Smart Specialisation Strategies in Croatia: Experiences and the Way Forward Conference Recommendations

On 8 November 2024, the Croatian Innovation Policy Network and the Institute of Economics, Zagreb, organised the third roundtable entitled “Smart Specialisation Strategies in Croatia: Experiences and the Way Forward”, bringing together around 60 participants from state and regional administration, the academic community, and the business sector.

The round table highlighted the significant role of the EU and its programs, as they increasingly integrate into the national policies of Croatia, the EU’s newest member. The recommendations presented demonstrate what is achievable in the field Smart Specialisation Strategy (s3)for it, and replicable in other Western Balkan economies in the future. This is a result of their moving closer to the European Union. The role of POLICY ANSWERS is essential because this project aims not only to monitor the implementation of the Western Balkan Agenda in the field of Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport  but also to cultivate the necessary human resources for its effective implementation. This may help these countries in better implementing S3 in the future.

During the conference, several key topics emerged as crucial to the implementation and success of the S3 strategy and its future outlook. These included:

1. S3 strategy management and its implementation framework
2. Monitoring and evaluation of the S3 strategy
3. Future perspectives and new development paradigms for the S3 strategy

Below, the main recommendations and outcomes of the discussions on these topics are outlined.