EmpInno Monitor S3

The project EmpInno Monitor S3 equipped public authorities responsible for smart specialisation strategies (RIS3) with improved RIS3 monitoring systems that allow to better assess and design the innovation policy tools.

The challenge

Smart specialisation (S3) is a systematic process to make European regions globally more competitive through innovation. This approach was introduced to policy makers as well as other stakeholders from business level, academia and other innovation actors in 2011. Since then, more than 180 regional innovation strategies (RIS3) were established. Across Europe authorities face common problems and obstacles in the process of managing, delivering and monitoring their strategies.

To implement S3 is not trivial

On the one hand, public authorities (“strategy owners”) face common problems and obstacles in the process of managing, delivering and monitoring strategies for smart specialisations in their regions. On the other hand, innovation actors, such as business intermediaries, science parks and universities (as “strategy implementers”) often lack the institutional capacity, resources and experiences to work with RIS3. In many regions, the RIS3 are communicated insufficiently or are even unknown to the innovation actors. Compared to metropolises, medium-sized cities and

regions have on average a smaller critical mass for innovation and growth and the local economic actors are less outward oriented and this face similar challenges. And thus, the potential for innovation and growth remains unused.

EmpInno Monitor S3 continues development of monitoring

The preceding project EmpInno (S3 Empowering for Innovation and Growth in Medium-Sized Cities and Regions) concluded that authorities responsible for smart specialisation strategies should test different approaches to monitor their RIS3. Adjusting the monitoring systems shall lead to higher efficiency and effectiveness of the regional innovation policies and finally a more innovative Baltic Sea region. EmpInno Monitor S3 improves the monitoring systems of the smart specialisation strategies (RIS3) of seven regions around the Baltic Sea.

Budgets

EmpInno Monitor S3
in numbers

0.85

Million

Total
0.67

Million

Erdf
0.00

Million

Eni + Russia
0.00

Million

Norway

Achievements

EmpInno Monitor S3 brought together smart specialisation strategy owners (managing authorities responsible for the smart specialisation strategies) and strategy implementers (business intermediaries, business support organisations, science parks, universities) from Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Germany and Finland. The project supported them with developing tools to foster the implementation of RIS3. The approach was to develop and pilot the innovative monitoring methods that allow improving monitoring systems in general. As the existing monitoring lacked qualitative information from end-users and other actors in innovation ecosystems (e.g., companies, research and development community), the partner organisations introduced new solutions to improve the qualitative information.

New approaches introduced

The RIS3 practitioners across the Baltic Sea region exchanged their experiences in applying monitoring to assess the smart specialisation strategies. Different regions shared their challenges and experiences to help overcome the potential obstacles. Among the concrete improvements reached by the participating regions, such as the development of an online qualitative tool as “RIS closer to us” (a tool for direct contact with RIS3 stakeholders as part of RIS3 monitoring), or a novel 6-step approach to boost the cooperation with companies, various stakeholders and strategy owners by using modern collaborative methods and tools e.g. to engage companies more actively in the RIS3 processes, to improve the cooperation between stakeholder and clusters or to identify potential needs to re-focus the themes of cooperation to successfully implement RIS3.

Peer exchange across borders

The introduced novel approaches from seven piloting regions were summarised in a compilation of findings for sharing and inspiration. Inspiring stories, successful processes and lessons learned from all partner regions were shared at different occasions with public authorities, innovation communities, business intermediaries, business support organisations and companies.

Outputs

Design more efficient innovation policy instruments with better RIS3 monitoring. Compilation of findings.

The report presents a compilation of findings, stories, experiences of cooperation with strategy owners (public authorities), success factors and potential obstacles. The report provides an overview of the introduced tools and approaches in the participating regions, followed by a chapter on the processes, results and lessons learned. The improvements serve as recommendations on what can be done to upscale monitoring: e.g., through the inclusion of a 6-step approach to improve the monitoring of RIS3 themes by using the following steps: the theme selection from RIS3, dialogue with stakeholders, data collection, data analysis and refinement, dialogue with stakeholders after the evaluation and adjustments of RIS3 priorities (Satakunta, Finland); development of an online feedback tool for dialogue with identified stakeholders (Lubelskie, Poland); the inclusion of digital tool for visualised regional data (Tartu, Estonia) or inclusion of sub-regional partners (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany). By using recommendations, managing authorities, innovation intermediaries, political bodies responsible for regional innovation policy can better understand and design more efficient innovation policy instruments.

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Testing and improving RIS3 monitoring in EmpInno Monitor S3 partner regions. Summary of tested approaches.

The project partners representing regions from Denmark, Estonia, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Finland improved the RIS3 monitoring systems. It was done through the introduction of piloted innovative monitoring elements that mainly focused on including more qualitative information and digital tools for collecting information from end-users in RIS3 monitoring, as well as on better involvement of stakeholders in S3-monitoring dialogues. The systems got upscaled through e.g., a scientifically grounded RIS3 monitoring system (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany); webropol - survey via mailing to companies with the purpose to collect feedback (South Savo, Finland); SPARK Demo CMR system that allows easily contact companies, exporters, image-makers, startups, business support organisations (Tartu, Estonia); digital tool “RIS closer to us” for conducting surveys and re-directing inputs into the RIS3 monitoring processes (Lubelskie, Poland). The upscaled monitoring systems can serve as useful experiences for other strategy owners (the authorities responsible for the smart specialisation strategies) who can use the ground to take better informed decisions and design more efficient innovation policy tools based on improved monitoring data.

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