RIS3 Guide:Research and Innovation Strategies for

Smart Specialisation

Athens, 4 September 2012

Dr Ruslan Rakhmatullin(ruslan.rakhmatullin@ec.europa.eu)

S3 PlatformEuropean CommissionDG JRC (IPTS)

Building on the past

• Widespread experience of national/regional innovation strategies in the framework of the EU cohesion policy

• Strategy development exercises (RIS, RITTS, RISI)

• Inter-regional best practice demonstration (RTT, RISI2)

• Pilot actions (RIS+, RISI+)

and on its achievements …

• Greater co-operation, transparency and strengthened expertise available in the regions

• Better communication between technology providers and clients (including policy-makers)

• General increase of innovation funding

• Sustainability: continuance of activities and funding

… but breaking away from the past

Previous RIS have often suffered from one or more of the following weaknesses:

• They lack an international and trans-regional perspective, the regional innovation/economic system is considered in isolation.

• They are not in tune with the industrial and economic fabric of the region; there is too much public involvement in R&D which is not sufficiently business driven.

• There is a ‘narrow’ vision of innovation.• There is a ‘picking winner's syndrome’.• The best performing regions are copied without

consideration of the local context.

What is RIS3?

• RIS3: (National/Regional) Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation that are:

• - integrated, • - place-based,• - economic transformation agendas;

… to identify areas of specialisation / differentiation

But: How to say NO?Lack of critical mass / excellenceLack of future perspectivesLack of mobilisation/ a shared vision of the actorsConsulting other regions (‘peer reviews’) Evaluation of the strategies / previous experimentation (a check-list) …

RIS3 is a process …RIS3 is a process …

Smart Specialisation PlatformSmart Specialisation PlatformLaunched in 2011 to assist EU Member States and regions in

their development processes for RIS3: • Based in the IPTS institute in Seville• Managed by a team of representatives from the DGs of the

European Commission (REGIO, EMPL, RTD, ENTR, EAC, INFSO, SANCO, CLIMA, AGRI and JRC)

• Supported by a group of high level experts, representatives of networks and organisations

Services offered:• Website: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/home • Guidance on process for development of RIS3, analytical

support• Organises ‘peer-reviews’ of national / regional strategies• Conferences, working groups, trainings …

80 registered

regions

… more are in th

e process of re

gisterin

g

80 registered

regions

… more are in th

e process of re

gisterin

g

1.Alsace (FR)2.Andalucía (ES)3.Aquitaine (FR)4.Aragón (ES)5.Bretagne (FR) 6.Canarias (ES)7.Castilla y León (ES)8.Catalunya (ES)9.Centre (FR)10.Comunidad Valenciana (ES)11.Corse (FR)12.Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (UK)13.Dolny Śląsk (Lower Silesia) (PL)14.Emilia-Romagna (IT)15.Freistaat Sachsen (DE)16.Guadalupe (FR)17.Guyane (FR)18.Illes Baleares (ES)19.Jihomoravský kraj (CZ)20.Kainuu (FI)21.Kent (UK)22.La Réunion (FR)23.La Rioja (ES)24.Lombardia (IT)25.Lubelskie (PL)26.Lubuskie (PL)

27.Madrid (ES)28.Marche (IT)29.Martinique (FR)30.Navarra (ES)31.Niederösterreich (AT)32.Noord Nederland (NL)33.Nord-Pas-de-Calais (FR)34.Northamptonshire (UK)35.Northern Ireland (UK)36.Oberösterreich (AT)37.Podkarpackie (PL) 38.Pohjanmaa (Ostrobothnia) (FI)39.Päijät-Häme (FI)40.País Vasco (ES)41.Picardie (FR)42.Piemonte (IT)43.Puglia (IT)44.Região Autónoma dos Açores (PT)45.Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (BE)46.Región de Murcia (ES)47.Sardinia (IT)48.Skåne (SE)49.Świętokrzyskie (PL)50.Toscana (IT)51.Västerbotten (SE)52.Västra Götaland (SE)53.Vlaanderen (BE)54.Vest (RO)55.Wallonia (BE)56.Weser-Ems (DE)57.West Midlands (UK)58.Województwo Podlaskie (PL)59.Sachsen-Anhalt (DE) 60. Berlin (DE)61. Brandenburg (DE)62. Champagne-Ardenne (FR)63. Mazowieckie (PL)64. Bratislava (SK).65. Picardie (FR)66. Buckinghamshire (UK)67. Satakunta (FI)68. Wielkopolska (PL)69. Castilla la Mancha (ES)70. Asturias (ES)71. Norte (PT)72. Galicia (ES)73. Centro (PT)74. Alto Baixo (PT)75. North-Hungarian Region (HU)76. Cantabria (ES)77. Pomorskie (PO)78. Attiki (GR)79. Oulu (FI)80. Languedoc-Roussillon (FR)

Register here: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/registration

Support to regions in preparing RIS3

Informal Peer Review workshops

Assessment of draft and final RIS3

Seminars in Member States and

Regions

Website with special access for

regions and interactive tools

RIS3 GuideThematic working groups

Edited by JRC IPTS in association with

DG REGIO and with contributions from: D. Foray, P. McCann, J. Goddard,

K. Morgan, C. Nauwelaers, R. Ortega Representatives of various EC DGs S3 Platform research team

Available on the S3 Platform site:http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu

The RIS3 Guide

Key steps for developing RIS3

Step 1 – Analysis of regional context/potential

Step 2 – Governance

Step 3 – Vision for the future

Step 4 – Selection of priorities

Step 5 – Policy mix

Step 6 – Monitoring and evaluation

Monitoring

Policy mix

Priorities

Vision

Process

Analysis

RIS3

Step 1 – Analysis of regional context and potential for innovation (I)

