Leveraging research, science and innovation to strengthen social and regional cohesion

Reconciling the goals of simultaneously enhancing the competitiveness of regions in the EU with that of harmonious development and territorial cohesion has not been easy. Member states and the EU have spent considerable resources - mainly focused on enhancing R&D - with the aim of increasing research and innovation in the less developed regions of Europe and reducing the concentration of knowledge intensive activities in 'core' areas. This sizeable increase in R&D expenditure in the periphery has not, however, yielded the expected socio-economic benefits: R&D investment has been associated with improvements in scholarly outputs, but not with higher levels of economic growth or employment. Consequently, there is a need to adopt a new approach to innovation policy in the periphery of the EU. This approach should go beyond simple R&D indicators and acknowledge the specific conditions of each territory. It must focus more explicitly than before on innovation and on the capacity of individuals and firms to participate in innovation systems and to exploit the potential of related variety. Innovation policies in the periphery should also be better coordinated with education, training and capacity-building policies, as well as with regional development strategies. Finally, the institutional bottlenecks inhibiting innovation must also be addressed, alongside initiatives that promote integration into international networks and global value chains.