IRPWIND is an integrated research programme that combines strategic research projects and support activities within the field of Wind Energy, with the aim of leveraging the long term European research potential. The concept behind this programme is built on the success of existing initiatives supporting the SET Plan Agenda such as the European Energy Research Alliance Joint Programme on Wind Energy, whose organizational structure and participation is mirrored in this consortium. IRPWIND moves beyond the delivery of research projects and integrates capacities and resources around the development of high risk technologies, allowing Europe to maintain its global competitive leading position in terms of research excellence and implementation of wind power technologies. Several technical and collaborative gaps, currently hampering the next generation of wind energy technologies, have been identified. It is these gaps that IRPWIND now proposes to bridge, with a team that gathers 24 partners and the critical mass of research performers within wind energy across Europe. Besides the research needs identified, the analysis showed a current emphasis on short to medium term research and demonstration, whereas IRPWIND clearly focuses on the medium to long term research. Openness of the programme is achieved through the implementation of 2 pilot funding schemes: one promoting mobility of experienced researchers and other accommodating shared use of infrastructures to carry out experiments at multiple facilities all over Europe. IRPWIND will provide a European added value by promoting joint collaborative projects and overall reinforcement of research excellence, in a sector which will be key to Europe’s sustainability and economic growth. The ultimate goal of IRPWIND it to accelerate the route to market for breakthrough innovations, and ultimately to contribute to reaching the ambitious European objectives for wind energy generation towards 2050.