What progress are ESIF Managing Authorities making with smart specialisation strategies? And how are the ESIF communication plans for 2014-20 developing? These were two key questions discussed by over 40 IQ-Net programme managers from 13 EU Member States who met at the 41st IQ-Net conference in Athens on 21-23 November 2016.
The conference was hosted by the Greek Ministry of Economy and Development (National Coordination Authority and Management Organisation Unit) and focused on two themes: the implementation of smart specialisation strategies and effective communication and publicity.
Discussions under both topics were supported by EPRC research reports, presented by Laura Polverari on smart specialisation and Carlos Mendez on communication, as well as by presentations by the Greek hosts and European Commission representatives from the DG Regional and Urban Policy and the Joint Research Centre’s S3 Platform.
The conference also provided an opportunity to discuss practical good practice approaches to both smart specialisation and communication, presented by network members from different EU Member States.
For more information about IQ-Net, please visit the IQ-Net website or contact the Network Manager Stefan Kah