The Aurora RI project builds excellent research support structures to complement excellent research and innovation in the Aurora Alliance, a European University funded by the EC. It will further deepen and expand the cooperation among the universities and strengthen their identity as research-intensive universities dedicated to societal impact and engagement. The aim of Aurora RI is to develop a research and innovation support agenda framed by the SDGs and based on the four priority domains of the Alliance, i) Sustainability and Climate Change, ii) Digital Society and Global Citizenship, iii) Health and Wellbeing, and iv) Culture, Diversity. The focus of the project is to achieve an understanding of best practices and policies on sharing of research infrastructure and resources, cooperation on entrepreneurial activity, empowering human capital, mainstreaming open science and citizen engagement. Throughout the project we will analyse and map best practices already in place, learn from each other and define barriers to cooperation at national and international level and find ways to overcome these barriers. The findings will create the basis for our R&I support agenda and will be shared with the other European Universities and beyond. The actions implemented during the project period aim at creating a platform for cooperation that will sustain beyond the lifetime of the project and equip researchers and students at Aurora Universities with a broad toolkit to conduct excellent research and disruptive innovation.