SMART SPECIALISATION STRATEGY S3

The purpose of this Smart Specialisation Strategy for Lombardy (RIS3) is to:

 

  • identify the policies and range of public support that is available at regional level to help businesses invest in innovation, and why and how specific priorities (Specialisation Areas - SAs) for investment have been made;
  • mark a territorial development path through support to the Research and Innovation: help the regional enterprises and research bodies to benefit from and to identify opportunities to collaborate with other places across Italy and beyond with similar investment priorities for innovation
  • fulfil the requirements of EC ERDF ex-ante conditionality, transforming this requirement into an opportunity: to experiment de facto the new territorial development path: concentration of the investments on SAs with high social return of investments;
  • inform and to involve the territorial stakeholder in the policy-making process regarding Research and Innovation.

 

Challenge

Lombardy’ RIS3 helps to build connections of ideas, finance and trade with similar activities elsewhere becoming a long-term strategic framework. The identified challenge is to support, to accelerate the transformation of traditional and/or mature industries into emerging industries.

 

Ingredients for Success

Regional Government scope:

  • goes beyond the vertical sectors logic, assessing cases of regional excellence by disciplinary area. The individuated SAs are: Aerospace; Agrifood; Eco-industry; Creative and cultural industries; Health industry; Advanced manufacturing; Sustainable mobility;
  • points out the “show influences” between competencies of various sectors, boosts cross-fertilisation phenomena;
  • activates and strengthens tools for closer interaction with the territory. The main tools are the “Cluster Initiative” Programme and the Collaborative Platform of Open Innovation;
  • activates specific Call for Proposals with the aim of encouraging the collaborations within the knowledge triangle.

 

Territorial scope:

  • Continuous dialogue with the Regional Government;
  • Participates at the policy-making process through Lombardy Technological Clusters as “soft governance”, the regional "Economic Partnership", different public consultations, and indirectly through thematic communities created on the Collaborative Platform of Open Innovation etc.