Learning opportunities stemming from place-based transformative Smart Specialisation. Examples from Visegrad Group countries.

Smart specialisation (S3) is a place-based agenda for regional economic transformation. To that end, smart specialisation emphasises the importance of strategic thinking, good (multi-level) governance, existence of public institutions that are able to orchestrate fruitful discussion about the region’s future development trajectories as well as develop appropriate policy instruments and interventions, and finally engaged stakeholders that are willing to take an active lead in local development. In order to achieve these objectives, public institutions are required to learn constantly – explore, integrate and exploit knowledge acquired by individuals. The proposition of this study is to discuss if and how smart specialisation fosters policy learning and to provide some evidence on implementation of smart specialisation and associated policy learning opportunities in Visegrad Group countries.JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Internationalising smart specialisation: assessment and issues in the case of EU New Member States

Smart specialisation is currently probably the largest innovation policy experiment in the world. Its aim is to move the EU less developed countries and regions on path of R&D based growth. This transformation requires not only endogenous knowledge and technology accumulation building but also coupling with international knowledge and production networks. Yet, internationalization does not seem to be a crucial component in the design and development of Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3), which is at odds with the strong dependence of the EU New Member States (EU-13) on FDI and global value chains. Our analysis is grounded in the key ’stylized facts’ related to EU-13 R&D&I activities, and the complex link between innovation and internationalization. Innovation systems in the EU-13 are fragmented and based on largely public R&D systems and on predominantly production oriented foreign direct investment (FDI). This structural weakness calls for stronger support for innovation oriented activities and for the integration of global value chains (GVCs) and FDI into local innovation systems. We explore the main obstacles to the internationalization of smart specialisation and discuss ways to overcome them. We highlight the policy action areas related to providing support for technology upgrading in relation to the internationalization of smart specialisation.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt

Food and gastronomy as elements of regional innovation strategies

The paper discusses recent innovation and diversification paths in agro-food, specifically the linkage between food, territory and branding, the emerging phenomenon of Food Cities and increasing interest in healthier and more sustainable food products. It also focuses on EU policies and instruments in support of R&I activities in agro-food and explores agro-food domain within the context of smart specialisation.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt

Research and technology organisations and smart specialisation

Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) have developed in many European countries at both national and regional levels to assist in the support of local industry, often around specific industrial technologies or sectors. With a core responsibility for technological upgrading they play a key role in regional and national innovation systems. Yet there is great variety in the form and mission of such RTOs, especially in terms of the degree of regional alignment, and whilst some regions are relatively well endowed with multiple RTOs, others are reliant on national RTOs in other regions or even other countries. These geographical challenges are also compounded by changes in the funding of RTOs with a shift to greater reliance on non-government funding and the search for funds from international sources such as global firms or Horizon 2020 projects. So whilst regions may see RTOs as critical regional assets, the RTOs may have a more nuanced attitude as their client base extends beyond national boundaries and they search for new sources of revenue. RTOs have an important role to play in smart specialisation (S3) though and three specific roles have been identified here. First, many RTOs have a policy role and have capabilities to identify industry needs and technological opportunities as a key input into the entrepreneurial discovery process. Second, RTOs, as increasingly international organisations, can facilitate the access to global knowledge for regional firms through their networks and research collaborations. Third RTOs often have a central role in the development of particular cluster groupings through their specialisation around core technologies, and as such can be a central player in the development of such clusters. But all three of these roles involve potential challenges and difficulties as the interests of the RTOs do not necessarily align with the needs of the region. The case studies in this report on RTOs in Spain, Finland, Italy, and the UK illustrate the variety of RTOs and the complexities of their relationships with regional hosts, but also some of the initiatives that are developing to support smart specialisation

Dynamics of Smart Specialisation Agri-food Trans-regional Cooperation S3 Policy Brief Series No. 21/2017

