Smart specialisation: The concept and its application to EU cohesion policy

Briefing 04-10-2016

The persistent gap between European regions as regards research and innovation performance provides a strong case for policies tailored to the local context that foster structural change. This is where smart specialisation comes into play, providing a path for innovation-driven differentiation and economic transformation, building on local assets and comparative strengths. To achieve maximum impact, efforts and investments are expected to focus on a limited number of priorities, identified through a discovery process in which entrepreneurs play a central role. This place-based approach and logic of prioritisation have been found to be broadly consistent with the overall reforms of EU cohesion policy, aiming to improve spending efficiency and impact. Consequently, having a research and innovation strategy for smart specialisation (RIS3) in place has become a prerequisite to receiving funding from the European Regional Development Fund. Currently, 121 smart specialisation strategies are in place at national or regional levels. With a view to assessing how they are being implemented, the European Commission organised a high-level conference in June 2016 to evaluate progress and difficulties to date. The European Parliament, in a newly adopted resolution on RIS3 and cohesion policy, asked for periodic (annual and mid-term) monitoring of the strategies’ implementation, and called on the European Commission to push for a review in 2017 to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. This is an update of an earlier briefing published in January 2016.