Growth through Research and Innovation in the Western Balkans — The Moment for Action

1. Western Balkans Regional R&D Strategy for Innovation Ministerial Meeting Growth through Research and Innovation in the Western Balkans —The Moment for Action Paolo Correa, World Bank, Stanka Petkovska, Ministry of Education and Science, Macedonia 21 November 2013 Smart Specialization Workshop, Skopje

2. The Western Balkans R&D Strategy for Innovation Technical Assistance: An 18 Months Fact-BasedConsensus Building Exercise Video: Research for Innovation: The moment for action Website: http://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2013/10/24/balkans-innovation-event 7Policy Reviews of key institutions, policies and programs:Country Papers 12Visits to the region Outreach exercise and broader consensus building between 12/2011 and 8/2013 4 High Level Workshops with representatives from governments, research institutes, universities and private sector from all beneficiary entities, as well as international experts 3 Technical Studies (The State of Scientific Performance of the WBCs; Survey of the status of research Infrastructure and technology transfer activities; and Assessment of Data Availability on Research and Innovation) and 5 technical notes : Overview and Main Reportof the Status of Research and Innovation in the Western Balkans. Inception Report —Regional R&D Strategy for Innovation in the Western Balkan Countries: Key Issues and Implications for Technical Assistance, World Bank (2011).

3. A REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: Governance Structure Advisory Body Steering Committee Project management and decision-making body Regional Experts World Bank, European Commission & Regional Cooperation Council Beneficiary Entities Advisory Body Provided support and advice to the Steering Committee and ensured engagement with regional stakeholders

4. What/? Summary View: The status of the Research and Innovation Sector

5. Costly Results of R&D Investments GERD/ Total Triadic patents US$ 1,000

6. Underlying Causes Four intermediate goals are considered: • Improve the research base and conditions for research excellence. • Promote collaboration and technology transfer between research institutions and industry. • Enable business Investments in Research and Innovation. • Strengthen the governance of research and innovation policies.

7. R&D Expenditures per Capita (Predicted and Actual), 2007-11, BiH Data Source: UNESCO Statistics; World Development Indicators. Note: To better illustrate the performance of countries in the Western Balkans, the axis has been cut at the values shown Source: SCIMAGO; World Development Indicators.

8. The Way Forward

9. Reforms and Investments tofoster effective research commercialization and industry science collaboration

10. How? The Value of regional Collaboration

11. The Value of Regional Cooperation • STABILITY of programs and policies (including predictability of funding); • SCALE (avoiding duplication and reaching appropriate critical mass in key sectors) • MERITOCRACY (as the rule of the game for the research community); • GOVERNANCEand results- Orientation

12. Regional Programs • A research excellence fund to increase international collaboration with the scientific Diasporaand expand opportunities for young researchers. • Regional networks of excellence in selected fields – consistent with a strategy for “smart specialization” of the region. The program will promote the concentration of resources in core research groups capable of achieving international standards of excellence. In addition, the program will encourage research mobility within the region, the training of young scientists, and doctorates and master’s degrees in selected sectors. • A technology transfer facility to support and provide assistance at national level • An early stage innovation facilitytocomplement the support to be provided by the Western Balkan Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (EDIF). A non-profit regional organization to supervise the implementation of these programs and promote policy reforms and systematic capacity building — The Western Balkans Innovation Strategy Exercise — (WISE)

13. SMART SPECIALIZATION ( THE NETWORK OF EXELLENCE PROGRAM) POTENTIAL PRIORITIES FIELDS: • renewable energy, • aquaculture, and marine culture fields; •fields of technology (nanotechnology and biotechnology) • specific fields of economic activity (such as agriculture and health); • and some fields of biological sciences and chemistry in which the region shows a higher scientific performance.

14. Thank You!