"Smart Specialization Strategies in Croatia: Experiences and the Way Forward" conference held

On 8 November 2024, the Smart Specialization Strategies in Croatia: Experiences and the Way Forward conference was held at The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.

This was the third conference organized by The Institute of Economics, Zagreb and the Croatian Innovation Policy Network. It was opened by the acting director of The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Ivana Rašić, and one of the institute’s researchers and the organizer of the conference, Zoran Aralica.
 
The Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) is a public policy tool which enables the development and financing of innovations and R&D activities in areas that are strategically important for regional economic development.
The conference was held in the form of three round tables, dealing with topics such as S3 strategy reach, S3 strategy functioning, and S3 strategy prospects in Croatia. At the same time, the implementation of S3 strategy and its relatedness to other EU research and development strategies, as well as its relevance in Croatia were analyzed.
   
Among other experts, S3 strategy was discussed at the conference by fund beneficiaries, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Maja Pačak Trkulja, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, Iva Novak, the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, Tonka Podnar, and HAMAG BICRO, Želimir Kramarić, as well as Slavo Radošević from University College London.
Our researchers, Zoran Aralica, Ljiljana Božić, and Bruno Škrinjarić, also presented their paper at the conference, entitled: Aralica, Z., Božić, Lj., Roud, V., Škrinjarić, B., Bridging the Productivity Gap: Technological Growth in Croatia’s ICT Sector.

During the conference, proposals for the expert community and policy makers were drafted, with the purpose of improving S3 strategy implementation. Conference participants included policy decision makers, policy analysts, researchers, and professional evaluators, who discussed the S3 strategy and the potential of further advancement of practices.

The conference programme is available here.

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