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First ISEC Innovation Camp

12/08/2023

The first ISEC Innovation Camp, organised by the Dialogue4Innovation project in collaboration with the EUSAIR Presidency and the Interreg IPA ADRION 2021–27 programme, took place in Sarajevo on 23 and 24 May 2023 as part of the 8th Forum of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region (EUSAIR). A valuable opportunity for over 80 actors from various territorial scales to come together and pave the way for long-term social dialogue in the Adriatic and Ioanian region to further contribute to the European Green Deal and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.

 

 

Hosted by the Directorate for European Integration of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the two-day event brought together local, regional, national and macro-regional policymakers, as well as researchers and other stakeholders and actors in the field of smart specialisation strategies (S3) and territorial development.

The Camp opened with a comprehensive introductory conference, which covered the role of Interreg in overcoming key shared challenges, as well as the specific framework offered by the Innovative Sustainable Economy (ISE) Mission. This was followed by two workshops analysing the systemic and transformative innovation approach and examining the challenge of depopulation from a comparative perspective.

During the first session, participants discussed how Interreg programmes can address common challenges across the Mediterranean and support cooperation between institutions, civil society and citizens. Gilles Kittel (European Commission, DG Regional Policy and Urban Policy) highlighted the added value of territorial cooperation in the field of innovation. A point further emphasised by Isabelle Nobio and Lucia Calliari of the Interreg Ero-MED and Interreg IPA ADRION Joint Secretariats respectively, who reiterated the ambition to promote coordination and synergies with other initiatives and an outward look to Southern and Eastern Mediterranean shores.

The discussion continued with a presentation on the ISE mission, which aims to promote a fair transition to a more innovative and sustainable economy in the Euro-Mediterranean region with a focus on the Green and Blue economy.

Alessandro Daraio (Mission Institutional Dialogue Project Lead partner, Emilia-Romagna Region) outlined the scope of the Mission and the objectives of the governance projects. Mr Daraio stressed the importance of these projects in amplifying the innovative solutions that the thematic projects are supposed to develop, further emphasising the importance of collaboration with external stakeholders and co-creation with other initiatives. He then passed the floor to Ema Midžić (Mission Thematic Community Project partner, CENER21), who provided more detail on the activities of the Thematic Community project and its specific approach, building on the work of the previous Interreg MED 2014–2020 Green Growth Thematic Community.

The session then focused on the key role of smart specialisation strategies in the activities of the Mission. These strategies could potentially enable further cooperation in leveraging innovation to address complex challenges such as depopulation in rural and underdeveloped regions.

Tatiana Fernández Sirera (Catalan Government, Mission Institutional Dialogue Project) discussed the role of S3 strategies in fostering innovation and accelerating the transition to sustainability. Ms. Fernández explained that systemic approaches are needed to address complex challenges, and that transformative innovation policies should be favoured to help lagging regions find their own path to sustainable development. Fernando Mérida Martín (European Commission, Joint Research Centre Seville) then complemented this with an intervention on how the European Commission supports initiatives through key frameworks such as the Long-Term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas 2040 and the New European Innovation Agenda.

 

To gain a more in-depth understanding of transformative innovation, check out the interview with Míriam Acebillo-Baqué, who works as a researcher at INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), an ISE Mission Associated Partner.

 

The final part of the conference, chaired by Maria Garcés from the CPMR-Intermediterranean Commission, focused on the synergies between the Mission activities and other initiatives aimed at fostering innovation and cooperation at all levels of governance in the Mediterranean.

In this context, special focus was given to initiatives such as:

At the end of the first day, participants engaged with each other and shared their opinions on the topics discussed via an online survey. This revealed a high level of confidence in the impact of the European Territorial Cooperation Programmes, as well as a consensus on the pivotal role of sustainable innovation as a central strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian and Mediterranean regions.

