RIS3 Guide:
Research and Innovation Strategies for
Smart Specialisation
Athens, 4 September 2012
Dr Ruslan Rakhmatullin
(ruslan.rakhmatullin@ec.europa.eu)
S3 Platform
European Commission
DG JRC (IPTS)
Building on the past
• Widespread experience of national/regional innovation
strategies in the framework of the EU cohesion policy
• Strategy development exercises (RIS, RITTS, RISI)
• Inter-regional best practice demonstration (RTT, RISI2)
• Pilot actions (RIS+, RISI+)
and on its achievements …
• Greater co-operation, transparency and strengthened
expertise available in the regions
• Better communication between technology providers and
clients (including policy-makers)
• General increase of innovation funding
• Sustainability: continuance of activities and funding
… but breaking away from the past
Previous RIS have often suffered from one or more of
the following weaknesses:
• They lack an international and trans-regional perspective,
the regional innovation/economic system is considered in
isolation.
• They are not in tune with the industrial and economic fabric
of the region; there is too much public involvement in R&D
which is not sufficiently business driven.
• There is a ‘narrow’ vision of innovation.
• There is a ‘picking winner's syndrome’.
• The best performing regions are copied without
consideration of the local context.
What is RIS3?
• RIS3: (National/Regional) Research and
Innovation Strategies for Smart
Specialisation that are:
• - integrated,
• - place-based,
• - economic transformation agendas;
RIS3 is a process …
… to identify areas of specialisation / differentiation
But: How to say NO?
 Lack of critical mass / excellence
 Lack of future perspectives
 Lack of mobilisation/ a shared vision of the actors
 Consulting other regions (‘peer reviews’)
 Evaluation of the strategies / previous
experimentation (a check-list) …
Smart Specialisation Platform
Launched in 2011 to assist EU Member States and regions in
their development processes for RIS3:
• Based in the IPTS institute in Seville
• Managed by a team of representatives from the DGs of the
European Commission (REGIO, EMPL, RTD, ENTR, EAC,
INFSO, SANCO, CLIMA, AGRI and JRC)
• Supported by a group of high level experts, representatives
of networks and organisations
Services offered:
• Website: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/home
• Guidance on process for development of RIS3, analytical
support
• Organises ‘peer-reviews’ of national / regional strategies
• Conferences, working groups, trainings …
1.Alsace (FR)
2.Andalucía (ES)
3.Aquitaine (FR)
4.Aragón (ES)
5.Bretagne (FR)
6.Canarias (ES)
7.Castilla y León (ES)
8.Catalunya (ES)
9.Centre (FR)
10.Comunidad Valenciana
(ES)
11.Corse (FR)
12.Cornwall and the Isles of
Scilly (UK)
13.Dolny Śląsk (Lower
Silesia) (PL)
14.Emilia-Romagna (IT)
15.Freistaat Sachsen (DE)
16.Guadalupe (FR)
17.Guyane (FR)
18.Illes Baleares (ES)
19.Jihomoravský kraj (CZ)
20.Kainuu (FI)
21.Kent (UK)
22.La Réunion (FR)
23.La Rioja (ES)
24.Lombardia (IT)
25.Lubelskie (PL)
26.Lubuskie (PL)
27.Madrid (ES)
28.Marche (IT)
29.Martinique (FR)
30.Navarra (ES)
31.Niederösterreich (AT)
32.Noord Nederland (NL)
33.Nord-Pas-de-Calais (FR)
34.Northamptonshire (UK)
35.Northern Ireland (UK)
36.Oberösterreich (AT)
37.Podkarpackie (PL)
38.Pohjanmaa (Ostrobothnia) (FI)
39.Päijät-Häme (FI)
40.País Vasco (ES)
41.Picardie (FR)
42.Piemonte (IT)
43.Puglia (IT)
44.Região Autónoma dos Açores (PT)
45.Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (BE)
46.Región de Murcia (ES)
47.Sardinia (IT)
48.Skåne (SE)
49.Świętokrzyskie (PL)
50.Toscana (IT)
51.Västerbotten (SE)
52.Västra Götaland (SE)
53.Vlaanderen (BE)
54.Vest (RO)
55.Wallonia (BE)
56.Weser-Ems (DE)
57.West Midlands (UK)
58.Województwo Podlaskie (PL)
59.Sachsen-Anhalt (DE)
