RIS3CAT is Catalonia's strategy for smart specialization under the EU 2020 strategy. It aims to promote sustainable growth through innovation and knowledge in key sectors like healthcare, mobility and green tech. The strategy prioritizes 7 leading industries, 6 key enabling technologies, and emerging activities. It also seeks to improve Catalonia's innovation system through public-private partnerships, international cooperation, and other measures to transform knowledge into economic and social value. RIS3CAT represents a change to more entrepreneurial, collaborative innovation policies in Catalonia and for EU cohesion funds.

1. RIS3 as an instrument to promote
sustainable growth in Catalonia
Albert Castellanos Maduell
General Director for Economic Promotion, Competition and Regulation
Ministry of the Vice-presidency and of the Economy and Finance
Brussels, 13 October 2016

2. RIS3CAT
Europe 2020 Strategy
Catalonia 2020 Strategy
• employment and training
• social cohesion
• innovation and knowledge
• entrepreneurism
• internationalisation
• green economy
Priorities:
•7 leading sectors
•6 KETs
•Emerging activities
•Innovation system
ClustersInternational
value chains
Stakeholder
cooperation
Economic
specialisation
R&I
specialisation
Global trends
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Catalonia’s ERDF OP 2014-2020
Support to:
•innovation and knowledge for sustainable growth
•entrepreneurism
•green economy
Under RIS3CAT priorities

3. Ex ante analysis
o A strong R&D system of excellence highly internationalised
o A strong industrial tradition and industrial base, highly diversified
and internationalised, with a strong cluster tradition.
o Commitment to quality of live (as a Mediterranean country) and to green economy
(as the only path to sustainable growth).
o A very open economy.
o A research system with financial difficulties.
o Many companies (SMEs) with difficulties to compete in the global market.
o High unemployment rate.
o There is no tradition of cooperation between the R&D system and the business
fabric.
3
Main RIS3CAT challenge: Transforming knowledge and technology into
economic and social value

4. SWOT
Vectors Quality of lifeIndustrial tradition Green economy
Vision 2020
Catalonia is a country with an industrial base and an open, competitive and sustainable
economy that combines talent, creativity, a diversified business fabric and its own
excellent research system within the framework of a dynamic, enterprising and inclusive
society.
Strategic objectives
•
• Features of the Catalan Economy
1. To modernise the business fabric by improving the efficiency of production processes,
internationalisation and the reorientation of consolidated sectors towards activities with
greater added value
2. To promote new emerging economic activities through research and innovation to create
and develop new market niches
3. To consolidate Catalonia as a European knowledge hub and link technological and creative
capacities to existing and emerging sectors in the territory
4. To improve the overall Catalan innovation system, increasing the competitiveness of
companies and steering public policies towards the promotion of innovation,
internationalisation and entrepreneurship

5. General Scheme
 Food and drink
 Chemicals, energy and
resources
 Industrial systems
 Design-based industries
 Industries related to
sustainable mobility
 Health industries
 Cultural and experience-
based industries
These will be identified in the
smart specialisation process
 ICTs
 Nanotechnology
 Advanced materials
 Photonics
 Biotechnology
 Advanced manufacturing
 RIS3CAT communities
 Specialisation and Territorial Competitiveness Projects (PECT)
 Emerging activities
 R&D cooperation projects
 Public-private partnerships in R&D&I
 Knowledge industry
 Technology transfer
 Innovative public procurement
 Strengthening the technological capabilities of research and innovation infrastructure
 International cooperation
 Industrial PhDs
 Development of RIS3CAT in Barcelona
Polítiques públiques
 Digital agenda
 Entrepreneurism
 Eco-innovation
(green economy)
 Non-technological
innovation
 Training and talent
RIS3CAT Action Plan measures
Leading sectors Emerging activities Cross-cutting enabling
technologies
Environment for
innovation
Pillar 2 Pillar 3 Pillar 4Pillar 1
Public policies

6. The RIS3CAT a discovery process for smart specialisation
 Introduction of new innovative governance solutions with the implication of the
quadruple helix stakeholders.
 Collaborative R&I investments as the main driver for sustainable economic
growth and for smart specialisation of the business fabric.
 Strong orientation of ERDF towards RIS3CAT priorities and objectives.
6
1 Prior evidence and
consensus for the
vision and the
strategic
objectives
4. Coordination with
State and EU
policies
2. Government
leadership and
interdepartmental
coordination
5 Cooperation with
other regions
3. Participation of R&I
stakeholders
6. Monitoring and
evaluation system

7. RIS3 has changed ERDF programming and execution
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 Public administrations become an innovation agent:
 Innovation Public Procurement
 Specialisation and Territorial Competitiveness Projects lead by local authorities

8. 8
Some concluding thoughts...
 Regions are key players to achieve Europe 2020 objectives.
 Structural Funds reinforce the contribution of regions to Europe 2020
objectives.
 RIS3 and other ex-ante conditions are key to reorient regional policies towards
Europe 2020 objectives.
 RIS3 represents a change of paradigm for innovation policies and for EU
Cohesion Policy.
 RIS3 is defined as an entrepreneurial discovery process. It is about finding
new solutions to the new societal challenges with the implication of all
stakeholders (R&I system, companies, administrations, users).
 The policies based on smart specialisation are being implemented…we need
to know whether they work.
 RIS3 and Structural Funds monitoring and evaluation systems should be more
focused on learning and less focused on compliance with predefined
objectives.

9. www.gencat.cat/catalunya2020

10. www.gencat.cat/catalunya2020