JRC activities in Hungary have been developed in two stages: in an initial stage (July 2016 - June 2018) the focus was placed mainly on the regional level, specifically the Észak-Alföld region (HU3) and the city of Debrecen in Hajdú Bihar County, with complementary activities at national level involving the National Office for RDI. In a subsequent stage (July 2018 – June 2020) the focus was broadened and aimed to strengthen the cooperation at national level, particularly with the National Office for RDI.

Several JRC visits to Hungary have been organised during the project, in order to take stock of RIS3 developments and to pursue the most appropriate directions for support. This has included meetings with representatives of the National Office for Research, Development and Innovation, the Hajdú-Bihar County Council, University of Debrecen, ATOMKI Institute for Nuclear Research, INNOVA - the regional innovation agency of Eszak-Alfold, and the Bay Zoltan Foundation for Applied Research.

These activities have enabled a comprehensive picture of RIS3 implementation at national level and in the Hajdú-Bihar county to be drawn. There is a highly centralised approach to RIS3 implementation, with no regional dimension and funding mechanisms operating through a combination of EU Structural Funds (in majority) and national programmes. However, regional innovation agencies have played a role in the process of designing the national RIS3 strategy. In particular, INNOVA, as one of the regional innovation agencies that contributed to this process, built a significant level of experience with RIS3, which was considered to be a major asset for the agency’s renewal and contribution to regional needs.

The directions for collaboration identified and subsequently pursued include:

• Support to RIS3 governance, centred on the participation of representatives of the National Office for RDI and INNOVA in the 2018 meetings of JRC’s Working Group on RIS3 Governance.
• Support to RIS3 monitoring, by sharing with the National Office for RDI and INNOVA the results of JRC’s Working Group on RIS3 Monitoring. The Hungarian partners were also encouraged to take the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on RIS3 Monitoring that JRC developed as an outcome of this Working Group’s activity.
• Introduction of the S3 Platform and its Thematic Platforms on Industrial Modernisation, Energy and Agro-food to the Hungarian RDI community, through a workshop organised in Debrecen by JRC in collaboration with INNOVA (June 2018) on the theme 'Targeted Support to Smart Specialisation through Inter-regional Cooperation'.    

An expert report has been produced on the status of RIS3 implementation in Hungary at national and regional level, together with a profile of the Észak-Alföld region.