The Regional Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization (S3) proposes priorities for South Netherlands and urges the 3 provinces to focus on harnessing and strengthening the regional economy, entrepreneurship and innovation, with social and economic impact as a goal. This means: contributing to innovative solutions to five major social transitions that play a role in the south of the Netherlands and globally and enabling market parties to exploit (inter)national market opportunities. The 5 transitions – under which the transition towards a more efficient care system in which people grow older in a healthier and happier way in South Netherlands in combination with technology and collaboration – are in line with the European and national innovation policy. Technological knowledge is important to achieve breakthroughs, but as such not enough. The challenge is to capture technological and non-technological power through cooperation within the region but also across regional borders.

For fostering Saxony-Anhalt's innovation ecosystem the Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) serves as a specialist strategy streamlining regional, national and European supporting instruments and forms the respective governance structures. The RIS defines innovation priorities for the period 2021-2027 in Saxony-Anhalt as basis for the spending of ERDF funds following the smart specialisation strategy approach. This Smart Specialization Strategy stands for innovation incorporating regional challenges and megatrends. Especially through the strategic innovations lead market Health and Medicine as well as different cross sectional goals this strategy addresses the demographic shift towards longer life expectancies and changing needs of an aging society in the field of health. Recognizing the surge in chronic diseases and the imperative of increasing health awareness, it positions the health economy as a core pillar of the regional next economy. This forward-looking approach extends to biomedicine, encompassing biomedical life sciences and materials, as well as medical technology, spanning hardware, software, and revolutionary imaging procedures in medicine. These efforts converge to empower autonomy in old age, facilitating ambient assisted living, geriatric care, and gerontology. The strategy's implementation is fortified by tried-and-tested model projects, a vibrant innovation ecosystem within biotechnology, life sciences, and health technologies.

The programme for the Cohesion Policy (CP) in Slovenia 2021-2027 aims to promote balanced and sustainable development across regions. It aims to address regional disparities and enhance competitiveness through targeted investments and strategic initiatives. Within RISMED4EU the priority addressed is objective 1 "Smarter Europe". This priority is designed to enhance the innovative and smart economic transformation of regions, which involves supporting the development and adoption of new technologies, fostering research and innovation, enhancing the digital economy, and promoting the competitiveness of SMEs. The objectives are to promote equitable growth and to reduce disparities between urban and rural areas, support the development and adoption of new technologies, enhancing the digital economy and fostering research and innovation, boost the competitiveness of SMEs and support sustainable economic development. Aligned with the EU CP, it is structured around key priority axes that reflect Slovenia's development. Measures Addressed: Support for SMEs, i.e. financial and technical assistance to improve productivity and innovation capabilities; & Digital Infrastructure: Investing in the digital infrastructure and services to enhance connectivity and digital literacy.

Priority: P1. North-East – A more competitive, more innovative region - RSO1.1. Developing and enhancing research and innovation capabilities and adopting advanced technologies
The proposed interventions will contribute to strengthening the capacity and increasing the performance of the regional research-innovation ecosystem, through actions aimed at supporting RDI activities and investments for the implementation of smart specialization solutions, the development of the innovation capacity of enterprises and encouraging research-industry collaboration. In order to increase the capacity of the research ecosystem to respond to real needs identified by the industry and in the process of regional EDP, the program will support projects of regional RDI organizations that aim at RDI activities in collaboration with SMEs and investments for RDI included in the national roadmap for research infrastructures in Romania. The program will support SMEs to absorb knowledge from organizations RDI&TT and to carry out demonstration projects, in order to advance the TRL level.
The RIS3 of the North-East Region supports the development, diversification and reconfiguration of the activity of companies in fields with specialization potential: agri-food & wood industry, textiles, ICT, health, tourism, energy & environment, priority being given to supporting the creation of new innovative companies, development of active enterprises, cluster support and development of competences for innovation.

The "innovation ecosystem" of ER involves many public and private stakeholders who invest resources and collaborate in research projects, new knowledge development, and adoption of innovation. The ER Research and Innovation System (SIRIS-ER) regulation aims to promote research and innovation in the Regional Health Service, integrating policies and activities supporting healthcare, industry, and technology transfer research.
The policy instrument (PI) promotes networking among stakeholders, developing guidelines, training, and exploiting research results into the Healthcare System. It emphasizes assessing research outputs in terms of knowledge, value and system impact. It recognizes adopting a convergence strategy using instruments already employed regionally, nationally, and European-wide for monitoring and evaluating research's social impact. Ideally, health research investment should improve clinical practice, health decisions, resource allocation, and community health. Results can be considered across dimensions with numerous indicators.
Furthermore, the PI defines new regional and corporate R&I governance by establishing the Regional Strategic Committee for Research and Innovation (RSC-RI) and Regional Technical Committee for Research and Innovation (RTC-RI) to implement strategic and operational integration of research policies among regional stakeholders, plan activities, and monitor achieved results.

The main strategic priorities of smart specialisation in Helsinki-Uusimaa which are 1) Climate neutrality, 2) Citizens’ city and 3) Industrial modernisation. Helsinki-Uusimaa has a very broad economic base and a wide range of strengths under these smart specialisation themes. However, from an RDI perspective, certain particularly strong clusters can be identified, with clear internationally recognised excellence, business and diverse innovation activities and clusters that are concentrated in Helsinki-Uusimaa. Helsinki-Uusimaa RIS3 enable the region to recognize its own strengths and to emphasize them in efforts and investments. RIS3 enables us to bring together actors from both the cities and the countryside for impactful activities in research and innovation. Smart specialisation is an increasingly influential concept and an essential part of European regional and structural policy. Funding is allocated to the spearheads of development activities, including the strong health tech and wellbeing ecosystem, which are found in the smart specialisation strategy for our region. With this innovation strategy, our region seeks to maintain its position as one of the Europe’s top leading innovation environments. The Region seeks to showcase the most innovative and interesting projects, companies and ideas in Helsinki-Uusimaa. Stakeholders such as business, cities, public sector, research, education centres, start-ups and the citizen are brought to work together.

The policy instrument addressed (PERIS) aim to foster excellence in health research and innovation. It aligns with European and national strategies, including Horizon Europe, the Spanish Science and Innovation Strategy, and Catalonia’s Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3CAT). PERIS focuses on strengthening the health research ecosystem by promoting translational and clinical research, supporting technology development, and enhancing data accessibility for innovation.
It prioritizes:
o Cutting-edge research in precision medicine, public health, and emerging health challenges
o Innovation in medical technologies, digital health, and advanced therapies
o Talent attraction and retention, ensuring a competitive and skilled workforce.
o Access to scientific and technological infrastructures, improving collaboration and resource sharing.
o Integration of big data and AI in healthcare, fostering data-driven decision-making.

By addressing these priorities, PERIS supports a sustainable and competitive health system while boosting Catalonia’s role as a leading European hub for health research and innovation.