Guide to Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation

side of the box provides a typology which most concisely captures the major features associated
with each of the individual Europe2020 challenges 28 .
For the purposes of this guide, the classification scheme used here is meant to be indicative
rather than definitive, and schematic rather than exhaustive, and in particular cases other
classification schemes may be more appropriate.
For the Europe 2020 smart growth typology, the most concise framework is provided by the
OECD (2011) regional innovation typology in which regions are grouped into three broad types,
namely knowledge regions, industrial production zones, and non-Science & Technology -driven
regions, within which there are various sub-categories. These three broad categories reflect the
major observed differences in terms of the relationships between knowledge, innovation and
regional characteristics. EU regions can be classified into one of these broad smart growth
groupings in terms of the role played by knowledge in fostering their local innovation processes.
For the Europe 2020 sustainable growth typology the classification scheme which most concisely
captures the different combinations of environmental and energy challenges is based on the
relationship between the built environment and the natural environment. At its most fundamental
level, this gives us four types of regions, namely regions which in nature are primarily rural
regions, rural near urban regions, urban regions, and urban-coastal regions. 29
For the Europe 2020 inclusive growth typology, the classification scheme which most concisely
captures the very different social inclusion issues faced by regions is that which is also adopted
by the ESPON (2010) DEMIFER project. This has two broad types of regions, namely regions
facing population decline and population outflows and regions facing population growth and
population inflows. Migration is a highly selective phenomenon and mobility is highly correlated
with skills and income. Population outflow regions are generally facing combinations of both
more rapid population ageing and also economic decline, and in turn these have significant
adverse impacts on both innovation and environmental issues.
In Figure 6, each individual axis represents one of the three Europe2020 agenda dimensions. The
combination of the smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive growth typologies allows for
twenty-four possible tripartite types of place characteristics, each of which is reflected by a
different cell in the three-dimensional box of regions.
28 The regional categories depicted by the sides of the box diagram here with regard to the smart growth, sustainable
growth and inclusive growth dimension of Europe 2020, are exactly the same categories as those used in
results/outcome indicators classification scheme adopted by the international panel of experts advising the EU
Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn the Directorate General for Regional Policy on the use of
results/outcome indicators within a reformed Cohesion Policy.
29 This sustainable growth classification scheme of primarily urban, primarily rural near urban, primarily rural and
primarily urban and coastal, closely resembles the OECD (2011b) regional typology based on the dominant builtenvironment-natural
environment features which uses three types of regions, namely predominantly urban regions,
predominantly intermediate regions, and predominantly rural regions, respectively, with one additional category
here of an urban and coastal region, common in Europe.
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