The workshop presented interesting findings on the innovation landscape of the region stemming from research carried out by the WBC-INCO-NET project to which SEERC is partner. As part of its Innovation support activities, the project currently works to provide an overview of the situation in the field of innovation in the Western Balkan region including:
- An updated mapping of the Western Balkan Countries’ (WBC) innovation systems and stakeholders (government agencies, business clusters, S&T parks, etc.);
- identification of research and market needs (especially of SMEs) reflecting how research and innovation can be geared towards fulfilling these needs through collaboration in the region;
- comparative analysis of the innovation capacity in the WBC with particular focus on joint cooperation needs
During the workshop Gabriela Thomasova of ZSI (Austria) presented national structures that have been established for innovation in the Western Balkn countries and provided information on their progress, sustainability, problems and current status. Dr. Jadranka Svarc of the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar (Croatia) described the common characteristics and differences of the WBC economic developments and innovation establishments and presented interesting data on the governance of innovation. Dr. Rene Wintjes of UNU-MERIT concluded the workshop with examples of approaches to innovation policy and recommendations for the future.
Next steps in the WBC-INCO-NET project work include the suggestion of joint activities and strategies in the selected areas of innovation support, complementary to the existing national, regional and bilateral funding activities. These will eventually lead to an Action Plan for future joint innovation activities.
To view the conference agenda please click here