60. Berlin (DE)
61. Brandenburg (DE)
62. Champagne-Ardenne (FR)
63. Mazowieckie (PL)
64. Bratislava (SK).
65. Picardie (FR)
66. Buckinghamshire (UK)
67. Satakunta (FI)
68. Wielkopolska (PL)
69. Castilla la Mancha (ES)
70. Asturias (ES)
71. Norte (PT)
72. Galicia (ES)
73. Centro (PT)
74. Alto Baixo (PT)
75. North-Hungarian Region (HU)
76. Cantabria (ES)
77. Pomorskie (PO)
78. Attiki (GR)
79. Oulu (FI)
80. Languedoc-Roussillon (FR)
Support to regions in preparing RIS3
Assessment of draft
and final RIS3
Thematic
working groups
Seminars in Member
States and Regions
Informal Peer
Review workshops
RIS3 Guide
Website with special
access for regions
and interactive tools
The RIS3 Guide
Edited by JRC IPTS in association with
DG REGIO and with contributions from:
 D. Foray, P. McCann, J. Goddard,
K. Morgan, C. Nauwelaers, R. Ortega
 Representatives of various EC DGs
 S3 Platform research team
Available on the S3 Platform site:
http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu
Key steps for developing RIS3
Step 1 – Analysis of regional context/potential
Step 2 – Governance
Step 3 – Vision for the future
Analysis
Step 4 – Selection of priorities
Step 5 – Policy mix
Step 6 – Monitoring and evaluation
Process
Monitoring
RIS3
Policy mix
Vision
Priorities
Step 1 – Analysis of regional context and
potential for innovation (I)
 A broader definition of innovation, not just
RTD-oriented
 Assess existing regional assets
 Identify regional competitive advantage
 Detect emerging niches for smart
specialisation
 Combine methods (e.g. regional profiling,
SWOT approach; surveys)
Step 1 – Analysis of regional context –
looking out – and potential for innovation (II)
Outward-looking Analysis:
 Assess region’s positioning within
the EU
 Beware of global companies and
value chains
 Flows of knowledge and skills
 Avoid ‘blind’ duplication, discover
possibilities for collaboration
 Combine methods (e.g. studies;
interviews; interregional work
groups)
Step 1 – Analysis of regional context and
potential for innovation (III)
Analysis of entrepreneurial dynamics and identification of
future opportunities:
 Different types of actors
 Spirit of the entrepreneurial environment
 Involvement of entrepreneurial actors in
the regional economy
 Firms, but also Universities, Technology
Centers, Venture Capitalists, Regional
Development Agencies..
 Identify economic differentiation potential
 Combine methods
 consultation with firms, clusters;
technological audits; foresight studies
Step 2 – Governance: Ensuring
participation and ownership
Wider engagement of stakeholders:
 Include the demand-side
perspective  Quadruple Helix
 Collaborative leadership
 Boundary spanning individuals
and organisations
 Dedicated Steering Group/
Knowledge Leadership Group,
Management Team, Working
groups
Step 3 – Developing an overall vision of
the region’s future
Shared vision of the region’s potential and main
directions for its international positioning:
 Formulate different scenarios
based on analyses and debate
where your region wants to go
 Produce a positive tension
towards the future
 Guarantee long-term
engagement of stakeholders
 Mobilising power
Step 4 – Identification of priorities
Decision-making step where top-down meets bottom-up:
 Focus on a limited number of areas
with potential for smart
specialisation as emerged from
entrepreneurial discovery
 Areas where the region hopes to
excel
 Pay attention to horizontal priorities
(Key Enabling Technologies, social
innovation, etc.)
