Guide to Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation

Step 1 - Analysis of the regional context and potential for innovation
Differentiation is at the very heart of RIS3. The key to successful differentiation is to exploit
related variety, suggesting that a regional economy can build its competitive advantage by
diversifying its unique, localized knowledge base (existing specialisation) into new
combinations/innovations which are close or adjacent to it. Closeness is important because new
combinations must be feasible or accessible given the existing assets, precisely in order to
exploit the experience accumulated by regional actors (see box below).
Analysing and assessing the potential for innovation-driven differentiation is crucial to create an
evidence base for the prioritisation process in the RIS3. The necessity to carry out analyses of
regional innovation potential was a fundamental starting point in the history of regional
innovation strategies in Europe. The focus was placed on a dual analysis: an analysis of SMEs
needs and barriers for innovation; and an assessment of the support given by the infrastructure
put in place in the region to support innovation.
The confrontation of the results of the two analyses leads to a 'gap analysis', where mismatches
between SMEs latent and implicit needs and demand for support, on the one hand, and the
effective value added of the existing support, on the other hand, are identified. Questions such as
the visibility, the relevance and the effectiveness of the support infrastructure are at the heart of
these analyses. This then leads to proposals for improvement of the innovation support
infrastructure and better use of public funding, and, as a result of more effective support,
improved innovation potential in regional firms
Several methods can be used to collect and treat information for such analyses. They have been
described in a methodological guide using a decade of experience with Regional Innovation
Strategies (IRE 2006) 17 . The most widely used methods are desk research, large scale
questionnaires (web-based or surveys) and personal interviews (face-to face, by telephone, or in
working groups). A key feature brought in by these European Union-sponsored exercises was the
introduction of external experts in this analytical phase.
Especially for the 'supply' analysis, the benefits of bringing in an external view to address
sensitive issues such as redundancies and overlaps, or lack of efficiency and effectiveness of
agencies and programmes to support innovation, were demonstrated. These benefits were larger
when the external consultants and experts were well embedded into the exercise, when foreign
experts teamed up with national or regional ones, and when they acted as coaches for the
regional decision-makers (to ensure a strong legacy of their input, rather than one-off
contribution).
These analyses have the great value of introducing systematic, non-partisan and evidence-based
information on innovation and innovation support. In the most successful cases, international
comparisons and benchmarking were also used in a smart way to improve regional policy.
17 Innovative Regions in Europe Network (2006), RIS Methodological Guide, Stage 1.
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