The objective of this paper is to inform the community of researchers, policymakers and practitioners about the dynamics of setting up the Thematic Smart Specialisation Platform on Agri-food, and to provide information about its functioning and governance. This work outlines the milestones of the process and the main achievements. The paper proposes the steps to be followed by policymakers and regional officers who are motivated to lead, support and actively contribute to a thematic platform within the Thematic Smart Specialisation Platform on Agri-food. At the same time, it discusses specific cases of such partnerships and describes the motivations and objectives of the regions that decided to embark on the journey towards establishment of specific thematic partnerships through this Platform.JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Assessment of strategies for ICT investments using European Structural and Investment Funds: reflections from experts and practical examples

DG Connect and DG JRC have been supporting MSs and regions in fostering the ICT dimension of planned investments under ESIF. As part of this activity, assistance has been given to seven EU regions. This paper provides a systematic summary of the experts’ findings and discusses critical issues pointed out in the expert reports and at an expert workshop.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt

Overview of the existing STI for SDGs roadmapping methodologies

This background paper serves as an Annex to the United Nation’s Guidebook for the Preparation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for SDGs Roadmaps. Its purpose is to provide an overview of the existing methodologies and approaches that can be used to develop the Roadmaps. While the first framework for STI for SDGs Roadmaps has been proposed in the UN Guidebook, multiple United Nations (UN) Agencies and other organisations have developed approaches over the years that can successfully support different steps in the new methodology, depending on the capacity and specific needs of interested countries, subnational territories or international partnerships

Naproxen affects multiple organs in fish but is still an environmentally better alternative to diclofenac

The presence of diclofenac in the aquatic environment and the risks for aquatic wildlife, especially fish, have been raised in several studies. One way to manage risks without enforcing improved wastewater treatment would be to substitute diclofenac (when suitable from a clinical perspective) with another non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) associated with less environmental risk. While there are many ecotoxicity-studies of different NSAIDs, they vary extensively in set-up, species studied, endpoints and reporting format, making direct comparisons difficult. We previously published a comprehensive study on the effects of diclofenac in the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Our present aim was to generate relevant effect data for another NSAID (naproxen) using a very similar setup, which also allowed direct comparisons with diclofenac regarding hazards and risks. Sticklebacks were therefore exposed to naproxen in flow-through systems for 27 days. Triplicate aquaria with 20 fish per aquarium were used for each concentration (0, 18, 70, 299 or 1232 mu g/L). We investigated bioconcentration, hepatic gene expression, jaw lesions, kidney and liver histology. On day 21, mortalities in the highest exposure concentration group unexpectedly reached >= 25 % in all three replicate aquaria, leading us to terminate and sample that group the same day. On the last day (day 27), the mortality was also significantly increased in the second highest exposure concentration group. Increased renal hematopoietic hyperplasia was observed in fish exposed to 299 and 1232 mu g/L. This represents considerably higher concentrations than those expected in surface waters as a result of naproxen use. Such effects were observed already at 4.6 mu g/L in the experiment with diclofenac (lowest tested concentration). Similar to the responses to diclofenac, a concentration-dependent increase in both relative hepatic gene expression of c7 (complement component 7) and jaw lesions were observed, again at concentrations considerably higher than expected in surface waters. Naproxen bioconcentrated less than diclofenac, in line with the observed effect data. An analysis of recent sales data and reported concentrations in treated sewage effluent in Sweden suggest that despite higher dosages used for naproxen, a complete substitution would only be expected to double naproxen emissions. In summary, naproxen and diclofenac produce highly similar effects in fish but the environmental hazards and risks are clearly lower for naproxen. Hence, if there are concerns for environmental risks to fish with diclofenac, a substitution would be advisable when naproxen presents an adequate alternative from a clinical point-of-view

Innovations for Sustainability: Pathways to an efficient and post-pandemic future

3rd Report prepared by The World in 2050 initiativ

Attracting international research professionals: evidence from Tuscany.

Economic and social transformations have accelerated global competition for international research professionals (IRPs). Yet, the number of IRPs in the Italian region of Tuscany remains low. What are the causes? This article discusses factors and barriers to sustainable attraction of IRPs in Tuscany. Particular attention is paid to organizational, policy-related, economic and human factors. The article concludes by considering regional-level policies to improve attraction and recruitment potential, and to achieve the ultimate goal of sustainable management of regional research capacities.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt