Guidelines for the stakeholder dialogue in the process of designing and implementing smart specialisation strategies in the EU enlargement and neighbourhood region

The stakeholder dialogue within the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process has been often cited as the most critical stage in designing the Smart Specialisation strategy. It represents a very important milestone in the process, as it brings together key representatives of a society, coming from business, academic, civil and government spheres, to thoroughly discuss and agree on the number of priority areas followed by an appropriate policy mix. The findings from this stage are the key ingredients for the policymakers that are drafting a Smart Specialisation strategy. However, the engagement of such stakeholders needs to be maintained in the implementation stage as well, when policy instruments are tested in the real environment and the implementation results come into the light. Hence, the motivation for being involved in the continuous stakeholder dialogue in both Smart Specialisation design and implementation stages is of crucial importance. In the context of the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Region, where the Smart Specialisation advancement is followed against the dedicated frameworks for strategy design and implementation, this importance is even more demonstrated. This report provides a guidance on how to conduct the efficient and continuous Entrepreneurial Discovery Process in such setting.