At the second CEI – SEENET- MTP Workshop “Promotion of physics in the CEI countries and Integrating Access to Research Infrastructures in Europe", Sofia, Bulgaria, 23-25 November 2014

1. Role of Smart
Specialisation in the era of
RIs
EPS CEI Consortium Meeting
Sofia, Bulgaria
24 November 2014

2. • Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, 1776
– Division of labour, and specialisation
• David Ricardo, Low Price of Corn on the Profits of Stock,
1815
– Comparative Advantage, 1815
• Smart specialisation strategies guide: http
://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener
/studies/pdf/sme_guide/sme_guide_en.pdf
• OECD Report:
http://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/smart-specialisation.pdf
• RIS3:
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/stu
dies/pdf/smart_spec_growth_agenda.pdf

3. Role of Research
Infrastructures
• RIs drive innovation.
• RIs conduct top-level research in their respective
fields.
• Ris provide access to:
– scientific equipment or set of instruments
– knowledge based-resources such as collections, archives
or structured scientific information
– ICT-based e-Infrastructures
– any other entity of a unique nature essential to achieve
or enable excellence in research.
• RIs may be 'single-sited' or 'distributed' (a network
of resources).

4. RIs as a resource
• Over 300 RIs in Europe
• strong international visibility
• attract world class researchers
• European investment of more than €100
billion
• 50,000 researchers a year
• 3,000 to 6,000 high-impact research papers
annually
• patents, spin-off companies and industrial
contracts.

5. Role of RRIs
• Regional RIs should
– create capacity building
– should help to concentrate regional
human capital
– stimulate science and innovation as a
key instrument of regional development
– maximise regional socio-economic terms
– lead to greater integration

6. RIs are integrated in a wider eco-system
• often facilitate the commercialisation of research
results into market application, includes
• science parks
• incubators
• sectoral excellence centres
• living labs
• prototyping centres
• intellectual property right centres
• technology transfer offices
• ...

7. Barriers
• Lack of a consistent strategy of Europe’s regions and MS
that set their own priorities and develop their own
roadmaps.
• MS on the fringe do not often have ambitions to host the
site and/or to coordinate a large multidisciplinary
infrastructure.
• Distribution of still disproportionate as ten years ago.
Except for Extreme Light Infrastructure, The Svalbard
Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System, The European
Carbon Dioxide and Storage Laboratory, all other 45
projects included in the ESFRI Roadmap are either
localised or coordinated by the EU15 Member States.

8. € 110 billion – of the € 351.8 billion
cohesion policy funds
• Research and Innovation Strategies for
Smart Specialisation (RIS3) are proposed as
an ex-ante condition for future EU Structural
Fund Programmes with a view to concentrate
resources on research and innovation to
maximize the impacts of the structural funds
• RIS3 will be the basis for investments in R&I
under the European Structural and
Investment Funds (ESIF)for the 2014-2020
period.

9. Smart Specialisation
Platform
• The Smart Specialisation Platform is managed
jointly by the Directorate General for Regional
and Urban Policy and the Joint Research
centre’s Institute for Prospective Studies. It
has so far recorded the entries of over 140
regions and 13 countries, making it a rich
repository of data and information, mapping
the emerging regional smart specialisations.
• Find out more:
http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu

10. European Cluster Observatory
• The Cluster Observatory is an online platform
that provides information and mapping on
clusters and cluster policy in Europe. It
analyses regional competitiveness
conditions, transnational cluster networks,
clusters in emerging industries, and good
practice in cluster organisations.
• Find out more:
http://www.clusterobservatory.eu/ index.html

11. European Territorial Cooperation
• € 10.2 bn will be available for cross-border,
transnational and interregional cooperation
programmes under ESIF. The programmes can
be used to support the implementation of smart
specialisation strategies by funding inter alia the
development of joint roadmaps, action plans and
flagship projects, as well as cluster cooperation.
The programmes for 2014-2020 are currently
being developed by the Member States.
• Find out more:
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.cfm

12. Regional Innovation Monitor Plus
(RIM Plus)
• RIM Plus is a platform for sharing
knowledge, offering detailed
information on regional innovation
policies and trends in 20 EU Member
States.
• Find out more:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policie
s/innovation/ policy/regional-innovation/
monitor

13. Regional Innovation Scoreboard
• Europe’s regions are classified into
four different innovation performance
groups, enabling them to compare
their innovation policies.
• Find out more:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policie
s/innovation/policy/regional-innovation