Specifically, the workshop was used to present best practice experiences of EU Member States on the importance of collaboration between science and economy and its positive impact on enterprise innovation and competitiveness.
The key speakers were Slavo RadoševiÊ from the Centre for Comparative Economics, University College London and Gerd Meier zu Köcker, Director of the Institute for Innovation and Technology in Berlin. Djuro Kutlaca presented results and recommended policy coordination with improved measures for innovation and competitiveness that derived from the survey conducted by ICIP. 

Evaluation of the innovation and competitiveness support programmes in Serbia

The ICIP has undertaken an in-depth analysis of the innovation and competitiveness support programmes in Serbia, aiming at raising awareness for strong policy coordination among main stakeholders to further adapt supporting tools in accordance with the needs of enterprises as well as business and innovation service providers. The result of the assessment will also contribute to an improved service-friendly climate and new qualification of programme management and support staff. In total, nine SME innovation and competitiveness support measures were
evaluated:

• Project for Supporting SMEs to Invest in Innovation
• Project for Supporting the Development of Competitiveness of SMEs and Innovation
• Project EEN (Enterprise Europe Network) in Serbia 2009–2010
• CIP/EIP Programme in Serbia 2009–2010
• Competition for Best Technology Innovation
• EU FP7 Programme
• Business Incubator Network
• Innovation Fairs
• Innovation Projects

These programmes are implemented by the Government of Serbia and managed by the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development (MoERD), the Ministry of Science and Technological Development (mSTD) – integrated within the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) since March 2011 – and the National Agency for Regional Development (NARD). For the assessment of the programmes, a sample group of 67 enterprises in total was consulted, using questionnaires and telephone contacts. In-depth interviews were held with managers of the support programmes. The assessment of the innovation and competitiveness support programmes is done against the government strategy for development of competitive and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and the related policy aims and expected intermediate results.

Reports were produced on each of the assessed programmes and support activities, including main findings and recommendations, which are the basis for the Summary Report. The individual reports, as well as a Summary Report – Recommendations and Proposed Corresponding Actions − are available as separate documents. The assessment of programmes including the individual report formulation was undertaken by a team of the Mihajlo Pupin Institute, Belgrade, consisting of Senior Expert Djuro Kutlaca and Junior Expert Sanja Popovic-Pantic as well as team members Dušica Semencenko, (as MPI expert) and with the technical support of Marija Mosurovic and Zorica Mitrovic.