In essence, innovation is a firm-based process, driven by the market and dependent on many implicit and explicit factors of the innovation system. Therefore, innovation cooperation and capacity building involve complex aspects of interaction between science and the production sphere in order to translate research results into commercial products, processes and services.

To guarantee full coverage and involvement of the innovation policy stakeholders in the region, the WBC-INCO.NET consortium is complemented with three new ministerial partners for the ENHANCED phase of the project: the Directorate for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Montenegro, the Ministry of Economy of the FYR of Macedonia and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy of Albania. Furthermore, a WBC Innovation Group of Experts was created, covering high-level experts from the region and beyond in order to provide input to and spread the results of the project. Several partners and members of the WBC Innovation Group of Experts of WBC-INCO.NET ENHANCED are also involved in various innovation-related networks and activities.

Building up on the concept that boosting innovation by applying research results is a key determinant for competitiveness, WBC-INCO.NET ENHANCED will implement the following measures in order to support innovation capacities in the region:

■ Development of an Action Plan for further WBC cooperation in the field of innovation and closer cooperation between research and innovation stakeholders,
■ Exchange of information and best practices on innovation policies,
■ Implementation of trainings on technology transfer for innovation stakeholders and
■ Awareness raising measures for the research community concerning market demands and benefits of innovation.

In addition, WBC-INCO.NET ENHANCED will prolong a number of measures established by the current WBC-INCO.NET project, such as the support to the Steering Platform on Research for the Western Balkan Countries. The Steering Platform meetings will be fed with input by the newly implemented Innovation Dialogue Fora, bringing together stakeholders of the public and private sector in the region, experts from the European Commission as well as representatives of relevant multilateral initiatives and programmes. A first Innovation Dialogue Forum was successfully held on November 8 to 9, 2010 in Montenegro, focusing on the national innovation systems in the WBCs.