RIS Structure of Western Macedonia

Historical starting point: 2014–2020

The Western Macedonia RIS Structure was created on the initiative of the RDF of Western Macedonia in the context of the Action “Creation of Structures to support competitiveness, innovation and extroversion of enterprises” of the Operational Program “Western Macedonia 2014-2020” in order to contribute to the sustainable development of PDM (sustainable growth of RWM) by applying the philosophy of the Smart Specialization Strategy.

In particular, it was created to monitor the Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3) in the Region of Western Macedonia and the interconnection of local government, citizens and businesses with higher education and research institutions, in order to achieve the sustainable development of PDM through the utilization of the results of research and innovation by businesses.

On the basis of the implementation of the smart specialization strategy, which is the quadruple helix, the needs to be served by the RIS support structure are, in summary, the following:

• Facilitating connections between academic/research bodies and businesses
• Facilitating cooperation/exchanges between businesses
• Adoption of good practices and examples from other Greek and/or European regions
• Rational utilization of public resources and incentives for RTDI and entrepreneurship
• Evidence- and data-based decision support
• Creation of conditions for attracting businesses and investments
• Facilitating the interconnection of the labor market with RIS

The mission of the RIS Support Structure is the effective implementation of the Smart Specialization Strategy of the Region of Western Macedonia.

The mission of the RIS Structure can be achieved by supporting the Governance Structure:

The strategic operating objectives of the RIS Structure of Western Macedonia are:

Strategic Objective 1: Technical support for the Regional Research and Innovation Council of Western Macedonia in carrying out its work

Strategic Objective 2: Support for the Managing Authority of the Western Macedonia Operational Programme in monitoring and evaluating the Region’s RIS Strategy

Strategic Objective 3: Documentation of the Region’s research, technological development and innovation system

Strategic Objective 4: Promoting and assisting the interconnection of the Region’s innovation ecosystem