Universities and Smart Specialisation

Universities have a potentially pivotal role to play in the social and economic development of their regions. They are a critical ‘asset’ of the region; even more so in less favoured regions where the private sector may be weak or relatively small, and has low levels of research and development activity. Evidence shows that the successful mobilisation of the resources of a university can have a disproportionately positive effect on regional economies and achievement of comprehensive regional strategies. Universities can therefore play a key role by contributing to the design and implementation of S3 in a local learning and capacity building process. However there are some key underpinning principles that make smart specialisation distinctive from previous iterations of regional innovation strategy development, and it will be necessary to understand the implications of these for the actors in the process, including universities.