Page 109 - Proceeding 2015

NASTASEANU Ariana FAMP
SMART SPECIALIZATION STRATEGIES AND EMPOWERING CITIZENS CCASP

1. STATE OF THE ART

Europe faces a dilemma in respect to its capacity to encourage the private initiative, to transfer the
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11 TH ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
knowledge into marketable products, services or processes and loses far too many talented people. In
terms of how the public funds are spent on the main area that are recognized as stimulus for innovation,
education, research, favorable fiscal environment, IPRs, the question remain which priorities should be
privileged and which are the mechanisms to incentivize the private investment to leverage the effect of

the public support. A possible solution would be the development of the ‘smart specialization strategies’.
Smart specialisation “strategies” can be viewed as a mix of modern industrial policy with innovation
policies that emphasise a bottom-up approach (the entrepreneurial discovery), transparency (e.g.

monitoring and evaluation) and flexibility (e.g. abandon failure programmes). Key challenges remain
empowering citizens and how to identify those activities or domains where new R&D and innovation

projects will create future domestic capability and interregional comparative advantage (Foray et al.,
2011). Empirical evidence suggests that “related variety” i.e. economic diversification offered by
30 th – 31 st October 2015 ”Strategic Management for Local Communities” Bucharest strength - leads to the best economic returns (Frenken et al. 2007; Boshma et al. 2012). Civil society
combining localised know-how and assets into new innovations that are related to existing areas of

represents bottom-up actions and views of the some vulnerable social categories, but also has the role
of identifying row models, inspirational personalities and possible new path for social innovation. However,

policymakers should ensure mechanisms such as crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding capabilities (public
support) in instruments and initiatives included in their regional RIS3 strategies.

The article presents an overview of the European and international policies (OECD) and a model of

engaging local communities in defining the strategies leading to growth, economic prosperity and
identifying solutions to the most stringent societal challenges. It tries to offer an answer to what extent the
Smart specialization strategy or other relevant, related or similar approaches enable local actors to be

part of the policy-making process in order to overcome the effect of the economic crisis and welfare
disparity in Europe.

2. EUROPE 2020, A STRATEGY FOR GROWTH, JOBS AND PROSPERITY

Europe 2020 (COM(2010) 2020 final) is the EU's growth strategy for the period 2014-2020 and represents

the response of Europe to the challenges of the economic crisis faced in 2008. In a continuously changing
world, the European Union (EU) aims to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy which offers
a tailor-made support to its citizens. The three priorities should help the EU and the Member States deliver

high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. The governance accompanying the

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