Digital tech SMEs at the service of Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies

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DEVISE aims to give response to the current challenge that 10 European regions are facing to unlock and exploit the potential that digital tech SMEs have as enabler for the competitiveness of other SMEs belonging to sectors included in their Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3). Although a significant progress has been made in the definition of more focused policies supporting these strategic sectors, more coordinated actions are required to foster the growth of digital SMEs providing innovative solutions that allow other sectors to be more competitive. Having this into consideration, DEVISE aims, by 2021, to increase by 15% the number of digital tech SMEs enabling competitiveness in other regional strategic sectors through improved supporting policy instruments. In doing so, the project will follow an innovative intersectoral approach involving all the relevant stakeholders in the process of analysing the current context, learning from other EU regions and defining improved policies integrating the lessons learnt. DEVISE will produce concrete outputs to meet this objective and other long-term effects. This includes the definition of 10 regional action plans that will help policy makers to improve the effectiveness of the instruments they are responsible through more focused actions supporting the issue addressed in DEVISE. We will also put a lot of effort to set up 10 regional digital transformation enabling environments that will cooperate together. DEVISE will facilitate the creation of these environments formed by digital and other key sectors. Policy makers, business support organisations, educational centres and SMEs from the digital and other smart specialisation sectors will be the main participants and beneficiaries of these environments expected to last beyond DEVISE’s lifetime. These environments will bring improved coordination and increased collaboration between the digital sector and those belonging to other smart specialisation sectors.

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