Smart specialisation strategies what kind of strategy? what kind of experiences? Conference on Regional Development Policies organized by The Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Oslo September 25 th Seija Virkkala, University of Vaasa, Regional Studies Smart specialisation is a strategic approach and policy paradigm to regional innovation policy continues and distills learnings of the earlier regional innovation policies. aims to an economic transformation of European regions is place-based policy: focus on the strengths of each regions Supports technological as well a practice-based innovation is implementing Europe 2020 strategy: smart, sustainable and inclusive Europe. 1
Research and Innovation for Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3) Since 2010, 2014-2020 mandatory in cohesion policy, regional development policy of the EU: regions are required to identify the key areas, activities or technological domains where they are more likely to enjoy competitive advantage and focus their regional policies to promote innovation in these fields. The knowledge of the development of a place must be created through a participatory and deliberative process involving both local and external actors. (Barca 2012) Cluster, innovation system and smart specialisation approaches CLUSTER INNOVATION SYSTEM SMART SPECIALISATION Reach of the activity Sector and related activities Regional innovation platforms Domains for business opportunities Process Knowledge, innovation Emergence and dynamics of cluster Specialised knowledge Diffusion of knowledge Innovation Diffusion of knowledge Dynamics Localization advantages Urbanization advantages, related variety The role of public sector Supplying education and infrastructure Governane of IS, supplying education and infrastructure Policy objective Growth of local cluster Stronger connectivity between subsystems Policy challenge Renewal of old clusters Support, knowlege flows promotion Self discovery Entepreneurial knowledge market knowledge, general purposefull technologies Transformation of the economy, new domain Leader and initiator of the strategy process, co operator Discovery of new domains Experimentation Strategy implementation 2
Entrepreneurial discovery process (EDP) is the method and key concept of RIS3 is and inclusive and interactive bottom up process in which participants from different environments (policy, business, academia) are discovering and producing information about potential new activities, identifying potential opportunities that emerge through this interaction, while policymakers assess outcomes and ways to facilitate the realisation of this potential. (S3 platform 2017) Entrepreneurial Discovery Process Collaborative process of economic search by entrepreneurial agents Discovery of new potentials for growth, domains and clusters in the regional economy (which should be supported) Diversification based on knowledge of the region; Branching in searching for new potential clusters or domains. New potentials and new specialisations emerge through experiments Defining priorities, focused strategies EDP is a new layer of policies and potential part of policy mix 3
The role of public sector Public government is an initiator, coordinator and facilitator of smart specialisation Public sector has role especially in peripheral regions s: To stimulate variety generation To connect the actors, brokering To reduce the lock ins by fostering openness and diversity Focus on key regional/national priorities encourage innovation and experimentation An evidence base with a sound monitoring and evaluation system (European commission 2012) Critics of smart specialisation A framework, no clear methods. Demands too much institutional capacity by the public government, heroic assumptions Bottom up processes and broad inclusiveness difficulty to make focused strategies and tough choices Instead of picking winners picking insiders or their priorities. Prioritization too much political decision, not enough on regional analysis. Trajectories perceived only by few agents outside public private partnership are excluded. Not enough spatial dimension and heterogeneity of the regions. 4
Evaluation of RIS3 policies (Policy brief on smart specialisation, Kroll 2016) Main effect of RIS3 programmes have been the introduction of more participatory forms of governance (Kroll 2016) Regions evaluate that the benefits of RIS3 process over weighted its costs. Factors other than discovery came into play in prompting this assessment. New approach in southern and eastern Europe: Renewal of the regional planning culture to make RIS3 processes to work. Survey on experiences of RIS3 in the EU region:s 179 responded, representative survey. http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/20182/196760/policy+brief +on+smart+specialisation/938913ba 040f 4d67 bb07 383e45ffaf0b Kroll 2016 5
Kroll 2016 6
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RIS3 in the EU: experiences 1. Newcomers: suggestion met with hard institutional obstacles in terms of traditional planning system. 2. Active beneficiaries: participatory strategies also before but routines of governance left room for improvement. Reshaping malleable governance routines. 3. Drivers did not gain in substance new insights through RIS3 process. They provided input to RIS3 agenda rather than driving lessons from it. They were inspired to amend the routines of governance RIS3 agenda was credited with helping to overcome fragmentation and improve coordination. 8
Added value of the notion of smart specialisation Search for new growth areas Cross sectoral approach Government reforms in many countries, transformation of regional economies Horizon 2020 and other programs A common framework enables comparison and learning from each other (Interreg Baltic Sea Region; LARS project) RIS3 in Finland: regional level strategies cases Helsinki Uusimaa and Lapland https://www.helsinkismart.fi/urban cleantech/ https://www.uudenmaanliitto.fi/files/16166/smart_specialisat ion_in_helsinki Uusimaa_Region_ _Research_and_Innovation_Strategy_for_Regional_Developme nt_2014 2020_B_51_ _2015.pdf Lapland: http://luotsi.lappi.fi/arcticsmartness 9
Smart Specialisation in the Helsinki Uusimaa Region, Research and Innovation Strategy for Regional Development 2024 2020, Helsinki uusimaa Regional Council, 2015 10
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26.9.2017 Vaasan yliopisto Yksikkö Kalvosarjan nimi 23 26.9.2017 Vaasan yliopisto Yksikkö Kalvosarjan nimi 24 12
How to Private capital EU level funding National and regional funding Putting S3 into the practise seeking after the Arctic truffles During last decades support directed towards refining industry, tourism, creative industries, learning and testing environments, rural development, wood processing, resource efficiency, natural product and food, internationalisation, natural resources and land use. analyses over 650 project funded during previous program period in Lapland finding the best ground for the cross fertilisation Potential for the modern clusters which are regional, looking beyond the boundaries, cross fertilisation Smart Arctic Cluster Arctic industries and circular economy, EU model region Arctic Smart Rural Communities Arctic Safety and Security Arctic Design Arctic Development Environments 9/26/20 17 Arctic Smartness 13
9/26/2017 Arctic Smartness Arctic Safety and Security Tourism Safety and Security Tourism Safety and Security enhances the competitiveness and fluent operations of businesses as well as increases the travellers feeling of safety and security. Civil Safety and Security Civil Safety and Security concerns inhabitants safety and security as well as wellbeing. Maritime Safety and Security Maritime Safety concentrates on developing environments and solutions for arctic testing, training and staging Safety and Security in a Mining Environment Safety and Security in a Mining Environment enhances the safety and security of the operators, inhabitants and service network in the area surrounding the mine. 14
Objectives 9/26/20 17 Arctic Design seeks to increase the wellbeing and economic competitiveness of arctic areas. Arctic Design combines art, design and research in order solve challenges in the sparsely populated areas. Understanding arctic environment, everyday life, internationality and indigenous cultures is in the core of Arctic Design. Europe 2020: smart, sustainable and inclusive Employment 75% of people aged 20 64 to be in work (2016: 71 %) Research and development (R&D) 3% of the EU's GDP to be invested in R&D (2015: 2%) Climate change and energy greenhouse gas emissions 20% lower than 1990 levels 20% of energy coming from renewables (17 %) 20% increase in energy efficiency Education rates of early school leavers below 10% (11%) at least 40% of people aged 30 34 having completed higher education (39%) Poverty and social exclusion at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty/social exclusion (18.5 million) 15