Region of South Moravia

Their core work

The Region of South Moravia is a Czech regional public authority that manages research and innovation policy for one of the Czech Republic's most research-intensive regions, home to Brno's universities, research institutes, and technology parks. In H2020, their main contribution was running SoMoPro 3, a co-funded fellowship programme that attracted and retained distinguished researchers in South Moravia by aligning incoming talent with the region's smart specialisation priorities. As a regional government body, they act as a bridge between EU research funding mechanisms and local research ecosystems — channelling mobility grants, coordinating with centres of excellence, and anchoring researchers to regional innovation agendas. Their secondary engagement in food and agriculture (STARGATE) reflects the region's rural economy and the authority's role in supporting adaptive farming policy at the territorial level.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2015–2020), the Region of South Moravia was squarely focused on research capacity building — attracting talent, defining research domains aligned with regional strategy, and establishing fellowship infrastructure around centres of excellence. Their keyword set was entirely policy- and mobility-driven, with no technical or applied research dimension. By their second project (2019–2024), this changed: they joined an applied agricultural research consortium with no visible continuation of the fellowship/talent theme, suggesting a pivot toward using EU projects to address concrete regional economic challenges rather than purely building research capacity.

The Region appears to be transitioning from a research-capacity-building role (running fellowship programmes) toward a more applied regional authority role — joining thematic research consortia that address territorial challenges like food security and climate adaptation.

How they like to work

The Region of South Moravia has demonstrated both coordinator and partner roles across just two projects, suggesting flexibility rather than a fixed position in consortia. As coordinator of SoMoPro 3, they managed a complex MSCA-COFUND programme with 26 consortium partners across 13 countries — an unusually wide network for a regional authority, indicating strong administrative capacity and comfort with EU project management. As a participant in STARGATE, they likely contributed regional governance expertise and territorial reach rather than deep technical work.

With 26 unique consortium partners across 13 countries, their network is notably broad relative to just two projects — largely built through the SoMoPro 3 fellowship network, which by design connected South Moravia to research institutions across Europe. Their geographic reach extends well beyond Central Europe, though their primary regional anchor is the Brno innovation ecosystem.

What sets them apart

The Region of South Moravia is one of the few regional public authorities in Central Europe to have directly coordinated an MSCA-COFUND fellowship programme, which requires significant administrative capacity and credibility with the European Commission. Their positioning at the intersection of regional development policy and EU research funding makes them a valuable partner for any consortium needing a regional authority with genuine EU project management experience — not just a token public-sector signatory. For researchers or institutions looking to establish a presence in the Czech Republic's most research-intensive region, South Moravia acts as both a funder and a network gateway.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SoMoPro 3
  As coordinator of this EUR 1.83M MSCA-COFUND fellowship programme, the Region directly managed researcher attraction at scale — rare for a regional public authority and evidence of substantial EU grant administration capacity.
• STARGATE
  Their participation in this resilient farming RIA project signals an expansion beyond research policy into applied food and agriculture, broadening their sectoral footprint as a regional partner.