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SMART SPECIALISATION SEEN FROM BRUSSELS LEVEL

RIS³, AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A REGIONAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM

MALOPOLSKA IS CONQUERING BRUSSELS

S3 PLATFORM, MAKING CLEAR THE SMART SPECIALISATION CONCEPT

SMART SPECIALISATION

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CONTACT

Małopolska Region Brussels OfficeRue de Luxembourg 3, 1000 Brussels, BELGIUM

bruxelles@umwm.pltel: +32 2 513 79 98

www.malopolskaregion.euwww.facebook.com/MalopolskaRegionBrussels

DESIGN

Parastudiowww.parastudio.pl

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| Interview with Krzysztof Mieszkowski

| by Christian Saublens

| Interview with Richard Tuffs

| by Piotr Kopyciński

| Interview with Jan Larosse

| Communication from the Commission

1 S3 PLATFORM, MAKING CLEAR THE SMART SPECIALISATION CONCEPT

2 RIS³, AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A REGIONAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM

3 SMART SPECIALISATION SEEN FROM BRUSSELS LEVEL

4 MALOPOLSKA SMART SPECIALISATION

5 FROM SMART SPECIALISATION TO THE VANGUARD INITIATIVE

6 MALOPOLSKA IS CONQUERING BRUSSELS

7 QUESTIO IURIS

IN TH

IS ISSUE

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S3 Platform,making clear the smart specialisation conceptInterview with Mr Krzysztof Mieszkowski from the S3 Platform, JRC-IPTS, Seville, Spain

Smart Specialisation is a strategic approach to boost economic development through targeted support to Research and Innovation (R&I).

The S3 Platform assists EU countries and regions to develop, implement and review their Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3). Established in 2011 following the Communication ‚Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020’, the role of the S3 Platform is to pro-vide information, methodologies, expertise and advice to national and regional policy makers, as well as promote mutual learning, trans-national co-operation and contribute to academic debates around the concept of smart specialisation.

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Krzysztof Mieszkowski :Smart Specialisation is a stra-tegic approach to boost eco-nomic development through targeted support to Research and Innovation (R&I). The es-tablishment of a Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) is the precondition for all national or regional ERDF investments in R&D+I activities in the cur-rent EU financial perspective 2014-2020. The assumption is that the implementation of these strategies will be signifi-cant Cohesion Policy’s con-

tribution to the Europe 2020 Jobs and Growth Agenda.Smart Specialisation is a pro-cess which involves identifica-tion of regional and/or national competitive advantages and market potentials from inward and outward perspectives, stakeholder involvement in the Quadruple-Helix model (public authorities, business, research institutions, citizens), developing a clear development vision, setting strategic invest-ment priorities, making use of smart policy-mix and as well as monitoring and evaluation

mechanisms in order to meas-ure the progress in achieving the objectives.

Renata Jasiolek, Malopolska Brussels Office : What is behind the Smart Specialisation term?

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RIS3 is prepared within the RIS3 process, which is a dy-namic and evolutionary – not a still structure – deeply grounded in an entrepreneurial discovery process (i. e. not a one-off action), where Gov-ernments are rather facilitators instead of being in a position of command and control. This strategy is for innovation lead-ers and for those lagging be-hind. It is about maximising the knowledge-based develop-ment potential of any region.Based on those processes, re-gions and national authorities

should prepare Operational Programmes which will be used to implement smart spe-cialisation strategies.

On the one side Smart Spe-cialisation wants to take the good from the past, but on the other it does want to break with what was unsuccessful or was absent. The foreseeable positive phe-nomena are as follows:

Widespread experience of national/regional innovation strategies in the framework of the EU Cohesion Policy;

Achieved greater co-opera-tion among private and public stakeholders and better com-munication between technol-

What is essential for a well-pre-pared Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisa-tion?

What are the differences be-tween the concept of smart specialisation and the former concept of innovative regions as in the financial perspectives 2007-2013?

This strategy is for innovation leaders and for those lagging behind.

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ogy providers and customers.The negative ones that should be avoided are:

Not being in tune with the industrial and economic fabric of regions

Understanding innovation under a too narrow vision, con-sidering mainly (or only) the technological one

The best performing regions were just copied and resources spread across all sectors

A lack of transnational and trans-regional perspectives.

The implementation of Smart Specialisation might encoun-ter some challenges during the operational phase. The regions or states have to choose their own paths of development among modernisation (upgrade of the current capacities), di-versification (looking for new development domains), tran-sition (change of the current economic structure) or radical foundation (establishment of totally new industries or ser-vices). The regional economic landscape consists of different kind of actors which should be

Analysis

Priorities

Vision

ProcessMonitoring

Policy Mix

RIS3

RIS3 GUIDE - KEY STEPS FOR DEVELOPING A RIS3

STEP 1 - Analysis of regional context/potentialSTEP 2 - Governance - EPDSTEP 3 - Vision for the futureSTEP 4 - Selection of prioritiesSTEP 5 - Policy MixSTEP 6 - Monitoring and evaluation

involved in the RIS3 process. The next steps in this process are policy tools to prepare diagnosis, stakeholder involve-ment, investment priority se-lection, monitoring and evalu-ation. Finally the design of adequate funding tools is also an important issue. In order to facilitate the relatively complex strategic processes, the Euro-pean Commission established the S3 Platform in the Insti-tute of Prospective Technologi-cal Studies, one of the seven Institutes of the Joint Research Centre.

