Lagging Regions - Horizontal workshop on S3 Governance

  • 20 Feb 2019

One of the challenges of S3 governance, as emerged is the lack of clarity on responsibilities and competences of technical bodies, i.e. those in charge of supporting S3 design and implementation. In this event we want to address this gap. We frist present the knwoledge developed in previous stages of the project and then, through a participatory, exercise, we try to understand what should the S3 Technical body be responsible for. This is to support regions to prepare their governance structure in the next programming period.

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Agenda and Presentations

08:45 - 09:00 Welcome Coffee and registration

09:00 – 09:15 – Opening remarks and introduction to the day

                                                                          

Fernando Hervas  – JRC,  Welcome (5 mins)

Elisabetta Marinelli – JRC, Plan of the day (10 mins)

09:15-11:00 S3 Governance  - what we have learnt in Lagging Regions 1

 

Presentations of governance case studies and of the outcomes of the two role-playing exercises

Elisabetta Marinelli (et al.) "Squaring the circle: lessons from the role-playing exercises on RIS3 regional and multi-level governance"

Ana Fernández, Federica Bertamino, Elisabetta Marinelli: “Meeting new governance challenges in less developed regions: insights from Extremadura and Puglia”. Paper available here.

Hugo Pinto: “Smart specialisation interactions between the regional and the national:  insights from multi-level tensions in the Portuguese case”

Elisa Gerussi, Ruslan Stefanov: "Governing RIS3 in a Centralised Country: Experiences from Bulgaria"

Marina Ranga: “Smart specialisation as a catalyst for the development of early-stage regional innovation systems”

 

Q&A

Moderators Michalis Metaxas

 

11:00- 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 -13:30 Participatory exercises – The functions and actors of S3 governance

 

One of the problems with S3 governance, as emerged from the "S3 Governance Working Group" is that the lack of clarity on responsibilities and competencies of technical bodies, i.e. those in charge of supporting S3 design and implementation. In this exercise, we want to address this gap, in light of the knowledge developed by the working group in 2018, and presented in the first session of the morning. We want to do so by adapting the framework of the "Project Management Institute" (PMI, 2016), as well as using the insights of the governance case studies from the Lagging Regions project, presented in the first session. The exercise is divided in four steps.

 

Step 1

Participants split into 4 tables and discuss the list of policy-functions that need to be carried out for S3 governance. A preliminary function list will be provided that needs to be integrated with the input of participants. – 15 minutes suggested time.

 

Table 1 -Moderator: Lajos Nyiri - Rapporteur: Petra Szávics

Table 2 - Moderator: Ruslan Stefanov  - Rapporteur: Ana Fernandez

Table 3 - Moderator: Michalis Metaxas - Rapporteur: Hugo Pinto

Table 4 - Moderator: Yannis Tolias - Rapporteur: Elisa Gerussi

 

Step 2

Participants stay in the same table and fill-in the RACI matrix: for each function, they have to classify the governance actors as following.

 

R=Responsible for completion

A=Accountable for decision

C=consulted before action or decision

I=Informed after action or decision

 

Clearly, the RACI matrix varies significantly by country. The idea is to identify the "highest common denominator" for the role of the S3 Technical Body, something that is valid across countries. As the table is large, it is unlikely that it will be possible to complete it all. The moderator should focus mainly on the S3 technical body.  In order of importance:

1) Identify all the items for which the S3 technical body is "R"

2) Identify all the roles of the technical body when someone else is responsible.

 

The more complete the matrix, the better. Yet, the idea is to fill the table, whilst discussing one's own experience, we should avoid a very "dry" exercise.

 

For the moderator: if a point is generating too much conflict due to countries differences, please move the discussion forward and invite participants to follow-up on this point in Step 3.

For the rapporteur: please record also the points that generate “conflict” and the reasons behind it. 

 

Rapporteurs are kindly asked to use their computer with an excel spreadsheet to support the moderator with the exercise.  If you don't have a computer let the JRC know asap.

13:30 – 14:30 Networking lunch

 

14:30 – 15:15 S3 Governance Hearing: on engaging Stakeholders from the business sector

 

"It is best for the development of S3 to focus mainly on stakeholders directly engaged in R&D”

 

Against the motion: Dimitrios Pontikakis

In favour of the motion:  Lajos Nyiri

 

Moderator: Elisabetta Marinelli

15:15-15:30 Reporting from the morning exercise - Yannis Tolias

15:30 – 16:15 Participatory exercises – The functions and actors of S3 governance

 

Step 3

In the third step of the exercise, participants will split by country of origin (as indicated below) and will keep discussing/filling-up the RACI table, focussing especially in the last two columns (National level / DG Regio Country-desk) and on the controversial points emerged in Step 2. During the exercise, the rapporteur shall record both the points in common and the divisive points.   

 

There will be four groups:

Spain  – Italy (Ana Fernandez rapporteur; Elisabetta Marinelli moderator)

Greece – Portugal (Michalis Metaxas moderator; Hugo Pinto rapporteur)

Croatia – Bulgaria – Romania[1] (Elisa Gerussi moderator; Ruslan Stefanov rapporteur)

Romania – Hungary (Petra Szávics, moderator; Lajos Nyiri rapporteur)

 

Step 4

Each region will, after the event, be asked to complete the RACI matrix and send it to the JRC via email.

16:15- 16:30 Next steps and closing remarks

Next steps – Elisabetta Marinelli, Yannis Tolias

Closing Remarks – Fernando Hervas (JRC), Santiago Donat (DG REGIO)

 

Event summary report by Yannis Tolias

Practical Information

When
20 Feb 2019

Description

One of the challenges of S3 governance, as emerged is the lack of clarity on responsibilities and competences of technical bodies, i.e. those in charge of supporting S3 design and implementation. In this event we want to address this gap. We frist present the knwoledge developed in previous stages of the project and then, through  a participatory, exercise, we try to understand what should the S3  Technical body be responsible for. This is to support regions to prepare their governance structure in the next programming period.