The Thematic objective addressed by the Policy Instrument selected, would be the number “03 - Enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)”. This objective have several Investment priorities, being the most significant for REBORN project : 3a – Promoting entrepreneurship, in particular by facilitating the economic exploitation of new ideas and fostering the creation of new firms, including through business incubators. The priority 3a, aims to develop a comprehensive plan to support entrepreneurship, encourage growth and job creation. Foster entrepreneur local government: promoting entrepreneurship, identifying niches and self-employment, infrastructure development to accommodate business. Promotion and implementation of financing instruments for entrepreneurs and SMEs and make a work of protection and monitoring of business projects to avoid the failure. Although the policy specifically mentions an actionto support SME’s and entrepreneurs in failure risk, no actions are detailed in the Operational Programme and only some punctual initiatives are being developed in this field, mainly by the Regional Development Agency. The policy should design a consistent strategy, including well-planned actions and involving different regional actors, to support entrepreneurs and SMEs under failure risk, but also motivating those who has already failed and encourage entrepreneurs, fighting against one of the most important barriers, the fear of failure.

From the Walloon Small Business Act to the Manisfesto for SMEs. To ensure a smooth implementation of the SBA, the Wallonia region initiated a series of measures, converging on the Walloon SME Envoy. Wallonia has reviewed all the Commission’s recommendations on the implementation of the SBA and determined that it is able to implement 41 of the 69 recommendations. The 2012 report showed that 65% of these recommendations have already been fully implemented and 35% have been partially implemented. The region has been successful in the 4 core areas of entrepreneurship, internationalization, financing and innovation. The area of public administration has also been successfully restructured to respond to the needs of SMEs. Despite the progress made, the CESW found in 2014 that the Walloon SBA still lacked intensity and scope. The favoured approach was to involve SMEs directly in the process of drawing up the "Manifesto for SMEs". Thus far, the region is relatively weak in the area of second chances. To improve this, the region has already set itself clear goals for the coming yearsto follow up on and to strengthen the implementation of the SBA by the phasing-in of the new policy instrument “Manifesto for SMEs”. This new policy instrument wants to intensify the dynamic in favour of micro-enterprises & SMEs, to enable businesses to recover by strengthening the specific support tools for businesses in difficulty and allow them to have a second chance in case of failure. 

Under the Priority 1 of the EDIOP Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme the policy instrument entitled to “Dissemination of competitive entrepreneurial knowledge” is addressed. This policy instrument aims to increase the currently low entrepreneurial activity and prolonged the business life of manufacturing and service providing SMEs (which is under the EU average) by gaining entrepreneurial knowledge, information, and background infrastructure via providing access to entrepreneurial mentoring and business incubators. The indicator of 3 year surviving rate of the enterprises in less developed regional will be increased from the base value 52.15 per cent (2011) to 53 per cent by 2023. The current policy instrument is only setting directions on what to achieve as a final outcome, but provides no continuous analysis & monitoring of activities addressed to improve the entrepreneurial knowledge and competences, resulting in fragmented political interventions and the lack of system approach in follow-up. Deep dive in interregional good policy making practices will contribute to this process. 

The main objective of the ROP–Axis 3 is to increase the competitiveness of SMEs through actions proposed by the RIS3 plan (SME’s support in alternative funding, internationalization, regional structures for innovation support, incubators, direct co-financing etc.). The main characteristics of the specific Regional Action Plan that will be an outcome of the project, include activities to promote the economic attractiveness of the regional economy, especially for giving a second chance to SMEs and entrepreneurs that facing bankruptcy and the negative impact and results of the remaining financial crisis in Greece and its regions after seven years of high taxes and social security contributions.Τhe priority among other actions of the policy instrument chosen is high.Region of Western Macedonia will prepare a Regional Action Plan for Axis 3 structural funds of the ROP that will combine the project REBORN objectives and lessons learnt with the regional strategy on SME’s support and funding. Until now no actions at all regarding assistance in any possible way to SME’s facing bankruptcy or other difficulties in further economic developing was given through the former ROP’s and structural funds. Financial aid and any other possible assistance was mainly given to healthy SME’s.With the support and the knowledge that will come out of the best practises given by REBORN project the selected policy tool will be dramatically improved in this specific focus for the first time. 

RIS LV 2020 elaborates in detail the Development Strategy of the Lubelskie Voivodeship (2020) in the section dedicated to the development of research and innovation for smart specialisation. RIS LV 2020 priorities that are relevant to the project are: Priority 1. Increasing the ability of business entities to create and absorb knowledge and implement innovation, particularly in areas of regional smart specialisation and Priority 3. Strengthening business environmentinstitutions and public administration bodies open to innovation.

Regional smart specialisation areas include: bioeconomy, medicine&health, low carbon-emission energy and IT&automation. Improvement needs in the policy instrument relevant for the project include: (1) stimulating the level of innovation driven entrepreneurship on regional, national and international markets, (2)fostering cooperation between business and R&D, (3) increasing added value in the economy, especially in the smart specialisation areas, (4) raising awareness of business environment and administration to provide new solution and policy instrumentsto end-users, and (5) enhancing better RIS LV 2020 implementation.

Some of the aims of implementing RIS LV 2020 is increasing the number of SMEs per 10,000 residents as well as their propensity to cooperate with other companies and research institutes and to create innovate products, we believe the re-starting companies could be an asset in this respect and nothing is taken into account in RIS3.