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The JRC is the European Commission’s in-house sci-entific service, in charge of providing EU policies with independent, evidence-based scientific and technical support throughout the whole policy cycle. In the case of S3 Plat-form, its activities include:

Providing guidance material and practice examples

Organising information sessions for policy makers and participating in conferences

Providing training to policy-makers

Facilitating peer-reviews Supporting access to

relevant data Participating in high quality

research projects to inform strategy formation and policy making

Interactive tools, S3 Newsletter and Website: Eye@RIS3, Regional Benchmarking

RIS3 process self-assessment tool.

Currently 14 EU Countries, 150 EU regions, 2 non-EU regions have registered with the Platform, out of which 7 countries and 46 regions have been peer-reviewed. We warm-ly welcome Poland as country and the 15 Polish regions that have registered with the S3 Platform.

What is an S3 Platform? SMARTS Specialisations - CROSSROADS?

In order to facilitate the relatively complex strategic processes, the European Commission established the S3 Platform

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PATHS

Modernisation

Diversification

Transition

Radical Foundation

POLICY TOOLS

ACTORS

Sleeping giant

Excited goblins

Hungry dwarfs

FUNDING TOOLS

WHY?

HOW?

WHEN?

WHERE?

WHAT?

WHO?

What is an S3 Platform? SMARTS Specialisations - CROSSROADS?

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RIS³, an opportunity to build a regional intelligence

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Belgian, commercial engineer. Has an experience of more than 30 years in lobbying the European Union administration.

Executive Manager of EURADA (The European Association of Development Agencies) since 1992. The association has approximately 120 members operating in more than 25 countries. His involvement led to the creation of EBAN, the European network promoting the stimulation of informal venture capital at regional or national level. He coordinates efforts to sustain the IRE (Innovating Regions in Europe) network.Recently been appointed chairman of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S³) Mirror Group set up by DG Regio in order to build awareness of that new concept amongst the regions. He has written several papers regarding the impact of EU regulations on regional development, the role of development agencies in Europe and the importance of SMEs in economic development. He has also written documents concerning entrepreneurship, access to finance by SMEs, territorial intelligence, public support services in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation, eco-innovation, … One of his latest papers is the popular „Directory of ‚No-Nonsense’ Activi-ties To Build S³-minded Regions”. Christian has managed several projects co-financed by the EU administration in the field of regional develop-ment, enterprise cooperation, access to finance, globalization, innovation and capacity building for RDA managers in non EU countries.

CHRISTIAN SAUBLENS The RIS³ fundamental idea relies on the one hand on the en-trepreneurial discovery principle and on place-based competi-tive advantages on the other hand. Many regions are used to conducting a SWOT analysis every five or six years in order to access ERDF funding. Through this method, they mainly assess their position in a regional and national context and more sel-domly in the European or worldwide one. Between two SWOT analyses, there is little evaluation and as most of the evaluation exercises are based on transaction counts and not on understand-ing a transformation process, nobody keeps records of what was found in the previous exercises. With all the investments made to fulfill the RIS³ ex ante conditionality, it would be a good idea to start an ongoing exercise based on regional intelligence. As in the case of enterprises, it is useful to build an intelligence service to understand and follow-up in real time trends which are likely to affect the current competitive advantages of the region and of its enterprise portfolio.

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Five main topics should be taken into consideration in the re-gional intelligence system, i.e.

The composition of the entrepreneurial portfolio The attitude of key stakeholders towards innovation The way key stakeholders are benefiting from public supports The position of regional stakeholders in their sectorial global

value chain The number of actors in niche markets

The basis of such intelligence is a rather fine segmentation of the regional entrepreneurial portfolio. This segmentation would pro-vide two types of information: which are the strategic enterprises for the region (big, small and start-ups) and which enterprises need what type of support services.

With all the investments made to fulfill the RIS³ ex ante conditionality, it would be a good idea to start an ongoing exercise based on regional intelligence.

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* Source EURADA, adapted from presentation by Graemen Remison of Scottish Enterprise (UK), at DG CONNECT 15.5.2013

The graph above illustrates the rationale of this segmentation based on the enterprise portfolio. This underlines that the world of enterprises is not a monolithic concept, that support services need to be tailored to the absorption capacity of enterprises, and that the knowledge intensity of support services has to be adapt-ed to the real needs of the different categories of enterprises.

NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES

TYPE

OF

SUPP

ORT

SERV

ICES

INCREASED KNOWLEDGE INTENSITY IN THE SUPPORT SERVICES

Basic support services

Intermediary support services

Advanced support services

World class support services

First contact,promotion of onthe shelf servicesonline info

Events, workshops,general advice and funding

Specialised services and funding, vouchers, clusters support

Excellence and high added value support services and funding scheme

The basis of such intelligence is a rather fine segmentation of the regional entrepreneurial portfolio.

