Funding synergies for innovation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship : an analysis of ERDF and ESF support for S3 skills in the 2021-2027 programming period

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programming in the 2021-2027 financial period recognises the role of human capital in place-based approaches to territorial development and innovative transformation, allowing for investment in skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship. This research quantifies the amount of investment earmarked across the EU-27 for this, alongside similar investments under the temporary Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), acknowledging the importance, and yet complexity, of ensuring complementarity between the funding streams. Whilst the legal basis for both resides in the Union's goal of strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion and reducing disparities, the design and implementation of the two instruments reflects different governance models, performance frameworks, policy priorities and actors. The analysis aims to capture how these two instruments support skills development relevant to the twin transitions and smart specialisation domains across heterogeneous socio-economic and institutional territories within the context of the European Semester recommendations. However, it provides an overview of proposed investment at the point of adoption of the two sets of programmes in 2022 and 2023, recognising that the results and impact of the allocations, and their integration and connection with their local innovation ecosystem, will depend upon the territorial context, the projects and beneficiaries selected and implementation approaches.