A broader definition of innovation, not just

RTD-oriented Assess existing regional assets Identify regional competitive advantage Detect emerging niches for smart

specialisation Combine methods (e.g. regional profiling,

SWOT approach; surveys)

Step 1 – Analysis of regional context – looking out – and potential for innovation (II)

Assess region’s positioning within the EU

Beware of global companies and value chains

Flows of knowledge and skills Avoid ‘blind’ duplication, discover

possibilities for collaboration Combine methods (e.g. studies;

interviews; interregional work groups)

Outward-looking Analysis:

Step 1 – Analysis of regional context and potential for innovation (III)

Different types of actors Spirit of the entrepreneurial environment Involvement of entrepreneurial actors in

the regional economy Firms, but also Universities, Technology

Centers, Venture Capitalists, Regional Development Agencies..

Identify economic differentiation potential Combine methods

consultation with firms, clusters; technological audits; foresight studies

Analysis of entrepreneurial dynamics and identification of future opportunities:

Step 2 – Governance: Ensuring participation and ownership

Include the demand-side perspective Quadruple Helix

Collaborative leadership Boundary spanning individuals

and organisations Dedicated Steering Group/

Knowledge Leadership Group, Management Team, Working groups

Wider engagement of stakeholders:

Step 3 – Developing an overall vision of the region’s future

Formulate different scenarios based on analyses and debate where your region wants to go

Produce a positive tension towards the future

Guarantee long-term engagement of stakeholders

Mobilising power

Shared vision of the region’s potential and main directions for its international positioning:

Step 4 – Identification of priorities

Focus on a limited number of areas with potential for smart specialisation as emerged from entrepreneurial discovery

Areas where the region hopes to excel

Pay attention to horizontal priorities (Key Enabling Technologies, social innovation, etc.)

Avoid capture by interest groups!

Decision-making step where top-down meets bottom-up:

Step 5 – Definition of a coherent policy mix, roadmaps and action plan

Roadmap will include: Action plan target groups,

objectives, timeframes, indicators, sources of funding and budget allocations

Pilot projects experiment with unprecedented policy mixes, obtain inputs for updating RIS3 strategies

Organising and detailing rules and tools:

Step 6 – Integration of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms

Monitoring to verify the correct and efficient implementation of activities

Evaluation to verify whether and how strategic goals are met

Importance of ex-ante setting of measurable targets and output/outcome indicators

Mechanisms integrated in the strategy:

The importance of communication of RIS3

To ensure RIS3 endorsement by all stakeholders

To engage new stakeholders To inform the general public Communication is needed at

every stage of the process

Good communication is crucial:

= Evidence-based considering all assets and problems in a region, incl. External perspective / internal / global market (critical mass? Opportunities? excellence? cooperation? Value chains?)

= No top-down decision, but dynamic /entrepreneurial discovery process uniting key stakeholders around shared vision = Mobilisation of investments and synergies across different departments and governance levels (EU-national-regional)

= All forms of innovation – no only technology driven

= Differentiation: SWOT analysis (all types of assets), competitive advantages, potential for excellence, opportunities

= Concentration of resources on priorities, problems and core needs (no sprinkler principle, no picking the winners, yes to catalytic investments)

= Place-based economic transformation: rejuvenating traditional sectors through higher value-added activities, cross-sectoral links, new market niches by sourcing-in and disseminating new technologies rather than re-inventing the wheel; exploiting new forms of innovation

What is Smart Specialisation ?What is Smart Specialisation ?

(Peer) Review and update of RIS3

Need to adapt and update the strategy

Information is gathered during implementation and incorporated into an updated RIS3

Peer-review exercise:1st Workshop in Seville (January 2012)

2nd Workshop in Seville (May 2012)

3rd Workshop in the Azores (June 2012)

4th Workshop in Pisa (September 2012)

Formulating and implementing a RIS3 is a continuous process:

Peer Review and Transnational Learning

• 4 volunteer regions prepare presentations of their RIS3 based on template with the 6 key elements of the guide;

• Presentations of 4 volunteer regions are distributed in advance to ‘critical friends’ together with additional background documents (on the regions’ territorial innovation systems and experience);

• Peer discussion at the workshop moderated by the S3Platform. MG members involved as speakers;

• Feedback report prepared by S3Platform and forwarded to reviewed region: ‘feedback from the workshop’;

• Follow-ups in 3 and 6 months after the workshop.

Peer-review: current levels of participation

• 1. Seville, January 2012 - 19 regions participating coming from 10 countries

• 2. Seville, May 2012 – 21 regions participating coming from 11 countries

• 3. The Azores, June 2012 – 18 regions participating coming from 10 countries

Peer-review: upcoming events

4. Pisa, Italy, 27-28 September 2012

5. Peer Review Workshop, Nov-Dec 2012

6. Peer Review Workshop, Jan-Feb 2013

Thematic workshops and working groups

• New tool for mutual learning – will be launched in autumn 2012

• Gather groups of regions/countries around common subjects linked to the RIS3 approach (the 6 steps of the guide)

• Liaise with other projects/activities on-going (e.g. OECD)

• Regions agree to develop a common position / brief / document for reflexion + schedule

• Discuss with the wider audience (all regions registered in the S3 Platform)

• Some themes: (i) profiling indicators; (ii) outward-looking dimension; (iii) multi-level governance; (iv) involvement of appropriate stakeholders; (v) entrepreneurial process of discovery

Thank you!

http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu

JRC-IPTS-S3PLATFORM@ec.europa.eu