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The attitude of key stakeholders towards innovation could be com-prehended by collecting data regarding the following issues:

What are the new ideas/products, processes, improved old products/processes that were brought to the market by local enterprises over the past three to five years?

What was the process to bring those ideas to the market (start at the lab, result of a R&D project, observation on the shop floor, idea in the manager’s head)?

Where did the enterprises find the capital for the various stages of the ‘idea to market’ journey (self-finance, venture, grants, bank loans, corporate co-sharing funding, research grants, …)?

Where did the talent and skills come from (in house, consultant contract, recruitment, …)?

Where was the know-how found (in house, outsourcing)? What were the public supports – if any – which made a real dif-

ference?

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As far as the entrepreneurial discovery process at enterprise level is concerned, it can be detected by collecting data on:

Business investment into production/use of cutting-edge tech-nology including robotics, nanotechnology, advanced IT, high value-adding services, etc.;

Investment into productivity gains by businesses operating in non-relocatable industries or non-commercial sectors including healthcare, wellness, tourism, retail, etc.;

Take up by local businesses operating in a niche market of ad-vanced support services including seed and venture capital, IP rights, proof of concept, internationalisation, etc.

Above regional average business investment into R&D+I, staff training and strategic intelligence;

Techniques implemented by enterprises in order to reward their innovative staff.

The RIS³ relies on the one hand on the entrepreneurial discovery principle and on place-based competitive advantages on the other hand.

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The way key stakeholders are benefiting from public supports could be addressed by drafting a catalogue of tools available in the region. This catalogue should provide information concerning:

Priority area: start-up support, R&D+I, internationalisation, competitiveness enhancing, FDI attraction, cluster policy, …

Objectives: management improvement, access to funding sourc-es, training, technology innovation, non-technology innovation, legal advice, first client search, access to business infrastructures, internationalisation support, networking/social capital, …

Services to be received: loans, equity, grants, guarantee, advice, mentoring/coaching, training, …

Target/beneficiaries: would be entrepreneurs, start-ups, gazelles, micro-enterprises, hidden champions, …

Forms: direct grants, vouchers, …

I +D £ € $

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Deliverables: number of hours of training or mentoring re-ceived, volume of funding attracted, number of staff recruited, increased volume of export sales, number of new/improved products/ services introduced into the market, volume of invest-ment made, …

Implementation agencies: ministry, agency, chamber of com-merce, …

Supported enterprise data: name, location, date of birth, depart-ment/unit which signed the agreement

The analysis of the beneficiaries list could provide information on the way enterprises are using the support services: one shot vs. repetitive; preference for funding with or without coaching; graduation in the complexity of the scheme vs. preference for basic schemes; average cofounding amount. Indeed, the system would al-low to collect and analyse data regarding the beneficiaries such as:

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Type of enterprises (age, size, legal form, …) Geo-localisation of beneficiaries (cities, rural areas, location in

science parks, in incubators, in industrial parks, …) Number of supports received, frequency of the support, … Type of supports (grants, loans, advice, coaching, …) Knowledge intensity of the support (awareness, social capital,

…) Part of the business or project lifecycle (start-up, development

of idea, prototyping, production, marketing, …) Sequence of the support (one shot, advice followed by a fund-

ing, funding without advice, …) Department or unit of the enterprise having access to the sup-

port (CEO, research, production, international, …).

RIS³ is about place-based competitive advantages, a real understanding of niche markets is essential to keep them alive.

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An overview of the position of key enterprises in their sectoral value chain is critical to assess the type of support needed to face global competition and to anticipate change in the demand or in the relocation of the different parts of the enterprise value chain (R&D, manufacturing, marketing, decisional and support func-tions).

Finally, as RIS³ is about place-based competitive advantages, a real understanding of niche markets is essential to keep them alive. Remember that most regions have the same generic hopes and as-sets (alternative energy, bio-industry, agro-food, automotive, health, ICT, tourism, …). Therefore, the only way to make a difference is in well-defined niches.

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In conclusion, such intelligence services can help public authori-ties invest in the provision of high value-added services and in the reinforcement of specialist organisations.

High value-added services can be grouped into several broad categories (non-exhaustive list):

Protection of intellectual property rights, support to R&D activities and up-scaling quality;

Accelerated commercialisation of research project outcomes; Detection of innovative dormant projects through the imple-

mentation of innovation management schemes; Improving the quality of demand for finance emanating from

SMEs (via investment readiness schemes, business angels networks, etc.);

Boosting growth (turnover and employment) of businesses accommodated in incubators;

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Ensuring that staff of university / research centre / business and investor interfaces are themselves genuinely entrepre-neurial and/or that their remuneration is performance-based;

Training skilled staff specialised in innovation management and commercialisation

Appropriation by subcontractor SMEs of management methods that help reassuring large principal contractors (6sigma, LEAN, co-development, etc.);

Creation and management of multi-sectoral or multidiscipli-nary platforms in order to boost applied research as well as innovation and internationalisation;

Technology and market intelligence; Networking enterprises between themselves or with service

providers.

