S3 involves not only radical innovation but also exploiting niches by innovating in traditional fields, through developing and applying new business or organizational models, and adapting/exploiting innovations deriving from tacit knowledge and experience in these areas. This is especially relevant for regions with comparatively weaker technological and science basis. Social, organisational, market and service innovation, or practice-based innovation, play as important a role in S3 as technological innovation based on scientific research. While some regions or countries may prioritize one or more Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), others will focus on applications of such technologies to specific purposes or defined fields.

ICT for active ageing, mobility solutions to reduce traffic congestion, innovative material solutions for eco-construction, etc.). Priorities could be framed in terms of knowledge fields or activities (not only science-based, but also social, cultural and creative ones), sub-systems within a sector or cutting across sectors and corresponding to specific market niches, clusters, technologies, or ranges of application of technologies to specific societal and environmental challenges or health and security of citizens (e.g. Note however, that although a first set of priorities should be identified when the S3 is designed, they can be changed or modified when new information/developments make it advisable. The number and nature of these priorities will vary from region to region. Support effective and efficient measures that provide incentives to private Research & Innovation investments.ДЄ S3 should prioritise domains, areas and economic activities where regions or countries have a competitive advantage or have the potential to generate knowledge-driven growth and to bring about the economic transformation needed to tackle the major and most urgent challenges for the society and the natural and built environment.

Complement the existing national or regional funding and governance and legal measures that form part of their policy mix.

вЂњFeatures of well performing national and regional research and innovation systemsвЂќ)

Fit into the overall research and innovation policy (as outlined in the Innovation Union flagshipвЂ™s.

Strategy developers should also bear in mind that the reason why S3 became an ex-ante conditionality for the ERDF investments in research and innovation was to ensure that the ERDF funds: These elements should be clearly reflected in the S3 documents and exhaustively explained.

Finally, a good strategy must include a sound monitoring and evaluation system as well as a revision mechanism for updating the strategic choices.

This would allow each region and Member State to shape policy choices according to their unique socio-economic conditions The strategy should embrace a broad view of innovation, supporting technological as well as practice-based and social innovation.It should be an inclusive process of stakeholdersвЂ™ involvement centred on вЂњentrepreneurial discoveryвЂќ that is an interactive process in which market forces and the private sector are discovering and producing information about new activities, and the government assesses the outcomes and empowers those actors most capable of realizing this potential Setting priorities should not be a top-down, picking-the-winner process.Specialisation means focusing on competitive strengths and realistic growth potentials supported by a critical mass of activity and entrepreneurial resources Member States and regions ought to support only a limited number of well-identified priorities for knowledge-based investments and/or clusters. To have a strategy means to make choices for investment.Smart specialisation is a place-based approach, meaning that it builds on the assets and resources available to regions and Member States and on their specific socio-economic challenges in order to identify unique opportunities for development and growth.A strategy for smart specialisation should be designed around the following key principles:

Domainer niche