Research and Innovation Policy in Western Balkans - some recent developments
In recent years the Western Balkan countries have made some important efforts to overcome the negative consequences of the economic and political transition and its impact on the region’s research and innovation sectors: They adopted a variety of strategies, laws and programs to improve the performance of the sector on the national level and they improved the regional cooperation in R&D for example by committing themselves to “Western Balkans Regional R&D Strategy for Innovation” and Smart Growth pillar of the “South East European 2020 Strategy” (SEE 2020). All countries are also associated to Horizon 2020; the preliminary results show some first success stories however overall participation rate is quite low. WBC also agreed on the establishment of “Western Balkans Research and Innovation Centre” (WISE) by the end of 2015 aiming at strengthening the regional research, innovation and technology systems by providing support, advice, information and recommendations to the states, public and private institutions, non-governmental organizations and all other relevant stakeholders. However, social and political problems are still more pressing in WBC than the low level of R&D investment (Serbia and Montenegro spend on around 1% of GDP on R&D, while other countries in the region spend up to 0,3% of GDP) or support for technology transfer activities. The importance of the education, research and innovation for the overall success of the EU-integration efforts of the Western Balkans was again confirmed during the 1st Joint Science Conference held on July 15-17, 2015 in Halle and Berlin and during the second Summit Meeting on the Western Balkans held in Vienna on August 27, 2015 – both events in the framework of the Western Balkans Process, also known as the ‘Berlin process'.
Research and Innovation Policy in Western Balkans - some recent developments was in focus of the WBC-RTI.info newsletter in August 2015. Related article is available here . Please find below also a selection of the topic related articles.
News
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KeepWarm: Supporting modernisation of district heating systems in Central and Eastern Europe
The KeepWarm project, funded under H2020 Energy Efficiency, worked to accelerate investments to retrofit existing inefficient heat networks, improve system operations, and switch to renewable energy and...
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[Call Announcement] Invitation to stakeholders consultation
The 2nd on-line stakeholders consultation is being launched!
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The EIB Group boosts financing for the Western Balkans in 2020
In 2020, the EIB increased its investments in the region by almost 50%, reaching €873 million in financial commitments Lilyana Pavlova, EIB vice-president for the Western Balkans, highlights...
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Events
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Workshop on Impact Assessment, Evaluation and Monitoring of Research Infrastructures
Recently, impact assessment and/or monitoring have been highlighted as an important element of long-term sustainability of research infrastructures by ESFRI, European Commission, Competitiveness...
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New momentum for the environmental agenda in the Western Balkans and Turkey
On 22 October 2020, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and ENV.net, a regional network of environmental CSOs in the Western Balkans and Turkey, are organising an online conference for citizens’ environmental...
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Looking back, looking forward: Regional cooperation in the Western Balkans
On 6th October the European Commission will release its Enlargement Package for the Western Balkans together with a new Investment Plan for the region. According to Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, ...
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Organisations
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Ministry of Education and Science - Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina
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The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) was officially launched at the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Sofia, on 27 February 2008, ...
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Ministry of Science and Technology - Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ministry of Science and Technology performs administrative and other professional duties which refer to: • Science-research activities; strategy of the technological development of...
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Calls
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Smarten up for the future - RCC is organising the first regional online Balkathon seeking innovative solutions in Smart Tourism, Digital Learning Platform and Online Payments Solution
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In order to provide a targeted response to the global outbreak caused by COVID-19, the CEI is glad to launch the COVID-19 Extraordinary Call for Proposals 2020. The call purposely aims at addressing quickly...
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Participate in the MORE4 survey on the mobility of researchers
Support data collection and analysis concerning mobility patterns and career paths of researchers ! The study has two main strands: mobility within Europe and outside Europe.
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Documents
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THE BALKANS: OLD, NEW INSTABILITIES: A European Region Looking for its Place in the World
1. After the Nineties: A Never-Ending Political Transition 2. Europe and the Balkans: The Need for Mutual Integration 3. Making Inroads: Competing Powers in the Balkans Dimitar Bechev 4. EU, ...
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The WBC-RTI Roadshow - meet us at ESOF 2020 (flyer and video)
Two virtual sessions are being organised by the International Service Facility on behalf of the EC DG R&I at ESOF 2020, to inform and promote the strong potential of the Western Balkans' R&I capacities...
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Smart Specialisation and the Wider Innovation Policy Context in the Western Balkans
Enhancing the innovation potential has been on the policy agenda of the Western Balkan economies for years. Hence, innovation policy-making has led to a number of policy documents and strategies that ...
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Projects
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For the European deep-tech start-up scene to grow sustainably and achieve its potential impact, access to real market problems and test beds is required. It is our vision to build smart spaces ecosystem...
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Although these countries are not yet EU Member States it is important to monitor their achievements and reform efforts of social rights as candidate and potential candidate countries. This is particularly...
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Although these countries are not yet EU Member States it is important to monitor their achievements and reform efforts of social rights as candidate and potential candidate countries. This is particularly...
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