turn pilot projects into reality.
This becomes clear when looking at the local level. From zero-emission public transport and shared mobility services to automated shuttles and multimodal mobility hubs, many of the innovations shaping Europe's future mobility system are already being developed and deployed in cities.
The paper argues that Europe's competitiveness, climate objectives, and industrial resilience are inseparable from the capacity of cities and regions to plan, test, deploy, and scale new mobility solutions. It identifies real opportunities in the current MFF proposals, namely:
- A stronger link between FP10 and the ECF;
- A shift toward higher-TRL deployment and scaling;
- Financial instruments that can de-risk investment in complex mobility infrastructure.
Maximising the impact of the next EU budget
But there are risks. Dedicated urban mobility initiatives such as CIVITAS risk being diluted as transport gets folded into broader sectoral programming. The ECF's current design confines transport largely to a single 'decarbonisation window', ignoring that mobility innovation is inherently cross-sectoral. The growing focus on the automotive industry risks narrowing 'road transport' down to 'automotive industry', thus sidelining not only the multimodal reality that cities and regions are actually building toward, but other (thriving) European mobility industries as well. Excluding cities and regions from innovation programmes would undermine the development of solutions that respond to real operational needs and can achieve meaningful deployment.
POLIS' recommendations to EU policymakers follow directly from that analysis:
- Reaffirm the eligibility of local and regional authorities across all FP10 and ECF instruments and maintain the 100% funding rate for public and non-profit entities;
- Guarantee cities and regions a formal seat in the governance of both programmes;
- Continue the CIVITAS initiative and expand Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) and similar instruments that promote mutual learning and capacity-building;
- Recognise the non-monetary EU added value (quality control, transparency, cross-border learning) that EU-funded collaboration brings, beyond the funding itself.
The message is straightforward: declarations of support for cities and regions in EU policy documents are not the same as structural provisions that let them act as R&I partners. As the MFF negotiations progress, POLIS is urging EU institutions to move from acknowledging that role to actually embedding it in the design of FP10 and the ECF.
Read the policy paper here, or download it from the side or the bottom of this page.
