Cohesion policy programmes play a crucial role in strengthening Europe's innovation and research potential with an overall allocation of €53.2bn to 'core' innovation and research priorities in the period 2007-13. A considerable amount of resource has been dedicated to the physical development of research infrastructures and activities in business or science parks, incubators and centres of competence. In addition, soft measures have also been supported like technology transfer and improvement of cooperation networks, assistance to SMEs in research and technological development (RTD) and eco-innovation uptake and developing human potential in research and innovation (R&I). This support contributes to transforming knowledge into growth and better jobs with concrete targets to be achieved through supporting more than 80,000 RTD projects and creating above 30,000 research jobs.
The reform of cohesion policy for 2014-20 will also ensure maximum impact on boosting research and innovation at national and regional levels.
To help Europe make a sustainable recovery from the economic crisis we need actions and investments that help countries and regions to unlock new growth potential and to raise their game when it comes to innovation, productivity and competitiveness. We have therefore earmarked €110bn for innovation investments – close to one third of the €351.8bn cohesion policy funds for the next seven years. This money will be spent on RTD and innovation, ICT, competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses, and the shift towards a low-carbon economy.
The introduction of the smart specialisation concept in the strategic planning of EU member states and regions has been a key factor in aligning the European regional development fund (ERDF) with other growth policy measures through intelligent policy design. It is also a tool to achieve a higher effectiveness and strategic relevance, as well as increased efficiency of the EU cohesion policy support to research and development and innovation. The approach was triggered by including smart specialisation strategies as an ex-ante conditionality for investment priorities under RTD and innovation for all member states.
"The reform of cohesion policy for 2014-20 will also ensure maximum impact on boosting research and innovation at national and regional levels"
The common provisions regulation for the European structural and investment fund endorsed the proposal of the commission and defines 'smart specialisation strategies' as "national or regional innovation strategies which set priorities in order to build competitive advantage by developing and matching research and innovation own strengths to business needs in order to address emerging opportunities and market developments in a coherent manner, while avoiding duplication and fragmentation of efforts; a smart specialisation strategy may take the form of, or be included in, a national or regional research and innovation strategic policy framework."
The obligation to develop smart specialisation strategies in order to tap into the ERDF for innovation related investments has triggered a massive process where regions and member states reconsider their research and innovation policies and strategies. This led in many member states and regions to a significant change in the policymaking culture in terms of stakeholder involvement, inter-departmental cooperation, evidence-based policymaking and a shift towards a holistic and systemic innovation policy concept.
Policymakers in member states and regions are committed to using these funds to maximum effect. Rather than following a top-down approach, primarily involving public authorities, this new innovation investment agenda needs to be bottom-up, crafted by a collaborative effort of 'entrepreneurial discovery' that involves the private sector and the academic community, building on each region's inherent strengths, entrepreneurship and competitive advantages. Through such a process, smart specialisation strategies can unleash economic transformation through modernisation, diversification or radical innovation in all regions of the union.
This is not a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, but rather an innovation-driven, place-based, entrepreneurial process. It targets the economic transformation of EU regions towards higher added value and more knowledge intensive activities. That is why we have asked all member states and their regions to develop smart specialisation strategies and made this a condition for receiving funding from the new programmes under the ERDF.
Each member state and region can define, through their smart specialisation strategy, their priority investment agenda for knowledge-based jobs and growth. This opens up excellent opportunities for joining forces and for coordination between regional and national bodies and across borders, as well as exploiting synergies between different European and national instruments to enhance Europe's global competitiveness and industrial renewal.
In the coming years, the commission will support action plans to develop and implement the remaining regional innovation smart specialisation strategies, support the regions and member states in their efforts to strengthen the inter-regional and trans-national cooperation on smart specialisation fields in order to achieve critical mass, complementarity and the transformation of value-chains and internationalisation clusters (thematic smart specialisation platforms), monitor the implementation of the research, innovation and smart specialisation strategies of the member states and regions and strongly support cooperation across borders.