With job creation stagnant and economic growth stalled, the Western Balkans region faces an intensifying need to create knowledge-based economies that can generate higher-value-added jobs and stronger growth. Hoping to foster synergies among their similar interventions and build on a growing collaboration, governments from the seven economies in the Western Balkans developed a regional strategy for research and innovation. In line with the countries’ European integration processes and the goals of the European Union’s growth strategy “Europe 2020,” the overarching objective was to increase the impact of research and innovation on economic growth and employment opportunities.

The Research Excellence Fund will strengthen research capabilities in the Western Balkan countries and promote excellence by fostering collaboration between Western Balkan scientists and the region’s scientific diaspora.

The Technology Transfer Program will undertake three types of activities: (1) technical assistance to national technology transfer organizations, including help in creating them when needed; (2) matching grants for research-industry collaboration; and (3) advisory services and cofinancing for the development of science and technology parks.

The Early-Stage Start-Up Program will provide business development services along with a select group of financial instruments (pre-seed and seed financing) to nurture growth in technology-based start-ups in coordination with national initiatives and serve as a pipeline to the Western Balkans, other EDIF initiatives, and regional investors interested in later-stage financing.

The objective of the Western Balkans Innovation Strategy Exercise Facility (WISE Facility) is to promote policy stability and continuity of reform in the Western Balkans’ research and innovation sector. This sector-wide approach will ultimately help improve the quality of public expenditures on research and innovation and thereby increase the sector’s contribution to economic growth and job creation.