Science meets Regions

Policymakers and scientists need each other to design solutions for the challenges of our time. “Science meets regions” events (link to Launch event) will be organised to promote a culture of evidence-informed policymaking and the regular exchange between regional and local policymakers and scientists.An important component of this Science meets Regions action is the targeted support for multiregional networks, involving at least three regions or cities in at least two different member states. A separate strand was built into the call for expression of interest, allowing specifically for network proposals. The following two networks were selected:

• Gelderland and Overijssel as lead partners (Think East Netherlands), together with Lower Austria, North East Romania and Slovenia, on Digital transition in health. A series of interactive international conferences with dedicated workshops on smart health, will aim at developing solutions together with researchers and social actors to issues defined by the administration in the field of Smart Health.

• Alentejo (Portugal) as lead partner, together with Extremadura (Spain), on Green transition. The action is structured around the constitution of an “Intelligent Agri-Food Network for Semi-Arid Regions”, for which a series of events will be organised to enable its design and implementation in a participatory manner. The themes of the events will be: digital, agriculture, digital livestock, agribusiness 4.0 and integrated agri-food chain.

Science meets Regions events

Science meets Regions will include events and innovation camps at regional and local levels, spread across 2022-2023. The innovation camps will address key challenges such as the green and digital transitions, and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the first call for expression of interest closed in September 2021, 14 regional and local administrations across Europe were selected to participate in the programme. They will each deal with a policy topic that specifically concerns them.

Projects

You can find an overview of the selected projects below, in alphabetical order.

• Cluj-Napoca (Romania), on Green and digital transitions. An innovation camp ‘Annual Digital Transformation Challenge’, focused on implementation of strategic objectives assessing the possible impact of new societal developments.
• Extremadura (Spain), on Green transition. An innovation camp will address energy storage with the aim of creating a link between the energy specialisation of the region and its socio-economic development, by connecting challenges of the industry and the environment.
• Granada (Spain) on Green and digital transitions. An innovation camp and participatory events will tackle the issue of implementing policies to fight climate change at local level.
• Halle/Saale (Germany), on Green and digital transitions. A two day innovation camp will take place and address the topics of climate change, demographic change, and health. The event will focus on health consequences induced by climate change in a region where demographic change is at its peak.
• Hasselt (Belgium), on Green transition. An innovation camp on the green management plan of Hasselt will take place in autumn 2022.
• Helsinki (Finland), on Green and digital transitions. Events will be organised to strive toward carbon neutrality by 2030 and to enhance R&D investment to 5 % of GDP by 2030.

• Leeuwarden (Netherlands), on Green transition. A multi-day conference will address climate adaptation and increasing biodiversity. The conference will include scientific analysis and scientific advice and lead to expert discussion on the governance structure of the Green Blue Diamond program.
• Małopolska (Poland), on Green transition: The circular economy – from theory to practice. A two-day event, combining conference and workshop activities, will aim at increasing awareness on implementation policies and practical solutions for the circular economy.
• Ruse (Bulgaria), on Green transition. An innovation camp on Decarbonisation of Transport will be organised to strengthen policy-making in transport and urban planning through close collaboration of authorities, science, business and citizens for greener and smarter urban and regional transport systems.
• South Bohemia (Czechia), on Green and digital transitions. A multi-day conference on Science for Smart and Sustainable Agriculture will be gathering evidence, especially on biological, ecological and agricultural features typical of South Bohemia.
• Tampere (Finland), on Green and digital transitions. A series of workshops will be organised with the objective to co-create a regional digital compass and to elaborate the role of digital transformation in the planned missions of the regional development programme and the associated smart specialisation strategy 2022-2024.

• Trento (Italy), on Digital transition: AI-based technologies for public decision-making and services. An innovation camp will aim at increasing decision-makers’ awareness about the benefits and drawbacks of AI technologies for public administration and to promote their adoption through multidisciplinary and multisectoral cooperation.
• Umbria (Italy), on Green transition: GR.O.U.N.D. Green On Umbria for New Development. Innovation camps will be set up in order to tackle specific challenges, including supply chains in the agricultural sector and new life for industrial sites, to reach sustainability in the region.
• Zagreb (Croatia), on COVID-19 recovery. A one-day event will be focused on evidence-informed policies supporting single parent families. The event will aim at defining activities that would be included in the 2022-2027 Social Plan of the City, on single-parent families.