Ensuring an ongoing Entrepreneurial Discovery Process

In Epirus, one of our region’s goals for 2014-20 is to gather the entrepreneurial community around a common vision for innovation, new forms of entrepreneurship and attraction of investments. In line with the smart specialisation concept, the region will promote those key elements that highlight and exploit its competitive advantages. According to our S3, Epirus has potential for development in four key areas: Primary sector and food industry, Experience industry including tourism and creative industries, ICT & new entrepreneurship, and Health & wellness. However, efficient governance of an ongoing entrepreneurial discovery process is essential and structures were carefully designed with this in mind.

These efforts allowed the mobilisation of public bodies, academic institutions, representatives of the business community and citizens. As a result, besides many individual meetings with local key actors and potential investors, two workshops were held on:  "Pilot action to develop innovative projects in the field of health & wellness  and “Business process discovery for the promotion of innovative projects in the areas of specialisation”.

Last June we established the Regional Research and Innovation Council (PSEK) and four working groups relevant to the areas of specialisation.  The region has also set up a ‘Secretariat for entrepreneurial discovery and investments’ to support continuous identification of new ideas. Based on the results of an entrepreneurial discovery process we published a revised and more effective version of our S3 in March 2016. We have also developed a ‘Manual for entrepreneurial discovery’ presenting the concept and our regional needs in non-technical language.

Efficient governance of an ongoing entrepreneurial discovery process is essential and structures were carefully designed with this in mind.