The 2026 GINI Leaders Assembly and 3rd Global Innopolis Forum (Málaga 2026) was held on February 23–25, 2026, at FYCMA, Málaga, Spain, co-hosted by the City of Málaga and the GINI Secretariat. Under the overarching theme of “From Shared Vision to Strategic Partnership: Advancing Intergovernmental Collaboration for Global Innovation,” the biennial gathering brought together all six member regions — Daejeon (Republic of Korea), Montgomery County (MD, USA), Málaga (Spain), Dortmund (Germany), Québec Province (Canada), and Seattle (USA).
Málaga 2026 was held in conjunction with Transfiere 2026, Málaga's annual R&D and innovation forum (February 24–26), co-organized by the Málaga City Council, the Andalusian Regional Government, and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. The event attracted over 4,700 participants from 30 countries, including more than 600 organizations, 430 speakers, and representatives from 65 universities.
The 3rd Global Innopolis Forum, held on February 24 under the theme “Turning GINI into Action,” examined how cities and regions can translate scientific excellence into tangible economic and social value through strategic international collaboration. Discussions converged on a clear direction: GINI must evolve from an exchange-oriented network into a platform for concrete joint initiatives, including R&D collaboration, infrastructure sharing, and coordinated innovation strategies.
The 2026 Leaders Assembly, convened on February 25, elected new leadership and adopted six resolutions by consensus, establishing the governance and operational foundations necessary for sustained collaboration. With a permanently anchored Secretariat, a shared financial framework, confirmed hosting commitments through 2028, and the formal inclusion of 11 institutional members, GINI has secured the structural basis for long-term continuity and delivery.
At the operational level, Málaga 2026 marked a critical turning point with the launch of the inaugural Action Group Workshops, which brought together universities, research institutes, and public agencies across member regions. For the first time, GINI’s collaboration extended beyond intergovernmental dialogue to a multi-stakeholder platform capable of developing implementable joint initiatives.
Málaga 2026 marks a defining transition in GINI's institutional trajectory — from a founding initiative establishing its footing to a structurally grounded platform with the governance, membership, and operational frameworks required to deliver on its original promise. The decisions adopted at the Leaders Assembly, taken together, represent the institutionalization of what was envisioned in Daejeon in 2024: a network capable of sustaining itself, governing itself, and expanding its reach beyond the government level.
Equally significant was the context in which the event took place. By convening alongside Transfiere 2026 — one of Europe's leading R&D and innovation forums — GINI demonstrated its capacity to engage credibly within the broader global science and technology community. This co-location was not merely a logistical convenience; it reflected a deliberate strategic choice to embed GINI's activities within the ecosystems where innovation actually happens, and to build the network's visibility among the universities, research institutes, and public agencies that will ultimately drive its collaborative agenda.
The introduction of institutional membership and the inaugural Action Group Workshops mark the beginning of a new chapter for GINI. For the first time, the network's collaborative activities extended meaningfully beyond intergovernmental dialogue to engage universities, research institutes, and public agencies as active participants. This multi-stakeholder turn is not incidental — it is the structural precondition for GINI to generate the kind of concrete joint initiatives its founding vision called for.
The path forward leads to Dortmund in 2028 — where GINI will be expected not merely to reaffirm its commitments, but to demonstrate what a structurally grounded, multi-stakeholder innovation network can concretely deliver.
