Guide to Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation

Under such a programme, universities, development agencies and regional governments could
jointly identify a project to explore the prospects for related variety in the regional economy.
Collaborative leadership development expertise would be developed through each actor bringing
substantive knowledge (‘know what’), professional networks (‘know who’) and skills (‘know
how’) to the initiative and explicitly sharing their knowledge and experience with other members
of the project team. The participants are then encouraged to introduce these collaborative
leadership skills back into their respective public bodies to help the latter to behave less like
traditional bureaucracies and more like animateurs of innovation and development. The
formation of a Knowledge Leadership Group would give an institutional expression to the
alliance between universities, development agencies and regional governments.
Finally, as the original RIS programme took consensus-building seriously, it is worth distilling
the lessons from that experience as a starting point for the RIS3 exercise. In the best cases, the
consensus-building process focused on three inter-related themes, namely awareness-raising,
priority-shaping and fostering a sense of ownership, each of which merits attention. Awarenessraising
was achieved in a number of different ways, including: (i) a project launch event such as
a high profile seminar or conference (ii) a series of presentations throughout the region to key
sectors, especially to the business community and the higher and vocational training institutions
(iii) publicity through radio, television and newspaper coverage (iv) the distribution of
customized brochures (v) the creation of a specialized project web site and (vi) the use of iconic
companies in the region as ambassadors for the project. Awareness-raising needs to be measured
and also needs to be calibrated with action, otherwise there is a danger that expectations will be
raised too early in the process, leading to disillusionment before the project has had time to show
some tangible results.
Enabling key actors to shape the priorities of the programme proved to be an important way of
retaining their commitment. Each actor will have a keen sense of their own priorities, as well as
their own diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of the regional economy, and these views
were subjected to critical review through a combination of SWOT analyses and collective
debate. Giving all participants the opportunity to shape the policy priorities is the key point to
establish because this process of open deliberation spawned a sense of ownership.
A sense of ownership was a natural outcome of the consensus-building process when the latter
was properly conducted. A sense of shared ownership among the Steering Group members
proved to be particularly important and this intangible asset was enhanced by regular
consultation with participants and by securing concrete outputs, proving that the RIS exercise
was about outcomes as well as processes, more than just a ‘talking shop’ in other words.
Multi-level/multi-fund approach to RIS3
The process of innovation, and the policies that shape it, operates at multiple levels, from the
global to the local. The process of innovation, and the policies that shape it, operates at multiple
levels, from the global to the local. For many keys actors involved in the region, notably private
firms and leading universities, the development of the region will not be their primary focus.
While regional public authorities do have a territorial responsibility, innovative public services
are increasingly being delivered by external organisations. At the same time, although many
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