The BRIDGES project was invited to participate in the Horizontal Interregional Workshop organised on 25 February 2020 by the Joint Research Centre. The meeting focused on the added value of interregional cooperation for the RIS3 of involved regions.
The BRIDGES project starting point, supporting research-to-business and research-to-industry as par excellence RIS3 implementation tools, was confirmed.
One important issue to retain is the win-win model linking advanced and less advanced regions, contributions to diversification and economies of scale on the one hand, and specialisation and economies of scope on the other hand.
The BRIDGES approach, proposing commercialisation of research through internationalisation, was a positive contribution to this discussion. The results ‘on the ground’ from Phase 1 (PP2 (Kantola GP) and PP4 (LUKE, research-to-business) /PP6, PP4 (VTT, research to business) /PP5) and Phase 2 (pilot action, mini projects) indicated that such approaches are possible, probable and relevant.
The readiness of firms and regions to absorb advanced knowledge, was another shared issue among the participants. Especially, the involvement of SMEs was emphasised. Increasing the capacity for innovation absorption came up as a possibly important objective to include into the RIS3 revisions. This linked to the entrepreneurial discovery process (EDP) which, if well planned and organised could be an effective channel for the scaling up of RIS 3 industries as well as for facilitating the emergence of new industries in a region. For this purpose, the role of innovation infrastructures including research and technology transfer units, both large RTOs or smaller, localised Centres of Competence, in the RIS3 delivery, through the diffusion of specialised knowledge within and beyond the region, was also brought up.
Last but not least, the importance of the engagement, involvement and commitment of Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies in interregional cooperation was stressed.
The presentation from the workshop can be found here
