{"id":5268,"date":"2026-07-22T13:28:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T11:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biva.cat\/european-capital-of-innovation-2027"},"modified":"2026-07-27T09:30:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T07:30:34","slug":"european-capital-of-innovation-2027","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/biva.cat\/en\/european-capital-of-innovation-2027","title":{"rendered":"European Capital of Innovation 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

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European Rising Innovative City 2027 Candidacy<\/p>\n

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“Sant Cugat, City of Purposes”<\/strong><\/p><\/h2><\/div>

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Discover why Sant Cugat is an outstanding candidate for the European Rising Innovative City 2027 Award.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sant Cugat is submitting its candidacy for the European Rising Innovative City 2027<\/strong> award, promoted by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This candidacy reflects a vision of innovation that goes beyond technology. In Sant Cugat, innovation means creating opportunities, fostering talent, addressing major social and environmental challenges, and building a fairer, more prosperous and more participatory city.<\/p>\n

With nearly 100,000 inhabitants, more than 3,200 companies, over 90 startups, seven business parks, and a strong collaboration network connecting public administration, businesses, universities and knowledge centres, Sant Cugat has established one of the most dynamic innovation ecosystems in Southern Europe.<\/p>\n

Today, Sant Cugat is the City of Purposes<\/strong> \u2014 “Sant Cugat, City of Purposes”<\/em> \u2014 a city that transforms purpose into meaningful action. Through initiatives such as the Barcelona Innovation Valley Alliance (BIVA)<\/strong>, the Sant Cugat Open Campus for Innovation<\/strong>, the Urban Sandbox<\/strong>, Sant Cugat EINES<\/strong>, and numerous projects promoting digital transformation, the green transition and social innovation, the city demonstrates that innovation is a powerful tool to improve people’s lives and advance sustainable development.<\/p>\n

The European Capital of Innovation (iCapital) Awards<\/strong> recognise European cities that lead innovation through bold public policies, collaboration across the innovation ecosystem, and the ability to transform ideas into tangible benefits for citizens.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Pillars of Innovation in Sant Cugat<\/h2><\/div>
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The Sant Cugat, City of Purposes<\/strong> candidacy is built around six pillars that demonstrate how this vision is translated into public policies, transformative projects, and a new way of governing the city: by experimenting, scaling innovation, connecting the ecosystem, sharing knowledge, planning for the future, and always putting people at the centre.<\/p>\n

Discover the six pillars that explain why Sant Cugat is today one of Europe’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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1- Experimenting<\/h4><\/div>

In Sant Cugat, experimentation is not just about showcasing technology\u2014it is a way of governing. For more than a decade, the city has embraced the living lab approach to imagine, test and implement real solutions in public spaces, public services, culture, energy, mobility, safety and citizen participation.<\/p>\n

The approval of the Sant Cugat Urban Sandbox<\/strong>, the first regulatory framework of its kind in a medium-sized city in Spain, provides a stable environment where innovation can be transformed into services, opportunities and tangible impact.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

2- Scaling<\/h4><\/div>

Sant Cugat’s objective is to ensure that talent does not remain untapped, ideas do not remain isolated pilot projects, and startups do not remain local experiments.<\/p>\n

Initiatives such as Sant Cugat EINES<\/strong>, the future Open Campus for Innovation<\/strong>, and the talent programme promoted by Barcelona Innovation Valley Alliance (BIVA)<\/strong> support this journey\u2014from the initial idea to international scale.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

3. BUILDING THE ECOSYSTEM<\/h4><\/div>

Sant Cugat’s purpose in building ecosystems is to transform a successful urban trajectory into a shared capacity for innovation. It is not enough to bring together valuable assets; they must be orchestrated.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

4- Expansion<\/h4><\/div>

Sant Cugat understands that innovation does not stop at municipal boundaries. Our ambition is to connect, transfer knowledge and provide leadership from the local level to the European stage. The evidence speaks for itself: we have evolved from a local innovation ecosystem into a European connector of innovation capabilities.<\/p>\n

Leading the European HEALTH CITIES<\/strong> project, playing an active role in the Red Innpulso<\/strong>, and expanding the international reach of the Barcelona Innovation Valley Alliance (BIVA)<\/strong> demonstrate Sant Cugat’s ability to create replicable models and contribute to the development of Europe’s innovation ecosystem.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

5-\u00a0Innovative City Vision<\/h4><\/div>

Sant Cugat’s vision is to demonstrate that a medium-sized European city can be a place where people are empowered to fulfil their potential throughout every stage of life\u2014personally, collectively and professionally.<\/p>\n

The Sant Cugat, City of Purposes<\/strong> candidacy embodies this vision, recognising innovation not as an end in itself, but as a means to create opportunities, foster talent and improve quality of life. This perspective shapes the city’s innovation strategy and inspires the flagship projects that are transforming Sant Cugat with a long-term vision for the future.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

6- Citizens\u2019 Rights<\/h4><\/div>

Sant Cugat’s purpose in the field of rights is to become a Fair City<\/strong>: a city that creates opportunities so that no one is left behind and everyone can fully develop their life project.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For us, innovation only has meaning if it makes rights tangible in everyday life: access to housing, education, safety, accessibility, digital inclusion, quality public spaces and a healthy environment.<\/p>\n

In this regard, Sant Cugat is driving a structural transformation of its housing model\u2014from a stock of protected housing representing around 2% of the total housing supply to the goal of reaching 20% protected housing, with up to 10,000 protected homes by 2040.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Projects<\/h2><\/div>

Explore some of the projects that Sant Cugat has developed in recent years to respond innovatively to the city’s needs and challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>