Translating Smart Specialisation and entrepreneurial discovery into a process-oriented policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Manuel Laranja
Keyword(s):  
Entrepreneurial Discovery ◽  
Smart Specialisation ◽  
Process Oriented

scholarly journals From smart specialisation to smart experimentation

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Benner
Keyword(s):  
Regional Policy ◽  
Evolutionary Economics ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Entrepreneurial Discovery ◽  
Structural Funds ◽  
Smart Specialisation ◽  
Eu Structural Funds ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Relational Economic Geography

AbstractThe idea of smart specialisation has gained high prominence in the discourse about the regional policy of the European Union (EU). In the coming program period from 2014 to 2020 it is expected to be a major pillar of EU structural funds. The notion of smart specialisation incorporates some basic principles of evolutionary economics and centers on the idea of an entrepreneurial discovery process of new trajectories on the regional level. It does not, however, sufficiently take into account the relevance of individual agents, their actions, and their relations with each other in the identification, creation, development, and destruction of technological and economic trajectories. For this, a focus on micro-level dynamics is needed that provides the base for experimentation. Therefore, this paper proposes the new concept of smart experimentation. This notion aims to complement smart specialisation. It is anchored not only in evolutionary economics, but also in relational economic geography.

scholarly journals Lessons Learnt: Changes in the Methodology of the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process in Defining the Priorities of Hungarian Smart Specialisation Strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12695
Author(s):  
Zoltán Birkner ◽  
Ádám Mészáros ◽  
István Szabó
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Discovery Process ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Hungarian Literature ◽  
Entrepreneurial Discovery ◽  
Lessons Learnt ◽  
Smart Specialisation ◽  
Planning Cycle ◽  
Institutional System

This study shows how one of the fundamental methods of designing and implementing the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3), the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP), was applied in the period of 2014–2020 and how, taking accrued experience into account, it has been adjusted in the new planning cycle in Hungarian practice. Based on Hungarian strategies and other policy documents, international and Hungarian literature, the study shows that although the involvement of relevant actors in strategic planning and prioritising was achieved in both cycles, the nature of the actors’ participation differed fundamentally in the two periods. We found that learning from the experience of planning the S3 for 2014–2020, the design of the 2021–2027 strategy required improving the focus of priorities, validating priorities and creating an institutional system capable of making EDP continuous during the cycle 2021–2027, in line with the European Commission’s expectations. We concluded that a well-functioning EDP methodology is an essential part of the substantive realisation of an S3 that can be dynamically shaped according to the challenges.

Smart specialisation strategies in south Europe during crisis

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 448-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicos Komninos ◽  
Bernard Musyck ◽  
Alasdair Iain Reid
Keyword(s):  
Private Investment ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Discovery Process ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Discovery ◽  
South East Europe ◽  
Exit Route ◽  
Smart Specialisation ◽  
Innovation Strategies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess how national and regional authorities in south-east Europe in a period of crisis perceive and set in motion research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3) and the options that these strategies offer to overcome the current fiscal and development crisis. Design/methodology/approach – The paper starts with a literature review on the guiding principles of smart specialisation strategies and the differences from previous rounds of regional innovation strategies. Evidence on smart specialisation efforts is provided by cases studies in Greece, Slovenia, and Cyprus, focusing on the elaboration of such strategies in three countries with precarious innovation systems under severe conditions of crisis. The case studies are organised around key aspects of the smart specialisation logic, such as the selection of specialisation priorities, bottom-up governance, private sector leadership, and engines of innovation and competitiveness. Findings – The paper explores the obstacles encountered in running effective RIS strategies under crisis conditions. The paper highlights the main challenges to address, such as the readiness and credibility of public authorities to design and implement sound RIS3 strategies, the willingness of companies to be involved in strategic planning, the availability of private investment funds, innovation and diversification during a crisis, and the drivers of specialisation that could lead to competitiveness and growth. In the conclusions the paper identifies three routes towards smarter productive diversification and five critical stages in the entrepreneurial discovery process. Originality/value – The paper has both practical and theoretical significance. It focuses on the main challenges of smart specialisation and offers guidance in the elaboration of RIS3 in peripheral EU economies. On the other hand, it proposes a model for the entrepreneurial discovery process, based on the assessment of areas and futures of productivity and added-value increase, as productive diversification and crisis exit route.

