Smart Specialisation Strategies - 2017 Survey Results

As in earlier years, the data for the Fraunhofer ISI RIS3 Survey was collected with QuestBack's EFS software that allows researchers to collect, review and filter data while at the same time keeping the survey anonymous . With a view to coverage, the 2017 round of the survey followed the same approach as those conducted in earlier years: policy makers and, if relevant for RIS3 policy , external stakeholders were invited by email directly. The first invitation s were sent out in early July 2017, based on a list of over 1,0 00 potential respondents that has been compiled and maintained since 2013. Reminders followed in July, August and September. The survey was closed in late September 2017.

Hence, t he list of potential respondents invited draws on that established for earlie r surveys, composed of emails collected from the JRC's RIS3 platform, other RIS3 related publications, such as those identified through own as well as emails of stakeholders that Fraunhofer ISI researchers have engaged with. While the list thus contains a "stable core", it is continuously extended and updated, while outdated or non-accessible emails as well as those of persons that indicated that would no longer like to be contacted are being removed.

In 2017, about 150 respondents began to answer the survey upon personal email invitation and about 100 of them completed it . From late July onwards, moreover, a non-personalised link was advertised online on the JRC's RIS3 Platform's website and through their internal mailing list ( which reaches broader than the list of contacts openly published on the RIS3 platform). While it must remain unknown how many additional potential respondents received invitations through this channel, the online survey system documented that 500 looked at least briefly at the detailed invitation. Subsequently, more than 90 be gan to answer the survey and more than 40 completed it.

From a technical perspective , this year’s survey result s are thus based on about 14 0 full responses and a number of partial ones covering a significant number of questions. Partial r esponses that only covered very few answers at the beginning were removed to avoid counting information from questionnaires that had not really been engaged with. Overall, the number of resp onses is the highest to be achieved in any of Fraunhofer ISI 's RIS3 surveys so far. As in prior years, duplicate answers from specific regions did occur in some cases but remained comparatively limited. Where they occured, it was often in the form of one f ull and one or more rather partial answers, suggesting that, after an initial review, it was decided th e most knowledgeable person should complete the survey. Where this was obvious, further cleaning took place. After this , most individual questions can in the following be substantiated by between 150 and 110 answers – again the highest level so far.