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Smart Specialisation seen from Brussels level

Richard Tuffs has a degree in geography and social sciences and master’s degrees in town planning, applied linguistics and business ad-ministration.  His career spans town planning, applied linguistics, language and management training, university lecturing and research and education administration.He has been director of the ERRIN network since October 2010. Richard has been working in the regional dimension of European policy in territorial cohesion and research for many years and worked for the Kent and the West Midlands offices in Brussels before joining ERRIN.Richard has been in involved in numerous EU projects such as science communication, Future Internet, Smart Specialisation, and eco-innovation. He is a member of the Smart Specialisation Mirror Group established by the European Commission and was the rapporteur for the European Commission expert group on the Capital of Innovation prize launched in 2013. He is often invited to moderate and present at conferences on European research and innovation topics.

Interview with Richard Tuffs director of European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN)

At the Brussels-level, regions have found that their regional offices are very important for understanding and influencing European policy

RICHARD TUFFS

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Richard Tuffs : This impressive achievement is in part due to research and innovation being seen as a key source of regional competitiveness and support for investment in research and innovation at the regional level from EU policies since the launch of the Lisbon Strategy in 2000 and now the Europe 2020 Strategy. Regions are now aware that it is important to raise their profile, exchange knowledge and develop part-nerships with other regions in order to compete in an increas-ingly global and competitive

marketplace. At the Brussels-level, regions have found that their regional offices are very important for understand-ing and influencing European policy, making regional actors aware of European opportuni-ties and developing partner-ships for European projects and raising the profile of their region. ERRIN is able to sup-port regional offices in all these activities through its working groups organized in Brussels.

Monika Turek Malopolska Re-gion Brussels Office: ERRIN was founded in 2001. After almost 13 years it became a network of 104 regions! How do you explain such an impressive achievement?

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ERRIN has four main pri-orities that guide its activities. These priorities are policy, pro-jects, profile and partnership. In terms of policy, ERRIN seeks to understand, commu-nicate and influence European research and innovation policy. This could mean more fund-ing for research and innova-tion and more opportunities for project development at the regional level. Increasingly regions are interested in sup-porting project development at the European level for their key stakeholders in the region.

Project development is impor-tant both the for the funding and support it brings to the region but just as importantly supporting strategic policies in the region of regions both collectively and individually is important. Regarding profile, ERRIN provides a voice for regions and their stakeholders within the research and inno-vation domain and highlights the importance of regional innovation ecosystems for the overall competitiveness of Europe. ERRIN also supports its members regions indi-

vidually so that they can make other regions aware of their strengths and opportunities for European partnerships or inward investment. The fourth P is partnership. ERRIN both depends on and supports part-nership working between all its members. ERRIN involves its members on a regular and intensive basis to support and organize thematic working groups, to develop events for the network, find and invite good speakers and generally support the ERRIN mission. Partnership is all about sharing

By working together and across borders, regions can influence policy, can develop successful projects and make sure that their activities are known in Brussels.

What are the main priorities of ERRIN?

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and making sure that 1+1=3! By working together and across borders, regions can influence policy, can develop successful projects and make sure that their activities are known in Brussels.

The role of the Working Group is to facilitate activities based around the ERRIN four P’s. Each Working Group is led by a small group of regions who develop an annual work plan. This work plan outlines the number of meetings over the year and the activities of the group. Each group will of course be different according to the subject matter and regional interests and opportunities. Most groups, however, will wish to make sure that they are gaining knowledge of policies in their topic area and where

possible early intelligence so that the regions can be ahead of the game. One important area for most groups is look-ing for European opportunities and developing projects among members. By being part of the working group, regions can also highlight their profiles and interests and find partners for future projects.

ERRIN has 13 thematic Working Groups. How does a WG work?

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In a lobbying sense, it is always difficult to argue that any one person, region, country or net-work changed a policy. How-ever, it is clear that ERRIN has remained a strong supporter of the regional dimension within EU research and innovation policy. Our campaigns have not always been successful. ERRIN tried to protect the ‘Regions of Knowledge’ programme, a programme that received a positive evaluation and which our members had found useful. Despite a campaign based on position papers, often joined

by other regional networks, the programme was not carried into Horizon 2020. However, our campaign did put pressure on the European Commission to retain the methodology with Interreg Europe 2014-2020 which notes that ‘The pro-gramme should also integrate and build on results generated through previous EU initiatives in relation to innovation and cluster support, for instance the “Regions of Knowledge” initiative’. ERRIN has also been active in promoting the current call for the Enterprise

Europe Network 2015-2020 to be more focused on innova-tion and internationalization of SME’s and noted in the call which states that ‘the Network will foster the development of internationally competitive companies and will stimulate the innovation capacities of European SMEs’.

Does ERRIN’s network have influence on EU policies? Could you give some examples?

