ECA Report on smart specialisation strategies finds it difficult to establish if they are achieving their goals

According to a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) released on 23 Sept. 2023, it is still difficult to establish whether smart specialisation strategies for research and innovation in EU regions are achieving their goals, even though these strategies were drawn up fifteen years ago. In their report 'Review 05: Smart Specialisation in the EU' (In contrast to an audit, a review provides a descriptive analysis, based mainly on publicly available information), the auditors highlight three main challenges that are yet to be mastered:

• making sure meaningful priorities are identified and funded,
• promoting tangible cooperation between EU regions, and
• assessing whether smart specialisation is actually playing its intended role.

Smart specialisation is an innovation policy approach which aims to make better use of EU cohesion policy funds by identifying promising areas of development. Simply put, smart specialisation is about regions setting priorities for investment, based on their unique strengths and opportunities. Having a smart specialisation strategy is required in order to receive research and innovation funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which has allocated €73.8 billion for this purpose over the 2014 to 2027 period.

For the auditors, the smart specialisation process currently lacks oversight. This means that regional priorities may not always align with EU priorities, such as industrial policy goals to produce batteries, microchips, and hydrogen. The fact is that the European Commission has no role in assessing or influencing regional priority choices. As a result, regional priorities and EU-wide innovation goals are mostly implemented independently, with no direct means of ensuring that they work together effectively.

Interregional collaboration can contribute significantly to the success of a smart specialisation strategy, allowing regions to benefit from each other’s experiences and to access new resources, skills, and knowledge. However, many EU regions still do not take advantage of this opportunity. In the 2014-2020 period, interregional collaboration was peripheral to smart specialisation, with cross-border initiatives rarely included in programmes and strategies. Although interregional cooperation has been prioritised for the 2021-2027 period, the level of engagement remains challenging.

Since the outset, monitoring the success of smart specialisation has been difficult, at both regional and EU level. Indeed, the policy has not been thoroughly evaluated since it was introduced in 2014, making it hard to know if it is working. In other words, there is currently no clear answer as to whether this approach is achieving its goals, i.e. helping regions to specialise smartly and strategically, or whether it has turned into a merely formal requirement to secure EU money.

For more information:

ECA - press release

ECA Review 05: Smart specialisation strategies in the EU

See also Science|Business article: Auditors urge greater links between regional and EU innovation strategies