The "Smart Specialisation Strategy" in the Region of Attica

The vision and strategy for the Region of Attica

Attica is the country’s dominant economic and political centre and a node for research infrastructure. It is the seat of dozens of institutes, nine higher educational institutions (seven universities and two Technological Education Institutes) and multiple innovative business activities. The majority of Greece’s research activities, in both the public and private sectors, is concentrated there.

Strengthening the capabilities and developing structures between local authorities, educational and research centres and private small and medium-sized enterprises can turn Attica into a leading metropolitan centre for research and innovation production and export, of significance to the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean.

At the same time, the stable democratic political environment, combined with its geographical position as a gateway from Asia to the EU, makes Attica a focal point for the exchange of ideas and actions.

Its significant and scientifically and technically competent human resources can be a driving force in this endeavour. Another basic component is the effective collective organisation and democratic participation in support of welfare, security, modern working and business conditions and environmental protection of Attica.

The purpose of the Regional Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RSSS) for Attica is to contribute in shaping an ambitious and realistic roadmap that serves the vision and values described above.

A key aim of the RSSS is to restructure the productive fabric of Attica in the following ways:

• Industrial Reconstruction through the technological boost of enterprises and innovation development (development of new businesses, new products, technological development of existing businesses and products, development of research infrastructure, reinforcement of human resources for research, etc.).
  • Planning based on existing and new production models, the criterion being the potential to develop competitive advantages and interconnections.
  • Strengthening innovation activity for existing and new businesses, with emphasis on product innovation, the development of new products (and services) and complex technological products-systems (complex product-systems – CoPS).
  • Reinforcing the assimilative capacity of enterprises to exploit technological advances and research results.
• Addressing social needs and the aggravation of problems caused by the humanitarian crisis (health, housing, nutrition, education, energy, labour, environment, culture, transport, etc.) for the development and implementation of innovative solutions and applications .
• Developing spatial investments in the urban space and upgrading sustainable social and environmental infrastructure in Attica (urban transport, energy saving, fighting urban pollution, upgrading social infrastructure and services, integrating ICT in urban functions in the service of citizens, waste and urban waste management etc.).

The RSSS aims to enhance innovation activity in three areas of expertise for Attica (Figure 2):

1. Creative economy
2. Blue economy
3. Need-based Sustainable Economy

Figure 2: Fields of Smart Specialisation in Attica

Attica faces significant challenges in these three fields, but equally has the potential to enhance existing and to establish new activities in order to become a metropolitan centre of international scope.

The term “Creative Economy” refers to the socio-economic perspective of creativity and knowledge-intensive activities. At the core of the Creative Economy lie the Cultural and Creative Industries, which include arts, culture, business and technology. Their common element is that they transform creativity into value for productive use.

The sectors included in the Creative Economy are those of culture (theatres, arts, cultural heritage, archaeological sites, cultural centres, etc.), crafts (traditional and contemporary ceramics, jewellery, etc.), software and ICT applications in the fields of entertainment, learning, culture etc. (e.g. software application development and gaming technologies, creating services and content – mobile apps, e-learning, etc.), film production, video and cross-media digital content and broadcasting. In addition, creativity and culture refer to diverse activities from gastronomy, clothing and footwear to industrial design. Finally, the tourism and recreation industry belong to the broader field of design and production-provision of various forms of personal experiences such as leisure tourism, gastronomy and wine, culture, religion, sports, environmental tourism etc.

Attica has a strong reputation and a long tradition in the creative economy. Current activity in fields such as the arts (theatre, cinema, music, etc.), crafts (traditional and new ceramics, jewellery, etc.), education, tourism, creative manufacturing industries (such as clothing and furniture), could develop significant dynamics. Combined with information technology, communications and multimedia they will allow for a renewal and extension of the relevant economic and social activity with significant benefits both for the economy and for society.

The “Blue Economy” includes activities related to the aquatic environment, mainly shipping, fisheries, coastal tourism, management of the aquatic environment and related activities. It also includes the production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wave energy, special tourism (e.g. wreck diving tourism), shipping museums, shipbuilding, protection of the marine environment, recording/exploring the marine world. It is also related to scientific and technological developments in (marine) biology-biochemistry-biotechnology, new materials, ICT, space technology, new forms of tourism, marine/underwater archaeology and history.

The “Blue Economy” is the subject of a long-term strategy to support the sustainable development of the EU’s marine and maritime sector. This strategy recognises that the seas and oceans are the driving force of the European economy, with great potential for innovation and growth.

Attica is already an international centre in the field of shipping and maritime tourism, while there already exists a critical mass of infrastructure and high activity in shipbuilding, in particular lifeboats and small and medium-sized vessels. At the same time, it faces serious challenges insofar as the management and protection of the aquatic environment and energy are concerned. However, the significant productive and technological capacity of the region can support efforts to address those challenges.

All the above are meaningful only when they serve the ultimate target of a “Need-based Sustainable Development”. This concept refers to improvements in the quality of every aspect of daily life. The challenges related to quality of life include an extremely wide activity spectrum: health, education, nutrition, energy, recreation and tourism, environmental protection and management, urban function, transport and spatial interventions, public services and the proper operation of the state. The main opportunities to pursue such business activities focus on addressing acute social and environmental challenges, with a view to developing solutions and technological capacities of international scope.

This sector includes activities dealing with the improvement of the quality of life of the residents in the Attica region. The strategy on this sector aims at making the region of Attica sustainable through the development and implementation of “smart city” and “smart neighbourhood” technologies, the management of solid and liquid waste, energy saving and renewable energy production, utilizing the agricultural-industrial sector and the active nutrition policy. The healthcare industry and the drug industry, which are strongly represented in Attica, should also be included here.

[1] This text is based on the study for the development of the Strategy of Smart Specialization in Attica (2015), carried out by the Special Service for the Management of the Operational Programme of the Attica Region. It is a summary of key structural and developmental characteristics of the region that have an impact on research and innovation, as well as the strategy and specialization fields that were produced from the consultation on the formulation of relevant developmental priorities.
[2] Smart specialisation is a business discovery process, which seeks to identify the areas in which a region or country has comparatively more expertise and better performance, in terms of research, development and innovation.
[3] The “Value Chain” technique (Porter, 1985) examines the inner workings of an organisation and the degree of synergy that develops between them. The value chain helps to identify the contribution of individual activities in the total value created for customers. It is a method for evaluating various strengths and weaknesses presented in a number of interconnected functions, each of which creates value/margin for the customer.