Training for implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3)

A training for implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) was held yesterday, on 25 December 2019, in the meeting room of the Ministry of Science.

The training participants included representatives of the Ministry of Science, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Office for European Integration, who had the opportunity to learn more about the major principles of the policy document, the modus operandi of the horizontal implementation system and the new S3.me web platform.

Dr. Nina Radulović, external expert in the development of the Smart Specialisation Strategy, presented the new interactive web platform S3.me, which will become functional shortly. On the occasion, she particularly emphasised the importance of adopting this policy document for our country as a comparative advantage for the withdrawal of EU funds in relation to the Western Balkan region. Furthermore, she also pointed out that knowledge-based economy favours the identified priority areas (in the case of Montenegro: sustainable agriculture and food value chain, sustainable and health tourism, energy and sustainable environment and ICT) that have real chances of success in the wider market in terms of resources and innovation capacities, thus contributing to the overall progress of society. In addition, it was stated that S3 implementation would create a stronger impulse for new sectors in our economy. The Council for Innovation and Smart Specialisation, which held its first session on 21 December 2019, will play a particularly important role in the implementation process.

Smart specialisation policy implementers need a continuous dialogue with the actors for whom the policy is intended: the business sector, academic community, public institutions and civil society. It is essential that all instruments and calls for applications of the line ministries responsible for projects in the S3 priority areas are in line with the Smart Specialisation Strategy. In this context, it is imperative that S3 policy makers and implementers follow the current trends in the context of continuous entrepreneurial discovery proces