 Avoid capture by interest groups!
Step 5 – Definition of a coherent policy
mix, roadmaps and action plan
Organising and detailing rules and tools:
 Roadmap will include:
 Action plan  target groups,
objectives, timeframes,
indicators, sources of funding
and budget allocations
 Pilot projects  experiment
with unprecedented policy
mixes, obtain inputs for
updating RIS3 strategies
Step 6 – Integration of monitoring and
evaluation mechanisms
Mechanisms integrated in the strategy:
 Monitoring  to verify the
correct and efficient
implementation of activities
 Evaluation  to verify whether
and how strategic goals are
met
 Importance of ex-ante setting
of measurable targets and
output/outcome indicators
The importance of communication of RIS3
Good communication is crucial:
 To ensure RIS3 endorsement
by all stakeholders
 To engage new stakeholders
 To inform the general public
 Communication is needed at
every stage of the process
What is Smart Specialisation ?
= Evidence-based considering
all assets and problems in a
region, incl. External perspective
/ internal / global market (critical
mass? Opportunities? excellence?
cooperation? Value chains?)
= No top-down decision, but
dynamic /entrepreneurial
discovery process uniting key
stakeholders around shared vision
= Mobilisation of investments and
synergies across different
departments and governance
levels (EU-national-regional)
= All forms of innovation – no
only technology driven
= Differentiation: SWOT analysis (all
types of assets), competitive advantages,
potential for excellence, opportunities
= Concentration of resources on
priorities, problems and core needs (no
sprinkler principle, no picking the winners,
yes to catalytic investments)
= Place-based economic
transformation: rejuvenating traditional
sectors through higher value-added
activities, cross-sectoral links, new market
niches by sourcing-in and disseminating
new technologies rather than re-inventing
the wheel; exploiting new forms of
innovation
(Peer) Review and update of RIS3
Formulating and implementing a RIS3 is a
continuous process:
 Need to adapt and update the
strategy
 Information is gathered during
implementation and incorporated
into an updated RIS3
 Peer-review exercise:
1st Workshop in Seville (January 2012)
2nd Workshop in Seville (May 2012)
3rd Workshop in the Azores (June 2012)
4th Workshop in Pisa (September 2012)
Peer Review and Transnational Learning
•
4 volunteer regions prepare presentations of their RIS3
based on template with the 6 key elements of the guide;
•
Presentations of 4 volunteer regions are distributed in
advance to ‘critical friends’ together with additional
background documents (on the regions’ territorial
innovation systems and experience);
•
Peer discussion at the workshop moderated by the
S3Platform. MG members involved as speakers;
•
Feedback report prepared by S3Platform and forwarded
to reviewed region: ‘feedback from the workshop’;
•
Follow-ups in 3 and 6 months after the workshop.
Peer-review: current levels of participation
•
1. Seville, January 2012 - 19 regions participating coming from
10 countries
•
2. Seville, May 2012 – 21 regions participating coming from 11
countries
•
3. The Azores, June 2012 – 18 regions participating coming from
10 countries
Peer-review: upcoming events
4. Pisa, Italy, 27-28 September 2012
5. Peer Review Workshop, Nov-Dec 2012
6. Peer Review Workshop, Jan-Feb 2013
Thematic workshops and working groups
• New tool for mutual learning – will be launched in autumn 2012
• Gather groups of regions/countries around common subjects linked to
the RIS3 approach (the 6 steps of the guide)
• Liaise with other projects/activities on-going (e.g. OECD)
• Regions agree to develop a common position / brief / document for
reflexion + schedule
• Discuss with the wider audience (all regions registered in the S3
Platform)
• Some themes: (i) profiling indicators; (ii) outward-looking dimension;
(iii) multi-level governance; (iv) involvement of appropriate
stakeholders; (v) entrepreneurial process of discovery
Thank you!
http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu
JRC-IPTS-S3PLATFORM@ec.europa.eu