About

Supporting trans-regional value chains, in shared priorities areas, is a key objective of Smart Specialisation. This is why the seventh fulfilment criterion of Policy Objective 1 “A smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation” is precisely concerned with this aspect. Regions have indeed been required to develop “Measures for international collaborations” in their S3s.

Through Smart Specialization, EU regions have increasingly engaged indifferent types of collaboration activities, linked to different EU instruments. Building on these networks, the seventh criterion is closely linked to the development of joint projects in shared S3 priority areas, among other things, through the development of Smart Specialisation Thematic Partnerships and the deployment of the I3 Instrument.

S3 CoP activities

The S3 CoP Working Group on Interregional Collaboration kicked off in June 2023 and pursues the following aims:

1. To collect and document knowledge and good practices in different European regions
2. To identify common needs, problems, and challenges
3. To co-develop, support, deploy and monitor solutions to such challenges

The working group meets twice a year, for three years, and comprises experts from the quadruple helix.

It works towards identifying and discussing a set of implementation challenges, devising activities to address them through peer-learning and expert support directly with regions. All the outcomes will be published and elaborated to ensure that they can be of support to all EU regions.

S3 Webinar on Interregional collaboration

The webinar Empowering interregional collaboration – from capacity to funding was organised by the S3 Community of Practice (S3CoP)  and the first in a series of webinars that the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, with the support of the S3 Community of Practice Secretariat, is organising for S3 stakeholders from across regions in EU Member States.   

This webinar was designed to engage S3 practitioners, policymakers, and key stakeholders in a dialogue about the challenges and opportunities in interregional collaboration. With insights drawn from the 2023 activities of the S3 CoP Interregional Working Group, this session aims to build on the groundwork of previous discussions and further enhance collaborative efforts across regions with a special focus on building capacity, securing funding, and aligning strategic objectives for sustainable development.

You can watch the webinar below.

External initiatives and publications