Partnerships for Regional Innovation and Development: Implementing Smart Specialization in Europe

This monograph presents the experience in the implementation of smart specialization strategies (S3) from multilevel policy governance, as well as from the bottom-up perspectives of firms, clusters, and networks in selected European countries. The presented research focuses on relevance and feasibility of the S3 adoption, emphasizing the importance of linking policy considerations with partnerships at lower governance levels.

The major contribution of the presented research rests in theoretical implications and practical recommendations relevant for the implementation of regional S3 in the European context, with the possibility of place-based adoption in other environments. The book is also valuable for synthesizing the most recent advancements in smart specialization as a policy concept and the concept of transformation and growth for territorial units and economic entities. This book aims to further diffuse and expand the academic community’s learning of the new S3 approach in Europe and beyond.

The book will be of interest and useful to the academic community of researchers and doctoral students focused on regional innovation development and related policy, as well as on entrepreneurship, networks, and clusters. Public sector professionals dealing with regional development, regional innovation policies, and industrial transformation will also benefit from its content.

Marta Gancarczyk is Associate Professor at the Institute of Economics, Finance, and Management, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Anna Ujwary-Gil is Associate Professor at Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland.

Manuel González-López is a researcher and Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Economics of the University of Santiago de Compostela and member of ICEDE Research Group.