PILLARS offers a three-pillars framework that includes: (1) A comprehensive and empirically solid account of the combined effect of (i) past waves of automation technologies, (ii) recent trends of international fragmentation of production in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and (iii) industrial transformation of European regions on EU labour markets, in terms of employment reconfiguration, skill mismatch and migration. (2) A comprehensive set of forecasting scenarios based on the impact assessment in (1) and projection of (i) industries’ future exposure to emerging automation technologies; (ii) EU regional industrial transformation and (de)specialisation; and (iii) functional reallocation of workers along GVC and migration flows; and (iv) potential skill mismatch resulting from projections of skill demand and supply. (3) A systematic evaluation of current labour market policies, based on smart specialisation, and training policies that allows identifying areas of success and directions to be mitigated. This will lead to proposing a coherent and cohesive policy roadmap that includes a battery of action in different policy areas (innovation, trade, education and training) to achieve Pathways to Inclusive Labour Markets. PILLARS’ ambition to contribute to assess current labour market policies and co-design a new generation of policies for the future of work will be fulfilled by a consortium of top scholars, including partners from Latin America and China; an enthusiastic, international, multidisciplinary stakeholder support to the potential of PILLARS; and a top notch academic advisory board.

The AEIP builds a network of African and European stakeholders strengthening links between innovation ecosystems in an inclusive and collaborative manner, ensuring equal benefits. The AEIP will stimulate collaboration among stakeholders and institutions implementing other programmes, contributing to mutually beneficial partnerships. The focus will lie on launching new activities (linked to capacity-building, mobility opportunities, knowledge production and transfer, investment readiness and access to finance) based on an assessment of the needs of all target groups, including researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, incubators/accelerators, civil society, women and youth. These will be activated through a combination of virtual outreach and in-person stakeholder meetings as a forum for discussion. Sustainability will be built into the AEIP from the start by making sure that new activities are linked up and designed in such a way that they can be carried forward by AEIP members after the end of the Action. We aim to grow the AEIP further into a network of networks acting as a hub for the implementation of the short-term actions of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, reinforcing existing initiatives rather than duplicating them. The Action has been designed to maximise societal, economic, and scientific impact by centring the Platform at the core as a forum where stakeholders convene for focussed and structured innovation cooperation. With the networks leveraged by the consortium partners and multiplier effect, our outcomes and impacts will be scalable. The AEIP will support the Agenda’s objective to strengthen Research and Innovation cooperation between the African and European Union, maximising the impact of funding and reinforcing interconnected innovation ecosystems, thus contributing to sustainable and inclusive development, economic growth and job creation.