Challenges in Governance of Smart Specialisation in South East Europe

S3-based innovation policies highlight the relevant role of both governance - including its structures and mechanisms – and stakeholders' engagement among the enabling factors of well-functioning R&I ecosystems. In particular, the principle of carrying out a thorough stakeholders' dialogue on "new domains of technological and market opportunities" for decision-making processes demonstrates the importance of the bottom-up method as at the basis of S3. When it comes to the analysis of S3 in SEE, the effects of the recent years of economic transformation and lock-in situations encourage analysis of the way non-flexible institutional infrastructures can significantly harm local innovation capacity development. This creates a context where networking becomes largely uneven and the communication between different players hampers further progress. Whereas Bulgaria and Croatia are already implementing their S3 strategies, Serbia is about to start the implementation phase in 2020. Given their centralized management of the S3 strategies, the cases are particularly suitable for a comparative analysis on governance. We observe that some of the main challenges for S3 governance in SEE in the upcoming period are: enhancing the political commitment of national authorities as well as the collective awareness of S3; implementing an efficient policy mix that integrates S3 with other national policies on innovation; attracting relevant stakeholders to participate in the decision-making process; and boosting the role of cooperation and competitiveness at the macro-regional level.