Smart Specialisation in Ukraine: Catalonia’s Experience and the Shift from Priorities to Projects

During the AGRI-BIOCIRCULAR-HUB visit to Catalonia, representatives of the Ukrainian Institute for International Politics, Nadija Afanasieva and Rostyslav Tomenchuk, presented Ukraine’s progress in implementing Smart Specialisation, the key challenges and the next steps for Ukrainian regions.

Ukraine is gradually moving from identifying S3 priorities to building innovation ecosystems around them. The Entrepreneurial Discovery Process is already underway in nine regions. One of the main tasks at this stage is to ensure that identified priorities lead to concrete results – partnerships, projects and investment.

This is why Catalonia’s experience is particularly relevant for Ukrainian regions. The region has strong cooperation between public authorities, research and business, as well as practical mechanisms for translating strategic priorities into concrete action.

During the visit, UIIP representatives identified several potential areas for further cooperation, including bioeconomy and agri-food, technology transfer, cluster cooperation, joint R&I projects, pilot projects and demonstration solutions.

For Ukrainian regions, the next step is to move from the question “What is our priority?” to “What can we build around this priority, and with whom?”. This requires direct links with European partners, joint projects and opportunities for cooperation in specific sectors.

Circular bioeconomy in practice

One of the practical examples explored during the visit was Torre Santa Maria farm, where participants saw how researchers, technology centres and businesses work together on practical challenges.

The farm demonstrated circular bioeconomy solutions including anaerobic digestion, composting, separation and resource recovery technologies. This environment allows new technologies to be tested under real production conditions, adapted and brought into practical use.

This experience is particularly relevant for Ukraine. Through its work with Ukrainian regions within the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process, UIIP sees significant potential in the agri-food sector, processing and related innovation.

At the same time, a strong sector in itself is not yet Smart Specialisation. The key is to identify where the potential for transformation lies – in new technologies, higher-value processing, the valorisation of by-products, the development of new products, or new models of cooperation between research and business.

These are precisely the opportunities currently being explored together with Ukrainian regions through the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process.

From priorities to projects

Catalonia’s experience demonstrates how this process can work in practice: from identifying a development opportunity to research-business partnerships, pilot solutions, projects and further investment.

Potential areas for further cooperation with Catalonia include joint research, pilot and demonstration projects, technology transfer, as well as partnerships between Ukrainian regions, researchers and businesses.

For Ukrainian regions, the next stage of Smart Specialisation is to ensure that identified priorities gradually translate into concrete projects, partnerships and solutions for regional economic development.