2018-08-09
Dominique Foray, a Professor of Economics and Innovation Management at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) who coined the term ‘Smart Specialisations,’ delivered a workshop in Curitiba on 30-31 July. The target audience included practitioners and entrepreneurs working on regional development, innovation and business competitiveness, in addition to representatives from development and innovation organisations.
The purpose of this technical meeting was to develop an experiment of the customised method called Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) in Paraná’s agri-food and smart energy sectors. This experiment was attended by members from technical agencies and entities in the government of the State of Paraná, the academic community, and the private and third sectors.
Implementation of the method in Paraná will be a pilot project for the wider implementation of RIS3 in Brazil. Paraná has been selected to participate in the International Programme on Urban Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC), and relies on support from the EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Facility to develop the project through the Paraná State Information and Communication Technology Governance Authority (Governança TIC-PR) due to its well-known skills and potential for RIS3.
RIS3 are important tools that are widely used in the European Union's regional development policies as a benchmark methodology for driving structural changes in regional economies based on knowledge and innovation, including outside Europe. The method emphasises competitive advantages and the unique regional potential for innovation by fostering private investment and the involvement of key actors. This makes it is possible to properly allocate public policies and public investments to the right priorities.
During the two-day workshop, attendees gained insight into the method and discussed opportunities for collaboration in potential areas and ICT based on an analysis of the Paraná's economic profile and the strategic action plan of the State’s ICT Governance Authority.
According to Dominique Foray, when it comes to research and development, regions need to focus resources and efforts on just a few areas and technologies, rather than allocating funds randomly. The question is: where to focus? This choice matters. “The core principle of Smart Specialisations is not to prioritise structures, but rather processes of transformation,” says Dominique.
Europe has now implemented more than 20 RIS3 strategies in several regions, and has invested more than 65 billion euros in the concept of Smart Specialisations.
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