Focus:

Smart specialisation has been a key driver for Cohesion Policy since 2014 and has stressed the need for priority setting, a stronger emphasis on research and innovation and better and wider governance structures at the regional level. 

Twelve years on from its launch, smart specialisation now plays a key role in territorial development within the EU and beyond and has the potential to become a leading concept for several other related policies (notably industrial policy) in the context of the Green and Digital Transitions. 

But all policies and methodologies change, adapt and improve to face new challenges. Certainly, smart specialisation (S3) is now moving to S4 to encompass a stronger focus on sustainability (linked to the overarching EU policy drivers of Green and Digital). But also, smart specialisation can, and needs to, add another S – synergies and how to make a stronger link between research and innovation through a range of EU policies: Cohesion Policy, Horizon Europe and the Recovery Plans all driven by common missions and objectives.

This workshop with expert speakers will open this discussion with reference to two important areas of policy development:  

1. the European Commission’s New Innovation Agenda (published in July) places a (relatively) stronger emphasis on place-based innovation and this is where the future role of smart specialisation needs to be examined as a tool for creating synergies in transformation policies, by bottom-up priorities driven by European strategies (such as ‘deep tech’);

 2. new thinking on European Research Area smart intermediaries such as ERA Hubs provides a stronger emphasis on both depth and direction by means of an integrated place-based policy approach, based on regional research and innovation ecosystems where ERA Hubs will play a key role. 

But how can they make a difference? What is the missing link between the top-down and bottom-up drivers in our European Eco-innovation system?

Can ERA Hubs catalyse ‘smart complementarities’ across the regional innovation ecosystems? 

The workshop will examine success conditions for this ERA Hubs experiment and conclude with recommendations and possible next steps that regional authorities and others can take to move-on to a real multi-level European Innovation System.

Speakers
• Dimitri Corpakis, PhD, Friends of Smart Specialisation (FoSS) Co-founder and member; former EC official (Moderator)
• Markku Markkula, Former President of the CoR, President of the Helsinki Region
• Patrick Brenier, Advisor to the Director of the ERA and Open Science, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
• Pirita Lindholm, Director ERRIN
• Fatime Barbara Hegyi, PhD, Independent Researcher and formerly at EC, Joint Research Centre

Draft Agenda 
14.00 Welcome and introduction to topic – Dimitri Corpakis
14.05 Place-based innovation ecosystems providing synergies - Markku Markkula
14.15 The new Innovation Agenda: Smart specialisation and ERA Hubs – Patrick Brenier
14.25 Linking S3 and ERA Hubs – the regional challenges – Pirita Lindholm
14.35 The role of the PRI in integrating policies – Fatime Barbara Hegyi
14.45 Panel Discussion (with Dr Taina Tukiainen, Research Director, University of Vaasa (FI) and Christophe Clergeau (FR), CoR member, PES/FR, CoR rapporteur on ERA) tbc
15.20 Concluding remarks from speakers
15.30 Close