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The Smart Specialisation con-cept is new and each region has to grasp the concept within its own institutional context. However, ERRIN considers that the smart specialisation is important for regions as it can help build more synergies between research and innova-tion and regional strategies and funding. This is why ERRIN now has an active Smart Spe-cialisation Working Group. ERRIN, along with ten of its member regions, is involved in a FP7 project on smart spe-cialisation. This project brings

together the top academics and experts in the field and other respected networks. This pro-ject will provide lots of answers to the above question but ERRIN considers that there are two areas where smart specialisation can contribute to regional competitiveness.The first is by using the ‘entre-preneurial discovery process’ which means for many regions a new approach to policy mak-ing. This process involves a much stronger involvement of what is termed the ‘triple he-lix’ – business, education and

research institutes and local and regional governments. The ‘entrepreneurial discovery process’ is a more bottom-up and market-focused approach which helps to identify where the region has a competitive advantage and aims to re-ally get to grips with what we might term the ‘real economy’ – what do we make and what do we sell? Not all regions have the experience of the open dia-logue that is needed between partners and this is where the ERRIN Smart Specialisation Working Group has helped

According to ERRIN, how can regions improve their competi-tiveness by applying the smart specialisation concept?

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regions compare their differ-ing approaches to developing regional strategies. By creat-ing the strong links between ‘triple-helix’ players, the region can support an effective re-search and innovation ecosys-tem.Secondly, the identification of regional specialisations can help regions find partner re-gions that share the same spe-cialisations. This means that regions can work together to mutually strengthen clusters, complete global value chains and generally seek partner-

ship opportunities. The work of identifying regions with similar specialisations is being under-taken by the smart specialisa-tion platform but here ERRIN can make this a more personal-ized contact between regions through the ERRIN thematic working groups.

All regions are different in terms of their geography, his-tory and their economic and political context. So there can be no one size fits all. ERRIN mainly works with regional offices in Brussels and these too will vary depending on the size and length of time in Brussels. It is clear that regions that are identified as innova-tion leaders by the Regional Innovation Scoreboard are quite different from regions identified as modest innova-tors. These differences are often accounted for by geographical

Not all regions are on the same level of innovation performance. Does ERRIN have different ap-proach to regions with lower innovation levels?

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peripherally, high-level uni-versities, large companies in research intensive sectors and good connectivity and qual-ity of life. Strong research and innovation regions can con-tribute to ERRIN by taking a stronger leadership role often in the thematic working groups and playing a stronger role in policy statements developed by ERRIN. Regions with lower innovation levels may need more support to find the right contacts in Brussels whether in the European Commission or other regions and here ERRIN

can provide a very useful sup-port service and help these regions build their regional office capacity over time. In a recent Horizon 2020 training session organized by ERRIN we examined opportunities for less-developed regions in Europe through the Horizon 2020 teaming and twinning programme, the future ERA Chair programme and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions such as the COFUND pro-gramme. Strategic thinking around these three funding streams can provide regions

with funding to improve their research and innovation per-formance.

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Malopolska Region joined ERRIN in 2013. What is the added value of Malopolska being a member?

The added-value for Malopolska is that they can use the ERRIN network to gain knowledge of the European research and in-novation agenda and make sure that regional actors back in the region can also share this knowl-edge. The ERRIN network is an excellent network to exchange information and soft intelligence on EU policies. Our weekly e-alert and on-line calendar pro-vides information on events and meetings in Brussels and a range of information on research and innovation that can be useful to regional partners. The region can

choose the thematic working groups that it wishes to be part of and contribute to their devel-opment. This gives the region access to regions with similar interests which allows Malopol-ska to identify future partners or just benchmark its activities against other regions. Impor-tantly, ERRIN can also identify opportunities for the region. ERRIN is involved in many European committees and fo-rums and often these forums ask the advice of ERRIN regarding regional policies and activities. Where possible, ERRIN will

always seek to find opportunities in such meetings for ERRIN members and help them raise their profile in Europe.Malopolska also adds value to the ERRIN network. As we move to 113 members, the critical mass of ERRIN becomes more important and therefore we can have more influence in policy shaping, attract higher-level speakers to ERRIN events. The European Commission would rather communicate one message to a hundred regions in one go than receive 100 indi-vidual enquiries.

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The added-value for Malopolska is that they can use the ERRIN network to gain knowledge of the European research and innovation agenda

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Malopolska smart specialisation

The origins of the concept of smart specialisations are to be found in the European Commission report published in 2009, entitled Knowledge for Growth. It was a result of studies con-ducted by an advisory group investigating efficient ways of im-plementing public policies in the filed of innovation. The report shows that public authorities, especially on regional level should identify domains in which they will be able to reach comparative advantages of their national and regional economies, among oth-ers by giving incentives for investment to economic actors.

Such a reasoning was approved by European decision makers and the concept of smart specialisation was enshrined in the Europe 2020 Strategy. In this document, the development of smart specialisations aims to reach the targets of smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth set by the Strategy.