Implementing a smart specialisation strategy: an evidence-based approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Kotnik ◽  
Tea Petrin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Union Member ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Investment Funds ◽  
Entrepreneurial Discovery ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Smart Specialisation ◽  
Technological Specialisation ◽  
Support Research

Smart specialisation is now a major idea behind the European Commission’s cohesion policy reforms in the field of innovation, and it must be applied by European Union member countries in order to secure funding under the 2014–2020 European Union budget, even though the concept itself has only recently emerged. The success of translating this policy into practice depends on a thorough analysis of regions’ and countries’ potential for innovation based on empirical evidence. Currently, countries use a wide array of methods to define priority areas, but these have, for the most part, failed to address the challenges of this process. This article explores the data that can be used in the prioritisation process of developing a smart specialisation strategy. The approach follows the main recommendations for profiling regions and countries, uses data already available at the national statistical offices, and is based on indicators that can be grasped intuitively by policymakers. It includes data on each relevant aspect of smart specialisation, that is, economic, scientific and technological specialisation, as well as the entrepreneurial discovery process. This article demonstrates the approach using a case with Slovenian data; the results suggest that it can be an effective tool for narrowing down a list of industries to be considered for a smart specialisation strategy. Points for practitioners A smart specialisation strategy will be a precondition for using European Union regional and investment funds during 2014–2020 in order to support research and innovation investments. The success of translating this policy into practice depends on a thorough analysis of regions’ and countries’ potential for innovation based on empirical evidence. A ready-to-use methodology for narrowing down a list of industries to be considered for a smart specialisation strategy is proposed, and is demonstrated using the example of Slovenia.

scholarly journals Creating a smart rural economy through smart specialisation: The microsphere model

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 892-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Talbot
Keyword(s):  
Rural Economy ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Innovation Activity ◽  
Secular Stagnation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Discovery ◽  
Smart Specialisation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rural Firms ◽  
Social Geographies

The failure of most developed western economies to return to the rates of economic growth enjoyed in earlier times has raised the spectre of secular stagnation first identified by Hansen in the 1930s. Central to secular stagnation is the complex link between capital investment and innovation, prompting fears that the recent collapse in investment is both a cause and an effect of the so-called end of innovation. The emergence of so-called zombie companies suggests a curtailment of creative destruction. The paper looks to the smart specialisation agenda and demand-led strategies for innovation as a means of removing innovation activity from reliance on large-scale top-down capital investment, instead shifting the focus to the role of the entrepreneur in the innovation and growth process. Key features of smart specialisation are used to underpin the construction of a conceptual model (the microsphere) that presents policymakers with a framework to reconnect with the entrepreneur to boost innovation and growth at the level of the region. The model frames the microsphere within which smart specialisation takes place, and how this can encourage innovation among small non-growth rural firms. Influenced by New Industrial Policy and the social geographies underpinning reflexive capitalism, the model builds on the entrepreneurial discovery process inherent in smart specialisation. The model provides policymakers with a guide to operationalise a smart specialisation strategy. Finally, the model is tested in a case study based on the priorities of an economic strategy of a rural region of Scotland.

scholarly journals Erratum

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 569-569
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Discovery ◽  
Regional Innovation Policy ◽  
Smart Specialisation

Kevin Morgan, Nurturing novelty: Regional innovation policy in the age of smart specialisation, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 2017, Vol. 35(4) 569–583, DOI: 10.1177/0263774X16645106 . SAGE regrets that the following errors were published in this article. All references to the author “Pughs” should read as “Pugh”. The quotation appearing on page 577 should read: The smart specialisation process is primarily being employed to rationalise and justify the Welsh Government’s pre-existing sector-based approach to innovation and economic development. Certain important elements of smart specialisation have been sidelined in the process, in particular the process of entrepreneurial discovery. (Pugh, 2014: 152)

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