Together with excellence, impact has been one of the guiding principles of the EIT since its creation. In a context of economic frailty, demonstrating a tangible and measurable impact is essential. The EIT Community is characterised by a focus on results and on achieving long-lasting impact in the way the EU approaches and manages innovation. It is therefore critical that the KIC demonstrates substantial impact at the socioeconomic level over time, and significant progress towards achieving its mission and objectives. The KIC should harvest intellectual, human, material and financial resources to create valuable outputs such as innovation communities, high quality curricula, start-ups, innovative products, services, technologies, through which it develops and sustains value-added business, enhances competencies necessary for innovation and entrepreneurship, and for developing solutions to major societal challenges.

A KIC is expected to create the following impacts:

• technological/economic/innovation impact by influencing the creation and growth of companies, as well as the creation and deployment at scale of new innovative solutions to address the global challenges, creating direct and indirect jobs and mobilising additional public and private investments;

• educational impact by strengthening human capital in research and innovation, enhancing innovative and entrepreneurial skills both at individual and organisational levels and fostering the creation and diffusion of knowledge and innovation openly within society;

• societal impact, including the impact derived by the delivery of systematic solutions within and beyond the EIT Community, also through Cross-KIC activities7, by addressing EU policy priorities in the Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems (‘Water’) through innovative solutions, engagement with citizens and end-users and by strengthening the uptake of innovative solutions in these areas in society.

This KIC's approach to building systemic impact should be aligned with and contribute to Horizon Europe impact pathway approach as well as the EIT Impact Framework KPIs.

An EIT KIC promotes connectivity at all levels. It is an integrated partnership bringing together leading companies, higher education institutions, research organisations and other stakeholders in the innovation process to tackle pressing societal challenges through the development of products, services, processes and business models, and also by nurturing innovative, entrepreneurial individuals. A KIC connects excellence-driven innovation hubs, the Co-location Centres, to become leading centres of excellence, competing and collaborating with other innovation hubs across the world.

A KIC follows a long-term innovation and impact-driven strategy, operating with a business logic and a results-oriented approach to contribute to the achievement of the EIT’s overall mission, the priorities laid down in the EIT Strategic Agenda 2021-2027 and the attainment of the general objectives established in Horizon Europe.

A KIC delivers a whole range of world-class activities bringing together actors from different sides of the knowledge triangle (business, education and research) encompassing the whole innovation value chain within a particular field. A KIC’s portfolio of activities typically includes, inter alia: entrepreneurial education and training programmes, research-driven innovation projects, and incubation of and support to start-ups and scale-ups. The EIT also encourages close collaboration between all its KICs.

A KIC is established as a legally and financially structured transparent partnership with a substantial degree of autonomy to set up its own governance system based on good governance principles provided by the EIT. A strong commitment by KIC partners, including financial support, is indispensable. It is mandatory for the KICs to remain open and flexible to attract new partners who bring added value to the partnership.

The obligation for a KIC to become financially sustainable in the long-term is a unique feature of the EIT’s innovation model. In this context, a KIC must develop and implement a revenue-generating strategy to maintain its innovation ecosystem and activities beyond the period during which the EIT provides financial support through grant agreements.

In pursuing financial sustainability, the KIC should look for a diversification of its revenue and investment sources by mobilising funds from other public and private sources and to attract and engage the widest possible range of relevant new partners. The KIC should aim to maximise the share of contributions from private sources and from income generated by its activities and revenue-generating assets to pursue and achieve financial sustainability at the latest before the expiry of the Partnership Agreement with the EIT.

The EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) is mandatory for all KICs and an integral part of its multi-annual strategy. EIT RIS activities support the improvement of innovation capacity of countries, and regions in those countries, which are classified as modest and moderate innovation performers according to the European Innovation Scoreboard, as well as the Outermost Regions, and facilitate the integration of new partners from those regions and countries into the KIC’s communities. The KIC’s EIT RIS activities should be aligned with the EIT RIS Implementation Framework (2022-2027) and deliver on the EIT RIS objectives presented in the EIT legislative framework.

In addition, a KIC is expected to take part in the EIT Higher Education Institutions (HEI) Initiative helping higher education institutions to build their capacity to innovate and to teach innovation and entrepreneurship.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is a key driver of sustainable European economic growth and competitiveness. It reinforces the innovation capacity of the EU and its Member States to address the grand challenges facing European society.

During the 2021 to 2027 period, the EIT contributes to the general objectives of Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation by integrating the entrepreneurship-driven ‘knowledge triangle’ of business, higher education and research to boost disruptive innovation across Europe.

To further enhance its impact and to incentivise the innovations needed to meet new societal challenges, the EIT will, as established in the EIT Regulation and EIT Strategic Innovation Agenda (SIA) 2021-2027 gradually expand its portfolio of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). With this Call for Proposals, the EIT launches the selection process for a new KIC in the thematic area of Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems.

Partners in an EIT KIC design a realistic, specific, measurable, achievable and time-dependent strategy to address the concrete challenges posed in their thematic field. The strategy is accompanied by specific, relevant and measurable strategic objectives. This strategy must be aligned with the EIT’s strategic objectives, cover at least 7 years and be based on the overriding principle of knowledge triangle integration, impact and excellence.

EIT KICs’ strategic outlook considers where the highest innovation and commercialisation potential lies, and where the most significant impact can be achieved through integrating entrepreneurship and skills education, innovation and business creation / acceleration.

The Commission ex-ante analysis on the relevance of a new EIT KIC on Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems reconfirmed relevance of the challenges faced by Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems identified in the EIT Strategic Agenda 2021-27 and the relevance of the KIC innovation model in delivering solutions in response to these challenges. Furthermore, a KIC with an integrated approach to water, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems holds significant potential in addressing fragmentation (incl. through EIT Regional Innovation Scheme), skills gaps and serves as a vital connecting node.

The new KIC shall add value and demonstrate excellence in each activity area (innovation, entrepreneurship and skills education and business creation / acceleration), widely cover the relevant fields of the water, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems and have a strategy in place to build on and upscale innovative solutions developed under existing programmes and initiatives such as Horizon Europe, EU Missions – notably the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters – and relevant Horizon Europe partnerships.

For information on the thematic scope of this KIC, please consult the SIA factsheet on Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems and the Commission Staff Working document on a Commission ex-ante analysis on the relevance of a new Knowledge and Innovation Community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology on Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems and confirming its launch in 2026, also available in the annexes of this call.