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PREFACE
leftoutoftheworldgame.Theknowledgeeconomyhaschangeddramaticallytheway
countriesintegratetheglobalfinancialenvironment,creatingharshconditionsinterms
ofcompetitiveness,growthandjobs,asseveralcountrieshavedifcultiesinpositioning
themselveswithinthenewglobalvaluechains.
Itispreciselyinthiscontextthattheaddedvalueofresearchandinnovationcanmake
adiferenceforcountriesundersimilarthreats.Morespecifically,Europeancountries
thatbydefinitionadheretotheEuropeansocialmodelofasocialmarketeconomy,have
nootheralternativeforregainingcompetitiveadvantageandrepositioningthemselves
intheglobaleconomy.Therealproblemthenforcountriesishowtomaximizethequality
oftheirresearchandinnovationinvestmentanddesignanefectivestrategyforsettingup
anefcientresearchandinnovationecosystemthatisabletotranslatewithinreasonable
timingtheseinvestmentsintotangibleeconomicandsocialbenefits.
DespiteyearsofseriousactionsbytheEuropeanUnionusingmultiplefundingstreams
andtechnicalassistance(suchastheFrameworkProgrammeforResearchandInnovation,
theCompetitivenessandInnovationFrameworkProgramme,theEuropeanStructuraland
InvestmentFundsandmorerecentlythefinancialengineeringtoolsintroducedbythe
EuropeanInvestmentBank),ahugeinnovationdividepersistsinEurope.Duetoahost
ofstructuralreasonsmostcountriesofCentralandEasternEurope,aswellascountries
(andregions)intheSouthofEurope,presentsignificantdisparitiesintermsofresearch
andinnovationperformance.
Tofightagainstthesedisparities,Europehasafullarrayofprogrammesandtools
thattrytoaddresstherootcausesoftheproblem,namelystimulateexcellenceinresearch
andinnovationcommunities,linkbetterbusiness,academiaandgovernmentininnova-
tion-drivenpartnerships,andcultivatecompetitivenessthroughresearchandinnovation
strategiesforSmartSpecialization(RIS3)atnationalandregionallevels.SmartSpecial-
ization(aplace-basedgrowthstrategybasedonknowledgeassetsasprioritydriversfor
economicdevelopment)isnowearmarkedinthenewCohesionPolicyregulationsasthe
pre-conditionforanykindofsupporttheERDFwouldallocatetoEUMemberStatesfor
researchandinnovationinvestment(ex-anteconditionality).RIS3pointstoanintegrated
strategyatlocallevelfordeepeconomictransformation,usingnewalternativeroutesfor
identifyinginvestmentpriorities:Europecanonlycompeteinglobalmarketsthrough
knowledgeinvestment,tryingtooutsmartitsglobalpartnerswithnewideas.Thishowever
isnotpossiblewithoutanintegratedstrategytoidentifythebestgrowthopportunities
anddriversforeconomicchangeatnationalandregionallevels.Suchastrategyshould
bealwaysbottom-up,involvingafullparticipatoryprocessofalllivingeconomicforces
inacountryorregion,inparticularallfourpartsoftheso-calledQuadrupleHelix(aca-
demia,industry,governmentandcivilsociety).
TheEuropeanCommissionhasbeenfullysupportivetowardsMemberStates’eforts
forbuildingRIS3eitheratregionalornationallevel.ARIS3Platformhasbeenestablished
inthecontextoftheJointResearchInstitute(JRC),InstituteforProspectiveTechnological
Studies(IPTS)inSeville(Spain),whereadedicatedteamofofcialsandexpertshavebeen
shoulderingtheinitiativesoftheMSandregions,throughdedicatedworkshops,analyti-
caltools,databasesandguides,andafully-fledgedwebsite.Thewebsitefeaturesalsoan
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