Innovation policy and implementation of smart specialisation in Ukraine

Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU determines the need to adjust national practices of the innovation policy-making instruments in line with EU standards and principles. EU policy-makers pay special attention to innovative development of the European regions, pursuing development of smart specialisation strategies (S3). The smart specialisation for research and innovation strategies has been mostly applied at the EU countries and regions and the key requirement for regions implementing operational programmes with the European Structural & Investment Funds (ESIF). A key concept of S3 is focused on support of unique industries or economic activities, which will be associated with the specialization of certain regions. The European Commission (EC) has introduced S3 approach as a new tool to facilitate knowledge based growth in developed regions as well as less developed regions and countries. The main aim of this article is to apply the methodology of the S3 for preparation of the smart specialization strategy for Ukraine. According to the RIS 3 Guide, Smart Specialisation Strategies should be designed into six steps: 1) Analysis of the regional/national context and potential for innovation; 2) Governance; 3) Shared Vision; 4) Identification of priorities; 5) Policy mix, roadmaps and action plan; 6) Integration of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The article presents assessment of R&I systems of Ukraine with regard to mentioned steps and identifies its strengths and weaknesses. Also the authors present the RIS 3 Assessment Wheel which is built on the basis of the six steps and provides a visualisation of the huge amount of information obtained as a result of the assessment. In the summary, the authors have evaluated barriers that need to be overcome in order to successfully implement smart specialization on national and regional levels in Ukraine.