Smart specialization

“Smart specialization means discovering the unique characteristics and means of each country and region, identifying their comparative competitive advantages, and pooling local actors and resources around a vision for their future,   driven by excellence and extraversion.”

The Research and  Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization (RIS3) is a place – based economic transformation agenda, tailored to the specificities of each region, which:

• focuses on political support and investment in national / regional priorities – key, challenges and needs for knowledge-based development.
• builds on country / region strengths and comparative strengths and potential for excellence,
• supports, (but not only) technological innovation and aims to stimulate private investment,
• Ensures full involvement of stakeholders and encourages innovation and experimentation,
• is based on evidence and includes a solid monitoring and evaluation system.

A key process for prioritizing a strategic research and innovation strategy for smart specialization and therefore an essential element for its successful planning is the entrepreneurial discovery process.

In this context, the Regional Authority has been working to develop the RIS3 strategy, with the aim of identifying current and future activities and social needs and developing innovative solutions to meet these needs using local knowledge, offering better and new services and products, creating new jobs, increasing competitiveness, networks and tools and extroversion. 

The 4 diagnosed priority areas of the RIS3 strategy are the following:

1. Agri-food
2. Tourism
3. Textile and
4. Material (mainly Construction)

The following areas, technologies, sciences are supporting the above sectors: 

1. Information and Communication Technologies
2. Energy
3. Environment, and
4. Logistics