Public policies implemented accordingly to the smart spe-cialisation principle differ from others mainly by so called en-

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trepreneurial discoveries, which are interactive processes where economic actors economic actors supply policy makers with information on specificities of the region regarding research, growth and innovation. On this basis public authorities make decisions.

It is worth underlining that in the framework of the Europe 2020 Strategy smart specialisation became a key element of regional innovation policies included in regional strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3).

Smart specialisation is part of the Regional Innovation Strategy for Małopolska Voivodeship 2014-2020 (RSI WM), one of the ten strategic programmes designed by the region for the implementa-tion of European Union projects. In of the RSI WM the accent is set on supporting of regional specialisation of Małopolska. The key domains for specialisation were set on the basis of Technological Fore-sight for Sustainable Growth of Małopolska and A Technological

Graduate of the Faculty of Economics and International Relations, Cracow University of Economics (specialisation in Economy and Public Administration). Assistant in the Department of Economics and Public Administration, Cracow University of Economics. Participant R&D pro-jects in the field of innovation, analysis of public policies and regional development and author of various publications on this subject. His research topics also include the issue of network forms of governance in economy. Member of the Task For-ce in charge of the Regional Innovation Strategy for the Malopolska Region 2013-2020 (RSI WM) and co-editor of the RSI WM. His academic work includes regional policy issues, local and regional development and local governance.

PIOTR KOPYCIŃSKI

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Perspective Cracow-Małopolska 2020. The selection was also sup-ported by the Growth Strategy for Małopolska Region 2011-2020 and conclusions drawn from studies of the regional economy conducted for the purpose of RSI WM. Public consultations and debates with stakeholders during the meetings of the Task-force for preparing the RSI WM, the Małopolska Innovation Council, Małopolska Information Society Council and others, brought also an important input. Taking part in those bodies were representatives of stakehold-ers’ groups, i.e. business, education, business-related institutions and local and regional authorities.

The development of smart specialisations aims to reach the targets of smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth set by the Strategy.

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The RSI WM is still under discussion. At the date of publication of this text, the following domains were included on the list of smart specialisations for Małopolska:

Life science Sustainable energy Information and communication technologies

(including multimedia) Chemistry

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This selection is not without having an impact on directions the regional innovation policy will take in Małopolska in the up-coming years. As it is mentioned in the European Commission Guidelines for Strategies of Innovation and Smart Specialisation (RIS 3), regional growth strategies include references to smart specialisation:

They allow to focus the political and investment support on key regional priorities, challenges and needs for smart growth, based on knowledge and ICT

They support a better use of strengths, comparative advan-tages and regional potential

They give good ground for fostering and implementing inno-vative solutions and stimulate investment of the private sector

They lead to a wider engagement of stakeholders in designing and implementing of public policies by giving incentives to innovation and experiments

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This selection is not without having an impacton directions the regional innovation policy willtake in Małopolska in the upcoming years.

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From smart specialisation to the Vanguard Initiative

Jan Larosse is senior policy advisor for innovation and industrial policies of the Flemish Government. He has worked also several years as seconded expert for DG Research, among other things on the development of the smart specialisation approach. He is managing the secretariat of the ‘Vanguard Initiative New Growth by Smart Specialisation’.

JAN LAROSSE

The ambition at the time was to influence the emerging debate on a new industrial renaissance in Europe

an interview with Jan Larosse, senior political advisor for industry and innovation by the Flemish Government.

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Jan Larosse: Flanders has adopted smart specialisation as a methodological element of its new innovation and industrial policies. This occurred gradu-ally, because we were looking for an appropriate approach for prioritization in innovation and industrial policy already for a while: what activities should deserve priority sup-port in the transformation of our economy? We have always believed firmly in a bottom-up approach. Therefore our policy makers where very charmed by the principle of the ‘entrepre-

neurial discovery’ as a basis for prioritization in smart speciali-sation. The Ministers of In-novation and Economy – later also our Minister-President – have adopted smart spe-cialisation as a framework for further developing their new, more targeted innovation and industrial policies in an inter-national and in particular Eu-ropean perspective. We devel-oped the idea about this wider role of smart specialisation in discussions with Commission services, such as the Unit for Smart and Sustainable Growth

of Mikel Landabasso in DG Regio, and with regional repre-sentations in Brussels. The organization of a success-ful High-Level Conference of 8 November 2013 in the Eu-ropean Parliament by Flanders and DG Regio, under the title ‘Regions as motors for new growth by smart specialisation’, with the support of President Herman Van Rompuy and the Commissioners Hahn and Geoghean-Quinn, was a mile-stone in positioning the strategic importance of smart specialisation as a policy driver

Renata Jasiolek, Malopolska Brussels Office: Flanders was initiator of Vanguard Initia-tive. How it begun, who hit upon this idea?

