Through a broad set of services, the Community of Practice on S3 aims to be the central node for guidance, networking, support, and learning among peers. It will cover all stages of a Smart Specialization Strategy, from its conceptual development to its implementation.
Smart Specialization Strategies: how to access Targeted expert support
Among the opportunities offered by the S3 CoP to Regions stands the provision of “Targeted Expert Support” for S3 development and implementation.
It's grounded on action research, co-design, and collaboration principles between DG REGIO, the S3 CoP Secretariat, the region benefiting from the service, and the assigned expert. This opportunity aims to respond to the most urgent needs and requests of European Regions regarding the design and implementation of their S3s, across a wide range of topics and issues.
Regions can seek the assistance of an expert to define, for example, a methodology and governance for the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process, or to strengthen the diffusion of innovation by analyzing the regional ecosystem, identifying key players and stakeholders, and disseminating a survey to analyze the diffusion of innovation among SMEs in a particular value chain to arrive at ad hoc recommendations on the topic.
While presenting the “Targeted expert support” service, the Community of Practice also mentions other examples of topics on which assistance can be sought. These include:
- supporting the development of synergies with national instruments in a specific priority area;
- the mapping of potential supply and demand for technology transfer services;
- the development of forecasting scenarios in a particular value chain;
- the integration of higher education and vocational education into the S3 process;
- the in-depth participatory analysis of a specific policy instrument (e.g., innovation vouchers, industrial doctorates, etc.);
- support for cluster integration in Smart Specialization;
- support for monitoring system development.
Gaining access to this form of technical assistance is particularly easy. The call for “Targeted expert support” is always open and has periodic evaluations every three months. In this context, the next deadline for submitting the form is set for the end of March 2024.
Once the request is sent — including an indication of the S3 criticality to be addressed by Technical Support — the response from the S3 CoP should arrive in a few weeks and, in case of a positive verdict, the expert assignment should start two months after the cut-off date.
What is the Community of Practice (S3 CoP)?
As mentioned above, “Targeted Expert Support” is just one of the services made available by the Community of Practice on S3, DG REGIO's main source of support for the implementation of the Smart Specialization Strategies.
The S3 CoP can provide various forms of support, assistance, and peer learning opportunities to regional authorities and stakeholders involved in smart specialization across the EU.
In addition to “Targeted Expert Support” to regions and member states for the development and implementation of their S3s, the CoP organizes, for example, Working Groups for the exchange of experience and best practices on the new S3 enabling conditions criteria, with particular reference to innovation diffusion, industrial transition, and interregional cooperation.
These are then complemented by other activities, such as:
- the support of S3 thematic platforms and smart specialization thematic partnerships (TSSPs);
- the organization of events for S3 stakeholders;
- analytical studies and policy briefs on the S3 concept.
Finally, these are complemented by the presence of an expert panel, composed of practitioners and academics, to support the development of the S3 concept and provide insights on implementation.
Manifestation of interest for hosting the "S3 Community of Practice Conference 2024"
Finally, other activities promoted by the Community of Practice on S3 during this period include the expression of interest in sponsoring the annual S3 CoP Conference, scheduled for this fall.
The call, which is open to regions or member states, aims to gather willingness to host the Community's main annual event, which this year will also give ample emphasis to the future of the Cohesion Policy, whose contours for the post-2027 period are to be defined during this period.
"The conference," explains the S3 CoP, "represents a great opportunity for the host region to highlight its initiatives, stakeholders, and achievements of its S3.
If interested, the application deadline is March 15, 2024.
