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A comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at improving performance of Albania in the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) has been published in a document titled “General and Specific Recommendations to Improve the Position of Albania in the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS)” were developed under Capacity Building activities within POLICY ANSWERS.
The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) is the European Commission’s (EC) annual benchmarking instrument for national innovation systems. It provides a comparative assessment of research and innovation performance across European Union (EU) Member States, but also neighbouring countries helping policymakers identify structural strengths and weaknesses and prioritise reforms.
In the EIS 2025 edition, Albania was classified as an ‘Emerging Innovator’, performing at 37.9 % of the EU average in 2025. It ranked 35th among the EU and neighbouring countries and Its performance was below the average of ‘Emerging Innovators’ in the EU and neighbouring countries (37.9 % vs 46.0 % of the EU average in 2025).
The recommendations were elaborated based on desk research, semi structured interviews involving the following organisations: the Albanian statistical office (INSTAT), Eurostat, the DG RTD and group interviews with Albanian public institutions directly or indirectly involved in the development of the EIS indicators (MEI, NASRI, AIDA, etc).
The recommendations emphasise the need for strengthened governance and monitoring through regular quarterly meetings with key stakeholders in Albania. Enhanced statistical reporting is highlighted as a priority, aiming for Albania to report on at least 29 of the 32 EIS indicators by 2027, focusing on missing data for indicators such as high-speed internet access, innovation expenditures and labour productivity. Targeted policy measures, including the introduction of STEM doctoral fellowships, promotion of cloud computing adoption in enterprises and strengthened public-private collaboration in research and innovation are recommended to boost performance.
The National Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation (NASRI/AKKSHI) is a partner of the POLICY ANSWERS project and plays a key role in coordinating research and innovation policies in Albania, while supporting the country’s participation in European frameworks such as Horizon Europe. Within the EIS process, NASRI contributes to strengthening institutional coordination, improving data collection and reporting, and supporting evidence-based policymaking in the field of research and innovation.
The recommendations were elaborated by Enkelejda Havari and Mathieu Doussineau from EFIS Centre with the support of the POLICY ANSWERS team.