Exploiting synergies between smart specialisation strategies and Horizon Europe : merits and challenges

Synergy is the interaction of two parts working together to create something better than either original component. Obtaining synergies between funding instruments at EU, national and regional levels has been studied extensively over the last decade. Reports and policy documents confirm that cooperating funds can add value and optimise their impacts when working together. The theoretical foundations are widely accepted, yet, conceiving and implementing synergies of different instruments is still loaded with practical difficulties stemming from diverging interests of stakeholders, but also diverse priorities as well as different interpretations of concepts and rules. The European Court of Auditors pointed out that the potential of synergies has not been fully leveraged. The purpose of this policy brief is to contribute to the understanding of challenges and make suggestions to regional authorities on how to overcome practical difficulties and target synergies between Horizon Europe and ERDF programmes. Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) play an essential role in fostering these synergies because they can act as the core design mechanism for ERDF and opportunities for interaction with Horizon Europe (HE).