In the European Union, Hungary currently ranks among the emerging innovators according to the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), which is produced annually by the European Commission. The Government’s goal is to become one of Europe’s major innovators by 2030, through boosting the value creation capacity of the innovation ecosystem and the productivity of the business sector.

Achieving this ambitious goal requires a complex approach to economic development: in addition to a continuous increase in resources, success will also require a more results-oriented and efficient planning and use of EU and national funding.

In the seven-year period starting in 2021, S3 will contribute to this government goal by identifying our national strengths and setting out the so-called smart specialisation priorities.

The development of the National Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) for 2021-2027 was launched in late 2019 under the professional supervision of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology and coordinated by the NRDI Office. A change compared to the previous strategy is that the new S3 was designed with the active involvement of the government departments responsible for ICT and enterprise development, in addition to that responsible for innovation. The three sectoral deputy state secretariats of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology will continue to work together throughout the implementation of the strategy.

The selection of the S3 priorities started with the application of the so-called “entrepreneurial discovery process” (EDP), in line with EU methodological recommendations, and with the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders.

• One of the instruments of the national EDP was a national questionnaire survey, in which the NRDI Office assessed the experiences, suggestions and needs of smart specialisation among the participants of the innovation ecosystem at national level.
• Another important step in the entrepreneurial discovery process was the setting up of the Territorial Innovation Platforms (TIP) network building on university centres and initiated by the Ministry for Innovation and Technology. The platforms will also play a major role in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the strategy.

The Government adopted the National Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) with Government Decision 1428/2021 (VII. 2.).

In S3, eight national economic priorities identify smart specialisation pathways where the concentration of resources and the promotion of RDI development can provide a significant competitive edge for Hungary.

S3 also includes two horizontal priorities on skills development and modernising the business environment, which support the effective delivery of the national economic priorities. The objectives of the priorities must be contributed to by the proposals receiving funding in the 2021-2027 programming cycle.

The Minister for Innovation and Technology has entrusted the National Research Development and Innovation Office with the management of the implementation and monitoring of S3 during the implementation period of the strategy.

S3 is one of the conditions for accessing EU funds in the 2021-2027 period, and, for this reason, the plan document will be sent to the European Commission.

The English version of the Hungarian S3 can be downloaded under this link.