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for new growth in Europe. The idea for a special engage-ment of the regions was sug-gested in preparing this event by the moderator, Ann Mettler of the Lisbon Council. So we did. At the initiative of our Minister-President, the po-litical leaders and representa-tives of 10 regions agreed at a lunch-meeting in the margin of this Conference, to start a ‘Vanguard Initiative New Growth through Smart Spe-cialisation’. The ambition at the time was to influence the emerging debate on a new in-

dustrial renaissance in Europe, to capitalise more on the bot-tom-up dynamics of clusters in the regions that want to engage in interregional cooperation around the value chains of the future with their smart spe-cialisations. This position was expressed in signing a Letter to the President of the European Council on 30 January with political leaders and represent-atives of 15 regions. And now we are 17. The door is open to all who want to ‘lead-by-example’ in developing these interregional cooperations,

giving support to the growth of regional clusters to world-class clusters together with the Eu-ropean Commission.

Smart specialisation is maybe the most impor-tant new strategic approach for enhancing new growth in Europe.

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Does Flanders, as a region, see smart specialisation as the key way of sustainable growth in Europe?

Therefore I believe that smart specialisation is maybe the most important new strategic approach for enhancing new growth in Europe. It cannot be detached from political leadership at regional, na-tional and European level to engage in these new markets with all available instruments, from new regulations to new infrastructures. But the op-erationalisation of truly smart specialisation strategies that give ownership of the discovery

process to strong clusters will unleash a multiple of entrepre-neurial investments, beyond what European programmes can achieve alone.

The operationalisation of truly smart specialisation strategies that give ownership of the dis-covery process to strong clusters will unleash a multiple of entrepreneurial investments, beyond what European programmes can achieve alone.

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clusters. Because we will have to align our policies and strate-gies to develop complementa-rities. We cannot develop new markets for bio-based products, health solutions our e-mobility in Flanders alone. These are new markets that respond to major societal challenges and require systemic changes at in-ternational scale. We want to

be competitive in specific seg-ments of these European lead-markets. We can only do so if we align our efforts, to build critical mass, find complemen-tarities in the new value chains, and in doing so ‘discover’ our true smart specialisations.

In your opinion, as an expert of innovation and industrial polices, is smart specialisation a chance for EU?

Smart specialisation doesn’t apply only to our operational programmes to access struc-tural funds. We have adopted it for guiding our industrial and innovation policies to enable strong clusters with an inter-national position. In this way we recognise the international interconnectedness of our poli-cies and of the strategies of our

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The ultimate hope is that ‘smart specialisation for new growth’ will be mainstreamed. So that the Vanguard Initia-tive is not needed anymore and that all regions and all policy levels have incorporated the smart specialisation approach, to use each other’s investments for common goals. This might take some time. Therefore the

partner regions are animated by a strong motivation to lead-by-example and learn from the Vanguard Initiative pilot activities, such as the co-devel-opment together with Euro-pean Commission services of a Smart Specialisation Platform for Advanced Manufacturing. We hope to show first results before the Summer.

What kind of hopes, the mem-ber regions, place in Vanguard Initiative?

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Malopolska is conquering Brussels

Malopolska recently joined the elite club of the “Vanguard Ini-tiative”, a group of leading regions in the field of innovation.

This front line initiative for a sustainable growth based on smart specialisation, the so-called “Vanguard Initiative”, is a political initiative launched by leaders of highly developed regions of the European Union, which want to set standards and give directions for growth in the EU. In concrete terms it means designing and implementing smart specialisation strategies. Regions associated with the “Vanguard Initiative” have considered smart speciali-sation not only as an ex-ante condition for European cohesion policy, but also as a paramount rule for designing their own poli-cies in the field of innovation and industry.

The concept of the “Vanguard Initiative” was born during a high-level conference organised in Brussels on the 8th of Octo-ber 2013. In line with the adopted declaration, partners of the Vanguard Initiative have agreed to extend the use and spread smart specialisation principles in order to enhance EU’s competi-tiveness and ensure its future growth.

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The cooperation envisaged by regional leaders aims at  support-ing the implementation of the Industrial Compact by developing multilevel European investments and cluster initiatives in new or modernised industries. In a long term, it aims to generate jobs and economic growth by orienting investment on strategic prior-ities for reindustrialisation. Among the members of the Vanguard Initiative are regions with high industrial ambitions and smart specialisation strategies, which can lead to a significant restruc-turing of their industries (Basque country, Flanders, Lombardy, Malopolska, North Rhine-Westphalia, Scotland, Scania, South-East Holland, Tampere and Wallonia).

Partners of the Vanguard Initiative have agreed to extend the use and spread smart specialisation principles

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The preparatory work for the European Council summit in March 2014, dedicated to the European industrial policy, was a good opportunity to underline the importance of regional authorities and bottom-up partnerships with regard to inter-regional smart specialisation for industrial growth. This is why leaders of the Vanguard Initiative on the 30th of January 2014 decided to sign a letter to Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council.

Another priority for the high profile meeting of the Vanguard Initiative leaders with European Commission officials on the 30th of January 2014 was to discuss the use of the Smart Spe-cialisation Platform S3 (mentioned in the European Commis-sion communication from the 22nd of January 2014) and the methods employed for  creating and supporting leading markets in Europe and world class clusters. The latter should benefit from inter-regional cooperation and good practices exchange and be-come competitive in the global market.

