Regional policy aims to align Cohesion Policy funding with the Europe 2020 strategy to promote smart growth across EU regions. It encourages all regions to design 'smart specialization strategies' to identify competitive strengths and focus resources on developing key innovation priorities. A new Smart Specialization Platform will provide expertise to help member states and regions develop and review their strategies. The goal is to optimize the impact of EU funds for research and innovation and avoid duplication by concentrating on each region's unique competitive advantages.