ABSTRACT
The cases analysed in most other chapters of this book have taken an essentially historical perspective in reflecting on the past trajectories of competitiveness strategy in specific territories. Like the previous chapter by Culver et al., here we deal with the present and the future. Moreover, while analysis in other cases has been structured around the necessary components that a territorial strategy should deal with, here the focus is on the steps to be accomplished in order to construct a territorial strategy. In the European context, this process has been and continues to be heavily influenced by the European Commission, which has encouraged the development of regional innovation strategies for some time (European Commission, 2007). More concretely, for the 2014–2020 period of European Regional Development Funding it has introduced an ex ante condition that requires all EU member states and regions to have a research and innovation strategy for smart specialisation (an RIS3) in place before their operational programmes are approved (European Commission, 2014). This has resulted in a scrambling around by regional governments to demonstrate the existence of a smart specialisation strategy amid considerable confusion as to how this should be done – something that is reflected in the diversity of approaches and experiences that are currently emerging. It is an interesting and important moment therefore to analyse specific cases with the aim of increasing both our understanding of how RIS3 are being developed in practice and what shape regional strategies for competitiveness are likely to take in the future.
