Between September 2025 and April 2026, the INPROCAP project successfully implemented four regional events across the North, Middle, East and South European hubs, bringing together companies, SMEs, Big Science Organisations (BSOs), Industrial Liaison Officers (ILOs), research organisations and public authorities to strengthen collaboration in innovation procurement.
The regional activities included:
- NORTH – AIMday Big Science Technology 2025, held on 30 September 2025 in Lund, Sweden;
- EAST – Online webinar on Business Opportunities and Innovative Procurement in Big Science, held on 28 May 2025, complemented by the Big Science and NOMATEN Innovation Days on 14 April 2026 in Poland;
- SOUTH – Big Science Industry Forum Spain 2025, held on 3–4 December 2025 in Madrid, Spain;
- MIDDLE – Industry Meeting & INPROCAP @ ASTRON, held on 7 April 2026 in Dwingeloo, the Netherlands.
Implemented through different formats, including workshops, webinars, industry meetings and large-scale forums, the regional events created opportunities for stakeholders to exchange experiences, discuss concrete technological challenges and explore future cooperation pathways linked to the Big Science ecosystem.
Strengthening Connections Between Industry and Big Science
The regional activities demonstrated strong interest from companies and innovation ecosystem actors in engaging with Big Science infrastructures and innovation procurement opportunities. Across all regions, the events supported networking, knowledge exchange and discussions on future collaboration related to advanced technologies, research infrastructures and procurement procedures.
Several events generated concrete follow-up activities and emerging collaboration initiatives. The strongest progress was observed within the NORTH and SOUTH regional hubs.
The NORTH regional event, AIMday Big Science Technology 2025 in Lund, Sweden, resulted in seven collaboration agreements between companies and BSOs, supported through seed funding provided by BigScience Sweden. The event connected industry representatives with concrete technological challenges presented by leading Big Science facilities and stimulated discussions around innovative solutions and future joint activities.
The SOUTH regional event, implemented through the Big Science Industry Forum Spain 2025 in Madrid, contributed to several emerging collaboration pathways linked to future innovation procurement and pre-commercial procurement initiatives. Discussions focused on future technologies for the Future Circular Collider (FCC), high-temperature superconducting technologies, and Fusion for Energy innovation activities.
Emerging Collaboration Pathways
The MIDDLE and EAST regional events also generated promising cooperation opportunities. Although many collaborations are still at an early stage, the activities successfully connected SMEs, research organisations and Big Science stakeholders around concrete technological needs and future procurement opportunities.
The EAST regional activities, complemented by the Big Science and NOMATEN Innovation Days 2026 in Poland, supported discussions on advanced materials, cryogenic and vacuum technologies, and laboratory infrastructure solutions. The events helped identify several potential collaboration pathways between industry and research organisations for future research and innovation activities.
Similarly, the MIDDLE regional event organised at ASTRON in the Netherlands created direct interaction between companies and BSOs around specific technical challenges presented by CERN, ESO and European XFEL.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
The regional events also highlighted several challenges linked to innovation procurement collaboration in the Big Science sector. Developing innovation-oriented partnerships often requires long preparation periods, specialised technical expertise, and continuous engagement between industry and research infrastructures.
The consortium also identified differences in the maturity of regional innovation ecosystems and the availability of follow-up funding instruments, which can influence how quickly collaborations evolve into concrete consortia or procurement initiatives.
At the same time, the activities confirmed that challenge-oriented discussions, practical case studies, and direct interaction with Big Science representatives are effective tools for stimulating stakeholder engagement and encouraging future cooperation.
Looking Ahead
The regional events provided valuable insights and practical examples that will contribute to the further development of INPROCAP training activities, toolbox materials and Community of Practice discussions.
The project consortium will continue following up on interactions initiated during the events in order to monitor the development of emerging collaborations and support future innovation procurement activities within the European Big Science ecosystem.
