The Smart Specialisation (S3) process in North Macedonia started in March 2018, when the letter of commitment from the country's government on starting the development of the National Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) reached the Joint Research Centre (JRC). At the same time, an inter-institutional working body was formed, consisting of the representatives from the government, relevant ministries and academic community (S3 working group).

The JRC was asked to support the process of development of the Smart Specialisation Strategy. North Macedonia intends to adopt its RIS3 in 2022 by thoroughly following the JRC methodological framework for Smart Specialisation in the EU enlargement and neighbourhood countries (JRC S3 Framework).
 

Members of the North Macedonia’s S3 working group have undergone training on S3 process in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in April 2018. Apart from participating at the training, the country's S3 team agreed on the next steps of the Roadmap to RIS3. The follow-up to the abovementioned training was organised in Brussels, Belgium, in November 2018, as a workshop with active participation of the country's S3 working group in all steps foreseen under the JRC S3 framework.

Participation in these activities enabled the country's S3 team to take on the first steps of the S3 process and to engage the analytical team within the working group to prepare the data for the analysis of economic, scientific and innovative potential. In order to raise awareness on the Smart Specialisation process in the country, the S3 team of North Macedonia organised a two-day expert workshop on Smart Specialisation in the capital of Skopje in February 2019, with the support of the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) instrument and under JRC guidance. At this event, experts presented all phases of the S3 process under the JRC S3 framework, with the focus on key elements and challenges for conducting successful mapping exercise and EDP phase. The country has finalised the overview of strategic documents related to the S3 process. The country's progress in accordance with the S3 roadmap has been reassessed and provisional dates for all phases have been laid down.
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In May 2021, the S3 team of North Macedonia participated in a two-day workshop on the EDP organised by the JRC. During the workshop, the S3 team actively participated in solving different EDP scenarios and received guidelines on how to conduct each stage of the EDP in the local context.
 

The mapping of economic, innovative and scientific potential in North Macedonia was finalised in 2021. The quantitative mapping stage was conducted by NCDIEL - National Centre for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning from Skopje, North Macedonia and finalised in November 2019. The analysis provided the basis for identifying potential S3 priority domains in North Macedonia. Quantitative mapping was followed by additional qualitative analysis in order to validate the results of the quantitative mapping stage. Qualitative mapping stage was finalised in April 2021.

The dialogue with a wide group of stakeholders within the entrepreneurial discovery process is provisionally scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2021.

The S3 process in North Macedonia is led by the S3 working group whose work is coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economy. The same institutions will have important role in the implementation of the RIS3. The S3 working group is composed of 13 representatives from governmental institutions and 3 representatives from academic sector. For the highest effectiveness of implementation, an action plan to the strategy should be prepared by the country's S3 working group. The action plan should include various instruments and action lines for the support of targeted priority areas.

The consultation of the evaluation and monitoring tools for the Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation of the Republic of North Macedonia will be provided after the finalisation of the EDP stage. Preparation of the strategy draft is planned for 2022.

North Macedonia is committed to carrying out the Smart Specialisation process under the JRC S3 Framework. The country's S3 roadmap is closely followed and the country is achieving progress. It is necessary to:

• Maintain full commitment and devotion to the S3 process;
• Provide validity to the S3 priority domain selection by consulting wide base of stakeholders in the entrepreneurial discovery process;
• Enhance capacities for monitoring, evaluation and implementation stages of the upcoming RIS3.