The workshop offers a unique opportunity for specialised training in one of the current and strategic concepts: smart specialisation for economic development. It is a combination of training on smart specialisation basic concepts and practice evolving around the presentation of the Platform and Guide on smart specialisation that the Joint Research Centre - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) has launched. The IPTS will deliver the core training and the rest of the workshop features trainings on IPA funds and S3 and the effective engagement of stakeholders as well as a series of case studies from Austria, Greece and Slovakia.

The following statement best describes the concept of smart specialisation (http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/informat/2014/smart_specialisation_en.pdf):

National/Regional Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3 strategies) are integrated, place-based economic transformation agendas that do five important things:

• They focus policy support and investments on key national/regional priorities, challenges and needs for knowledge-based development.
• They build on each country/region’s strengths, competitive advantages and potential for excellence.
• They support technological as well as practice-based innovation and aim to stimulate private sector investment.
• They get stakeholders fully involved and encourage innovation and experimentation.
• They are evidence-based and include sound monitoring and evaluation systems

Participants and Registration

This workshop is open to participants by invitation only and is relevant for stakeholders actively interested in Research and Innovation Strategy development. They might be:

• Policy makers involved in Science, Technology, Research and Innovation at the national or local/regional level (at an operational level)
• Research and Innovation experts working on shaping R&I policy in their countries or regions
• Academics actively involved in R&I policy making, implementation and assessment. 

For more information please contact:

Marija MOSUROVIC RUZICIC (MPI/RS): marija.mosurovic@pupin.rs

or SEERC/GR: contact@seerc.org