Among the members of the Vanguard Initiative are regions with high industrial ambitions and smart specialisa-tion strategies

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The participants of this high profile event also raised the subject of adapting inter-regional and European instruments supporting bottom-up cluster initiatives in 6 priority domains identified by the European Commission in 2012 as supporting the rebirth of industry in Europe.

Thanks to the efforts of the Representation of Małopolska in Brussels, this region joined this elite club, as the investments conducted by the authorities were recognised due to the use of key assets such as: human capital, entrepreneurial spirit and ini-tiative of the inhabitants. It is through those people that a strong knowledge-based industry in new technologies is raising and is recognised as the most competitive branch. By backing inno-vation and using modern technological solutions, Małopolska wishes to create a new spirit for the traditional industrial sectors, which have been the strength of the region.

In a long term, it aims to generate jobs and economic growth

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As from the beginning of 2014, the new members, who joined the Vanguard Initiative are: Rhône-Alpes, Upper Austria, Norte, Baden-Württemberg, Asturia and more are still to come...More on the Vanguad Initiative:

Vanguard Initiative New Growth through Smart Specialisation. Engagement for a European Industrial Renaissance.

By Renata Jasiolek

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1. INTRODUCTION

The European Union is emerging from its longest-ever reces-sion. EU28 GDP grew by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2013. The upturn in business sentiment and confidence indicators suggests that structural reforms, macroeconomic governance improve-ments and measures in the financial sector have succeeded in stabilising Europe’s economy. The EU is on the right track, but the recovery remains modest, with Commission forecasts of 1.4% GDP growth for the EU28 in 2014 and unemployment rates close to 11% for the next two years. That is why fostering growth and competitiveness to sustain and strengthen recovery and to achieve the goals of the Europe 2020 agenda have become the top priority for the Commission and EU Member States.

Communication from the Commission to theEuropean Parliament, the Council, the EuropeanEconomic and Social Committee and theCommittee of the Regions

22 January 2014For a European Industrial Renaissance

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2. INDUSTRIAL MODERNISATION: INVESTING IN INNOVATION, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, PRODUCTION INPUTS AND SKILLS

With scarce natural and energy resources and ambitious social and environmental goals, EU companies cannot compete on low price and low quality products. They must turn to innovation, productivity, resource-efficiency and high value-added to com-pete in global markets. Europe’s comparative advantage in the world economy will continue to lie in high value-added goods and services, the effective management of value chains and access to markets throughout the world. Thus, innovation and techno-logical advancement will remain the main source of competitive-ness for EU industry. For this reason, further efforts are needed to achieve the Europe 2020 target of spending 3% of GDP on research and development (R&D).

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2.1. Stimulating investment in innovation and new technologies

The Commission has put an increasing share of its policy, regula-tory and financial levers at the disposal of Member States, re-gions and industry to foster investment in innovation.

The Horizon 2020 Programme, in particular through its in-dustrial leadership pillar, will provide close to EUR 80 billion for research and innovation. This includes support for key enabling technologies that will redefine global value chains, enhance re-source efficiency and reshape the international division of labour.

To facilitate the commercialisation of research results, Ho-rizon 2020 will also finance closer-to-market prototypes and demonstration projects than hitherto. A key element of the new Framework Programme is joining forces with the private sector through public-private partnerships in key industrial  domains, so as to leverage further private investment. In addition, with the adoption of the new multiannual financial framework 2014-2020

Industrial policy priorities in 2014-2020, invest-ments in innovation by ESIF will be guided by the concept of ‘smart specialisation’, to allow member states and regions to concentrate in-vestment on their comparative advantages

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at least EUR 100 billion of European Strucutral and Invest-ment Funds (ESIF) are available to Member States to finance investment in innovation, in line with industrial policy priorities in 2014-2020, investments in innovation by ESIF will be guided by the concept of ‘Smart Specialisation’, to allow Member States and regions to concentrate investment on their comparative ad-vantages and to encourage the creation of cross-European value chains.

Many of the themes proposed under Smart Specialisation Strategies by the Member States and regions are related to the six strategic areas identified under industrial policy, putting a comprehensive financing package at the disposal of regions.

Many of the themes proposed under Smart Specialisation Strat-egies by the Member States and regions are related to the six strategic areas identified under industrial policy, putting a com-prehensive financing package at the disposal of regions.

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As Member States increasingly look to stimulate investment in strategic industrial areas, the Commission is modernising the State Aid Framework for R&D&I and reforming public pro-curement rules to create a critical mass on the demand side and improve efficiency in the allocation of resources in full respect of competition and internal market rules.

The need to speed up investment in breakthrough technolo-gies in fast-growing areas was the main reason the Commission decided to identify in the 2012 Industrial Policy Communication the six areas in which investment should be encouraged.

These strategic, cross-cutting areas are: advanced manufactur-ing, key enabling technologies, clean vehicles and transport, bio-based products, construction and raw materials and smart grids.

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