In the programming period 2014-2020 EU countries and regions have embarked on the design and implementation of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3), at the crossroads of innovation policy and regional development. It will remain at the basis of national and regional innovation policy in the programming period 2021-2027. In designing S3 regions are expected to choose their specialisation domains considering, among other things, the potential relations with other EU regions on the basis of complementarities or similarities. Empirical evidence shows that only in a few cases regions considered these inter regional links. Moreover, the methods adopted to detect potential links between the specialisation domains are based more on anecdotal evidence than on the application of theoretically grounded methodologies. Besides S3, EU macro-regional strategies have emerged during the last decade to strengthen inter regional cooperation and address common challenges.
The main aim of the special session is to promote the discussion about inter-regional links within S3. Moreover, it aims at highlighting the potential synergies between S3 and macro-regional strategies in promoting innovation. Both methodological and empirical contributions are welcome.
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