On 29th April 2022 the Veneto Regional Council approved the Smart Specialisation Strategy [S3] 2021-2027.
Such adoption is one of the enabling conditions, established by the European Regulation n. 2021/1060, preliminary to the implementation of the specific objectives envisaged for the ERDF [European Fund for Regional Development] and ESF+ [European Social Fund +].
In order to guarantee an effective use of the Funds, in fact, the Regions are required to draw up a Smart Specialisation Strategy [S3] to identify objectives, priorities, actions that can maximize the effects of investment in research and innovation, aiming to concentrate resources towards the areas of specialisation characteristic of each territory.
As part of the programming for the next seven years [2021-2027], in parallel with the drafting of the the ERDF and ESF+ Regional Programme, the Veneto Region has therefore launched a process of analysis of the socio-economic context and regional research and innovation system, with the aim of respecting the European conditions and updating the S3 approved for the previous period 2014-2020. The survey also involved universities and research centres’ administrations and entrepreneurs, who play a central role in identifying priorities and translating strategies into economic and social results.
Several topics were analysed, among which, in line with the EU Country Specific Recommendation n.3/2019 – with which the European Council invited Italy to focus on economic policy related to investment in research and innovation and on the quality of infrastructures -, the role played by universities and RTOs [Research & Technology Organizations] in meeting the needs of Venetian companies.
Veneto hosts an articulated and diversified system of centres and institutes [universities, INFN, CNR, … ] which deal with producing and disseminating technical-scientific knowledge of interest for possible support to the development and innovation processes of the Region.
14 research infrastructures are added to institutes and universities, identified by the Region in occasion of the preparation of the National Research Infrastructure Plan [PNIR] 2021-2027, of which 5 are deemed to have a greater impact on the territory, coherent with research strategies of regional relevance [S3], as well as the reference areas identified by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures [ESFRI].
SPES [Selective Production of Exotic Species], infrastructure of the National Laboratories of Legnaro of INFN dedicated to the production of exotic ion beams is resulted to be one of the five. The studies implemented within SPES are central both for research in the field of nuclear physics and astrophysics, for the study and production of innovative radiopharmaceuticals, and for studies of interest for the electronics and aerospace industry.
Despite this elaborate system of knowledge available to the productive world of Veneto, it is not always clear what benefits that the investment in R&D and collaborations with universities and the research system as a whole can bring to companies. In fact, Venetian companies, mostly SMEs, for financial and priority factors, invest mainly in research activities developed directly within the companies, in response to market demands, without collaborating with universities and research centres.
Starting from this information, the Region has been able to outline the interventions to be implemented in support of innovation and the interaction between the world of research and production, within the 2021-2027 programming of the ERDF and FSE+ funds of Veneto.