Published on: Thursday, 19 December 2019

Ireland is recognised as a strong innovator globally however it lacks the regional focus to really allow us identify and build on the competitive advantages of the Southern Region.  How can we expect to boost regional innovation and contribute to the overall growth and prosperity of the region without this focus?

The Southern Regional Assembly will deliver the first Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy (RSES) for the Southern Region, a 12-year strategic development framework identifying key priorities for regional investment.  The RSES acknowledges that a strong economy is underpinned by strong enterprise, innovation and skills that requires a competitive, innovative and resilient regional enterprise base.  It is an ambitious plan and provides a timely opportunity to consider and embed Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) into the Irish regions in collaboration with the COHES3ION project. [Image result for smart specialisation infographic"]

CIT are a stakeholder within the RSES and have worked with the SRA to provide inputs regarding clustering through their learnings as a partner on Interreg Europe ecoRIS3 project and development of regional resilience through their involvement on the FOUNDATION project. Dr John Hobbs believe that “the RSES offers an opportunity to implement applicable European good practices gleaned through collaboration with Interreg Europe project partners to support cohesion and sustainable development of industry, academia and government. Good policies here will ultimately improve the region for society in general.”

Southern Regional Assembly has joined forces with 9 European partners on the Interreg Europe funded COHES3ION project to support the delivery of regional innovation through improving the regional impact of Ireland’s S3 in alignment with the Southern RSES.  All partners share the common challenge of effectively implementing Smart Specialisation at the regional level; COHES3ION aims to tackle this by identifying regional Smart Priorities and strengthening the regional coordination of innovation delivery and support players. 

David Kelly, Director of the Southern Regional Assembly “recognises the significant challenges facing our region and the need for effective regional strategy to address this” stating “Through our involvement on EU-funded projects such as COHES3ION we can learn from our European partners how best to unlock the potential of less-developed areas while increasing the competiveness of more-developed areas.  We have a strong vision to become the most liveable region.  We support our people and places to secure a sustainable future”.

What does this mean for the Southern Region?

The Southern Region of Ireland has its own unique individual strengths and competitive advantage where priority areas are of more significance to the economy.  The integration of a regional dimension into Irelands S3 will focus the region on recognising and building on its smart priorities through the development of targeted Regional Smart Specialisation objectives and Regional Clusters which will be instrumental in achieving the benefits of scale required to attract investment and compete for funding opportunities.

COHES3ION, a €1.59 million ERDF three-year project, kicked-off in Spain to share how partners approach regional innovation.

COHES3ION is part-funded by the Interreg Europe Programme and is led by BEAZ S.A.U., Spain.    

For more about COHES3ION please go to https://www.interregeurope.eu/cohes3ion/ or visit the Southern Regional Assembly website.