STEP events in Czechia: strategic technologies, EU funding and investment opportunities

Between 9 and 12 February, STEP took centre stage in Czechia, as nearly 1 000 stakeholders, including businesses, researchers, public authorities, and industry clusters, gathered in Prague and Brno for seminars and an innovation workshop. The events marked a critical step toward the launch of Czechia’s first STEP calls in 2026, while fostering cross-border dialogue on strategic technologies, innovation, and EU cohesion funding.

STEP seminars in Prague and Brno: get ready for the first calls!

Mr. Pavel Juras, Czech STEP National Contact Point (NCP), organised the two STEP seminars focused on the scope, on the programme amendment to include STEP and the upcoming calls to be launched under this same priority in their ERDF programme. With the help of experts from the STEP team, Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the European Investment Bank JASPERS  team, the discussion focused on enhancing  collaboration via EU-wide consortia, with chambers of commerce playing a key role in connecting firms across value chains, while simplifying administrative burdens and align EU/national funding frameworks. It was an opportunity for participants to highlight the need for scaling support along the full innovation chain by strengthening collaboration between diverse partners across the EU. Two STEP Seal holders participated in the seminars. One of them highlighted the relevance of the Seal as a way to build powerful consortia and provide opportunities to smaller enterprises, while the other speaker  said that the STEP Seal boosts project visibility, but facilitated access to key infrastructure could be an interesting added-value of the Seal.

Innovation workshop: bridging cohesion policy and strategic tech

The workshop, organised by the Directorate general for regional policy of the European commission, brought together Czech and Slovak stakeholders in Brno to explore how EU cohesion funds can better support innovation ecosystems and strategic technologies. A panel was dedicated to STEP and its role in mobilising financial resources from cohesion policy. It was an opportunity to clarify that national managing authorities can reprogramme ERDF/ESF+ funds to launch STEP calls, aligning regional and EU priorities.

The first STEP calls in Czechia are expected in the first quarter of 2026. Stay tuned and regularly check the Get Funding dashboard in the STEP Portal.