Smart Specialisation: what gets lost in translation from concept to practice?

Abstract

This paper investigates how and to what extent the Smart Specialisation approach to innovation policy is currently being translated into strategic decisions and policy interventions in Europe. It defines three complementary conditions that operationalize the intervention logic of Smart Specialisation and tests them empirically. The results reveal that Smart Specialisation is being partially implemented. There are in fact significant indications that regions and countries have put in place mechanisms that may circumvent the logic of selective intervention. Implications for policy evaluation are discussed.

Smart Specialisation on the move: reflections on six years of implementation and prospects for the future

“…The fifth paper by Gianelle et al (2019, in this issue), entitled 'Smart Specialisation: what gets lost in translation from concept to practice? ', is one of the first to analyse data on the actual implementation of Smart Specialisation strategies across the EU.…”

Higher Education Institutions as Knowledge Brokers in Smart Specialisation

“…The above quotation is an example that shows that the knowledge broker's role is to discover and produce interactive and new information about the activities which will empower actors from various sectors. The quotation emphasises recent scholarly findings that show the importance of public institutions as connectors in regional innovation systems [1]. Knowledge brokers develop funding proposals and connect partners from a range of levels and areas.…”

“…It is about allocating the resources of research and innovation to enhance priority areas of regional funding, governance and regulation, forming a regional policy mix. It emphasises the importance of relationships between various institutions and stakeholders and encourages institutions to change by diversifying their position and goals in a global context [1,2]. A notable aspect of smart specialisation is whether or not it is the most ambiguous regional innovation policy in the world: there have been no pilot projects, nor was empirical evidence produced before it was launched.…”

“…However, even if public institutions including HEIs are embedded into the regional innovation system, there might also be also a gap in understanding among university management personnel about what the regional challenges are [5]. In this regard, public investment is the main source of the production of regional innovation systems, and transparent higher education institutions (HEIs) and other public institutions directly complement the support of innovation measures [1,6].…”

“…Especially in small and less-developed regions, the role of public research organisations, like universities, is to have a more central role in generating and exploiting knowledge for firms and industries [4,8,9]. Previous studies have also shown that public institutions and other public resources have a significant role in regional development as institutions that connect and produce organisations and competence [1].…”