 

Moving into actions: key highlights from the working sessions

Working Session 1 – Exploring the potential of transformative innovation to support smart specialisation for sustainability in the Adriatic and Ionian Macroregion

The first workshop took place on 23 May, after the conference. It aimed at exploring the nature of complex challenges and introducing the basic elements of systems thinking in preparation for the second workshop. To this end, the session began with a systems game, followed by a World Café discussion on how to address the identified challenges. Participants were divided into groups to discuss common policies for addressing depopulation in their regions and to identify ways to address this challenge more effectively.

The main result was a shared board of identified factors and needs including:

  • Better access to funding resources to implement place-based actions in rural areas;
  • Increased dialogue between administrations and capacity-building measures;
  • Adopting a holistic approach to policy development;
  • Promoting ecosystem-based solutions;
  • A bottom-up approach to improving communication with rural communities to understand their needs;
  • Innovative solutions tailored to rural areas;
  • Reverse market incentives to valorise the skills and competences of local people;
  • Increasing the attractiveness of rural areas and promoting the value of more sustainable lifestyles.

Working Session 2 – Addressing the challenge of depopulation in rural areas

The second workshop took place on 24 May. This practical, hands-on session demonstrated how the systemic and transformative innovation approach could be used to address the specific challenge of depopulation in rural areas. The workshop began with a detailed analysis of the issue and concluded with an application of the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) approach.

Fernando Mérida Martín explained that depopulation is a global trend that needs a systemic approach. It is an effect of rural decline, causing, among others, lack of services and braindrain. The solution is to revitalize rural areas by fostering regional innovation ecosystems.  Mr. Martín stressed the importance of understanding the real needs of territories in order to assess them. The implementation of innovation strategies should be a process based on a comprehensive analysis of rural areas. He also explained the approach followed within the Joint Research Centre, mentioning various initiatives and instruments such as:

  • The Rural observatory that provides information and data to rural policymakers and researchers for the definition of policies;
  • The Rural toolkit that helps territories to identify funding sources to implement actions;
  • The Forum that supports the exchange of knowledge and cooperation among stakeholders to revitalize rural territories.

As a linkage with the practical exercise, Elivira Gonzalez (Research4Consulting) recalled the approaches to systemic and transformative innovation and the methodologies and tools tested in the PANORAMED, BLUE BIO MED and B-BLUE projects, financed by the Interreg MED 2014-2020 Programme such as:

  • Multi-Level Perspective for Systemic Innovation;
  • 2-Loops Model;
  • Transformative Innovation Policy Labs (TIPLs);
  • Systems Mapping.

The presentation paid particular attention to the rationale behind the MLP and its usefulness in understanding how landscape trends and innovations induce changes to socio-technical systems.

After the introduction, participants were asked to apply the MLP tool to the challenge of depopulation in rural areas. They were divided in two groups and provided with a set of cards describing key factors of the challenge and a big mural with an MLP template. The exercise consisted in identifying which cards were describing the current socio-technical system, landscape trends, a desired future vision of the system or some emergent alternative practices. As the discussion went by, cards were being distributed along the mural to conform a shared and systemic understanding of the challenge.

 

 

The exercise allowed participants to analyse the three levels of the problem: landscape, dominant system and emergent alternative practices. For example, they addressed global trends such as growth-driven development paradigms or the industrialisation of livestock farming, but also the opportunities offered by EU funding programmes to support climate change mitigation and adaptation and digitisation. They also explored how the dynamics of an ageing rural population, the lack of transport infrastructure, and a precarious governance, among others, define the rules of the current socio-technical system and may limit the possibilities for transformation and innovation.

Finally, the participants identified emerging initiatives that could be the starting point for transforming the system. In particular, they discussed the potential of the bio-economy and new industries based on ICT-driven social innovation, new policies for entrepreneurship, and innovative ecosystems for lagging regions. Other enabling factors could be public-private and cross-sectoral cooperation, multi-level governance structures between municipalities and regions, and strengthened institutions as key drivers for these transitions and the institutionalisation of new practices.

The two workshops promoted a coherent and shared understanding of the transformative innovation approach applied to challenge of depopulation, and enabled participants to identify potential strategies for their specific context.

 

Check the event presentations:

 

Read the report:

First Innovation Camp Report