Smart Specialisation Newsletter

The European Commission has set up the Smart Specialisation Community of Practice (S3 CoP) and is now launching a new one-stop-shop for Smart Specialisation for EU regions. Find out everything you need to know about S3 - from concept, design and implementation through thematic smart specialisation partnerships and platforms to interactive S3 Observatory and access to expert advice, policy learning and networking opportunities via the link below. The S3 Platform is now focusing its coverage on smart specialisation in non-EU countries, offering a global perspective, and on innovation-driven transformation through the Partnerships for Regional Innovation. For a smooth experience, the S3 CoP website will provide links to pertinent archived content from the S3 Platform website.

The JRC will be present at the Festival of Regions and Cities to be held in Mons, Belgium on 18-19 March 2024. This will mark the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities organised by the Committee of the Regions and the Walloon Region, and it intends to attract crowds of regional and territorial stakeholders, politicians and decision-makers to exchange views on current challenges and solutions for the future of Europe and beyond. The JRC will be elaborating perspectives on innovation for place-based transformations and territorial development. Those present will also get the opportunity to have a look at the new ACTIONbook, published just a few weeks ago, and to explore a wealth of data and interactive tools on EU urban and rural areas! For more info, please visit the official website of the event.

It was published on 26 January 2024 by the Joint Research Centre, in collaboration with the European Committee of the Regions. This publication is the result of the Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI) one-year pilot experience and builds on top of the PRI Playbook launched in 2022. All activities in the ACTIONbook are linked to relevant practices from territories and operational tools to put them in place.

One of the most complex steps within Smart Specialisation is to determine genuinely promising areas in an evidence-based manner, with the help of multiple data. This is also the stage where the economies from the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Region lacked expertise and required support. Following the progress made by these economies in the previous period, it was possible to conduct a comparison of the methodologies used for mapping the economic, innovation, scientific, and technological potential of countries and regions, as well as reflect on the challenges encountered during the data collection process in the different territories.

The Western Balkan region and Türkiye demonstrated a strong progress in the Smart Specialisation process in the last several years. In this process, the economies were following the Smart Specialisation design and implementation frameworks for the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Region.