SMART SPECIALISATION IN FINNISH REGIONS: HOW TO FACILITATE CONTINUOUS ENTREPRENEURIAL DISCOVERY PROCESS?

Smart specialisation was launched as the innovation policy of European Union (EU) to foster regional innovation and economic transformation. The existence of research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3) was set as a prerequisite for European regions to be eligible for receiving funding for European structural investment funds (ESIF). Today, the focus of European Commission (EC) is to strengthen the sustainability aspect of the smart specialisation approach. It is not enough that regions develop smart specialisation strategy as a one-time effort. The regions should ensure the establishment of continuous collaboration with the entrepreneurial actors to realize smart specialisation strategy, to assess the results of the implementation efforts and to refine strategy when needed. There has been few studies in prior research related to continuous entrepreneurial discovery process and the underlying mechanisms to sustain stakeholders’ engagement. Our paper explores how regional councils in Finland facilitate continuous stakeholder interaction in the context of smart specialisation. The objective is to identify key mechanisms for continuous entrepreneurial discovery process. As key findings of our semi-structured interviews with the regional councils in Finland, we identify the development of specific frameworks and tools, the establishment of horizontal and vertical innovation networks and the integration of smart specialisation in regional development cycle as key mechanisms to facilitate continuous stakeholder interaction. Our work contributes to current debate on conceptual underpinnings of continuous entrepreneurial discovery process. We also provide practical examples for other EU regions how to sustain continuous stakeholder interaction in the context of smart specialisation.