Cohesion policy incentives for collaborative industrial research: the evaluation of a smart specialisation forerunner programme

This paper evaluates a programme of subsidies for Collaborative Industrial Research (co-)funded by the EU Cohesion Policy in Italy mobilising over 1 billion euros. This programme in the 2007-2013 funding cycle was a precursor to some of the key features of Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) programmes, offering evidence-based insights on potential challenges to the practical application of the S3 approach. The programme was not successful in boosting investments, value added or employment of beneficiary firms. The collaborative dimension of the projects added limited value and a more generous funding level would not have improved effectiveness. However, positive impacts emerged in low-tech sectors.