BIP
On 8 November, the first meeting of the new composition of the Working Group on Smart Specialisations was held at the Wyndham Hotel in Wrocław.
The meeting was attended by 56 people. The Working Group is the most important forum for cooperation between the Self-Government of Lower Silesia and business, the science and research sector, business environment institutions and other participants of the Lower Silesian innovation system, and at the same time, an important element of the entrepreneurial discovery process defined in the Lower Silesian Innovation Strategy 2030. The aim of the meeting was to introduce the members of the Group to each other and to jointly discuss how to better work on innovativeness of the region and in which areas Lower Silesia has a particularly high innovative potential.
The meeting began with a lecture, during which representatives of the Marshal Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodship (UMWD) described the projects currently being implemented by the Office to support the operation of the Lower Silesian Innovation System, through, among other things, internationalisation of Lower Silesian enterprises, funding of entrepreneurs' trips to international fairs and study visits at home and abroad. The coordinator of the Lower Silesian network of European Funds Information Points presented the current schedule of calls for proposals in the FEDŚ 2021 - 2027 programme and the FENG programme. After the speeches of the representatives of UMWD and a short introduction of the participants of the Group, the actual workshop part conducted according to the World Cafe method began.
The discussion in smaller groups was conducted around three topics:
1) THEME 1 - Good practices
From whom and to what extent should we learn about how to work on innovation? What are the best methods and tools for setting up projects and consortia for innovation - what works and what is problematic? In which areas are you willing to participate in such networking projects?
2) THEME 2 - Support tools
How else can the Marshal Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodship, apart from funding, support cooperation between science and industry and individual companies, organisations, universities and research institutes? What knowledge do you need? What Polish or foreign solutions/technologies are of interest to you?
3) THEME 3 - Regional Potential What can Lower Silesia do to compete in innovation on a national, European and global scale? Which of the areas identified are characterised by a short timeframe (up to 3 years) for the implementation of innovation projects?
At the end of the discussion, the participants met again after the break and together discussed the conclusions collected at each table. Participants' suggestions on how to better manage the region's innovation focused on the following areas:
- Communication - access to information about the potential of the different actors and the innovations already implemented, broad promotion of the region's Smart Specialisations, collection and promotion of knowledge about market needs and new technologies.
- Networking - more and different types of initiatives to bring innovation actors together, help to connect them in specialised hubs and project groups, use proven networking models from the national and foreign market.
- Education - promoting areas of Smart Specialisation in school and university environments, providing tools for shaping innovation and innovative attitudes among pupils and students, creating interdisciplinary and interuniversity forms of education.
- Legislation - assisting and, where possible, simplifying procedures for innovation projects, transparency of proceedings, concentration of resources on a small number of areas with particularly high potential.
A detailed description of the discussion and a list of recommendations proposed by the participants will be presented in a separate report. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 December this year.
