InnovEU S5E18 with Francesco Molica - Is Your EU Project Territorially Blind?

What if your Horizon Europe proposal is not weak because of the technology? What if it is weak because it has no real territorial logic? In this episode of **InnovEU - The EU Project Chronicles**, I speak with **Francesco Molica**, Director of **EURADA**, the European Association of Development Agencies. And the lesson is uncomfortable: \* A project can be compliant. \* It can match the call. \* It can use all the right words: innovation, competitiveness, twin transition, resilience, ecosystem. But if it is not connected to a real territory, a real strategy and real local capability, its impact story becomes fragile. In this episode, you’ll discover: \* Why regions are where EU strategies become real \* Why compliance is not the same as impact \* Why isolated projects rarely transform territories \* Why SMEs need ecosystems, not only funding \* How development agencies can orchestrate systemic change \* Why place-based strategy matters for Horizon Europe proposals This is not just a conversation about regional development agencies. It is about how Europe turns projects into capability, funding into transformation and local ecosystems into competitive advantage. ▶️ Watch or listen to the full episode Watch the full episode: Substack: https://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcastYouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso\_Kr3W8biIpx Spotify: Apple Podcasts: Stress-test your proposal before evaluators do Quick note before we continue. Most proposals are not rejected because they are bad. They are rejected because they trigger silent downgrade logic. The **Grantshield Pre-Mortem™** helps teams stress-test the structure of a proposal before submission, using evaluator logic, transition alignment and impact plausibility. Use it before the evaluator does. Grantshield Pre-Mortem™: https://payhip.com/b/yUeiV Go deeper My book **Transition Science In The Economy** develops the full framework behind the green transition, digital transition, new globalization, war economy and housing crisis. Book: https://a.co/d/c7RoOA4 Let’s grow this community together If you enjoyed the episode: Like the podcast on your favourite platform. Subscribe on Substack or any podcast app. Restack this post. Leave a comment. Share it with colleagues working on EU-funded projects, regional innovation or Horizon Europe proposals. Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/ And if you would like to be featured on **InnovEU - The EU Project Chronicles**, send me a private message and let’s schedule it. Because Europe’s transitions are already reshaping the future. And your project may become part of that transformation. Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe