S3 and Recovery and Resilience Funds: A Case Study Built on the Experience of 10 Spanish Regions

The EU's response to the COVID-19 crisis, namely the approval of the Next Generation package, provides an opportunity to explore to what extent the existing Smart Specialisation regional strategies and related ecosystems have been taken into account in the highly relevant territorial context in which the national Recovery Plans have been designed. According to our results the potential of the Smart Specialisation approach (S3) in relation with its place-based strategic prioritisation may have been overlooked in the process. The research is based on a desk review of relevant documents and recent literature in this field; followed by semi-structured interviews with regional planners and practitioners from 10 Spanish regions (autonomous communities); complemented, in a second phase, by the organisation of a focus group to validate the initial results. During our research we identified the main contributions that the Smart Specialisation approach has so far made to the regions (mainly in terms of participative governance and creation of regional ecosystems); and the unanimous perception shared by all the practitioners interviewed that the S3 approach has led to a change of vision in public intervention. However, all of the interviewed regions have confirmed that the drafting of the national recovery and resilience plan lacked an ex-ante alignment with the regional S3 strategies, and failed to consider the existing regional S3 ecosystems. The separation of the recovery logic (based on the operation of public consultations at national level to identify strategic projects) from the S3 logic (based on a strategic prioritisation exercise conducted by each regional ecosystem) confirms that an opportunity may have been missed in the recovery planning process to consolidate the multi-actor, multilevel and place-based S3 approach. Although there is a certain degree of disappointment among regional practitioners as a result of this misalignment, the majority of them believe in the possibility of an ex-post alignment between the two processes, that can protect existing regional shared visions. However, without clear recognition of the S3 ecosystems and the S3 managing bodies, the significant role that Smart Specialisation could play in the recovery process may be at risk.

How Intellectual Capital Predicts Innovation Output in EU Regions. Implications for Sustainable Development

Intellectual capital is an overarching concept that includes the intangible, human-related factors that are relevant to the innovation process, such as human capital and social capital. In the present study, intellectual capital was assessed by indicators measuring different aspects of human and social capital. Factor analysis demonstrated the existence of three underlying factors, with all variables of the model having important contributions to them. A linear regression analysis indicated that 8 out of the 12 variables of intellectual capital used have a statistically significant impact on the measure of innovation output. These findings were discussed and their implications for policy were considered. The paper provides research evidence on the importance of intellectual capital for innovation output and discusses potential ways to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the context of the next generation of sustainable smart specialisation strategies.

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

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.

Regional Industrial Development: Review of Approaches to Regulation and Determining of Priorities

In the context of increasing economic and political risks, industry is a reliable guarantor of sovereignty of any country that ensures a decent standard of living for its population. The paper examines current global trends of industrial transformation and its regional aspects. The study aims to systematise scientific approaches to determining regional priorities, mechanisms of industrial development and criteria for optimal spatial location, as the evolution of the industrial system leads to their changes. A method of systematic literature review (SLR) was applied based on the analysis of publications relevant to the research purpose and objectives. Modern scientific literature has developed a whole range of concepts to characterise the existing industrial processes: the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, digital transformation of industry and new industrialisation. The analysis of publications has shown that these concepts are often mixed, thus, this research presented their definitions, areas of intersection and differences. Additionally, the study discusses approaches to regional industrial development and spatial location of industries, which were formulated in the scientific literature in the period 2011– 2021. Three concepts revealing regional aspects of modern industrial development — regional industrial path development, «smart» specialisation and regional industrial identity — were critically analysed. The review of foreign and Russian publications can be used to substantiate niche segments of regional industrial research. The paper identified the following study areas: development of methods for choosing a new industrial path; justification of regional priorities according to “smart” specialisation; creation of effective mechanisms for implementing regional industrial and innovation policies; analysis of correlations between cluster configurations and regional innovation activity.

Especialización inteligente en la Región de Murcia

Las estrategias nacionales y regionales para la Especialización Inteligente en Investigación e Innovación, estrategias de RIS3 (Research and Innovation Smart Specialisation Strategy), se basan en que la especialización en determinadas industrias es más beneficiosa para un territorio que la diversificación indiscriminada en múltiples sectores. Bajo estas premisas, se configuró en la Región de Murcia el RIS3Mur como agenda integradora de transformación económica territorial. Desde la Cátedra de Innovación para la Especialización Inteligente de la Universidad de Murcia, financiada por el Instituto de Fomento (INFO) de la Región de Murcia, se ha analizado la situación de una de las áreas de especialización más relevantes para la Región de Murcia: el sector agroalimentario. En este informe se realiza un análisis de este sector y se abordan diferentes aspectos como, por ejemplo, el peso de este sector en la economía regional y la situación económico-financiera de las empresas que componen dicho sector. Además, se exponen los resultados de un estudio muestral que ponen de relieve la importancia de la apuesta por la innovación a la hora de diseñar estrategias empresariales que sean exitosas en dicho sector. La información recogida en este documento puede servir de ayuda para realizar un seguimiento y control de esta área de especialización inteligente, a la vez de guía para el establecimiento de políticas que incrementen el potencial del sector y, por tanto, favorezcan el desarrollo regional.

Smart Specialisation Strategies and Regional Convergence: Spanish Extremadura after a Period of Divergence

Smart specialization strategies are a new EU approach to cohesion policy, meant to deliver growth and development at EU national and regional level. Bearing in mind its focus on place-based development strategies, this paper intends to shed some light on its appropriateness to tackle uneven development and regional growth divergence. The paper showcases Spanish Extremadura growth trajectory. Extremadura is a poor region in the European context that between 2008 and 2014 diverged from the EU average, despite being eligible for EU funding as a convergence region by cohesion policy. In the 2014–2020 programming period, there was a positive dynamic at the beginning, but from 2017 onwards convergence stopped, which indicates that thematic and regional programmes have not delivered results or have not compensated for higher growth level of other Spanish regions. Moreover, research and innovation strategies for smart specialization (RIS3) seem to have limited impacts on place-based economic transformation in less developed regions. From this example, the suitability of the smart specialisation strategy as the core of cohesion policy in the programming period is discussed. It concludes that this strategy is interesting for intermediate development regions with some industrial base but does not seem appropriate as a convergence driver for poorer regions.