Can the key elements to sustainable transitions be found at the intersection between S3 and new industrial policy? Reflections from the Basque Country case

The concept of smart specialisation strategies (S3) has dominated the regional policy panorama in the last decade, which implied a shift from neutral and horizontal regional innovation policies towards priority setting in research and innovation. Despite the focus of S3 on research and innovation, we can find some similarities between these strategies and the literature around new industrial policy. The socioeconomic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to adopt a broader view of innovation and industrial policy in which the intertwined green and digital transitions should play a core role. However, this is not an easy task as it implies changes in policy rationales, new instruments, a more entrepreneurial role for government, and a broader, multi-domain and longer-term consideration of intertwined industrial and innovation strategies, among other issues. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the nexus of industrial policies and S3, and the potential that their combination offers for sustainable transitions in the context of experiences in the Basque Country.