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The Western Balkan region has significantly improved in terms of innovation performance in the last ten years. However, in catching up with other European regions, the focus of innovation efforts should be enhanced. Exports are still far more focused on medium- and low-technology products. Innovative efforts mostly accommodate traditionally strong sectors, which do not necessarily reflect the ideal competitiveness paths for economies in the region. Although some Western Balkan economies record increases in patent activity, patent intensity in the region is still low, while, on the other hand, scientific publication production displays a stable growth trend. While Western Balkan economies are at different stages in the formation of research and innovation (R&I) policy governance systems, national research and innovation policy frameworks are continuously being improved. The enhancement of governance in the area of R&I came as the result of increased capacity building activities in the region, as well as of the real needs emerging as a result of social and economic transformation. On the other hand, R&I systems in the Western Balkan economies need to continue shifting their focus towards businesses to provide better balance between public and private sector orientation. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission is committed to supporting the shift in innovation policies and improvement of R&I efforts and governance in the Western Balkan economies through a number of tools and activities, allowing policy instruments to be matched with the specific needs of the economy. This approach seeks efficient governance mechanisms for R&I policy by reaching out to the business sector and other important actors of the innovation ecosystem. It determines sustainable development directions for economies and ensures the continuity of policy monitoring and evaluation cycles. This ambitious challenge is translated into four specific lines of activity: (i) the application of the smart specialisation methodology to design and implement innovation strategies; (ii) capacity-building activities for technology transfer, in particular through specialised workshops, tools and instruments specifically designed to assist the academic institutions in the regional economies; (iii) support to transnational collaboration and linkages in the context of EU macro-regional strategies; and (iv) data quality enhancement. The analysis of the development potential of the Western Balkan region in terms of economic, innovative and scientific capabilities in this report is supported with the good practices addressing specific challenges in the region., JRC.B.3-Territorial Development

The R&I Observatory Country Report 2017 provides a brief analysis of the R&I system covering the economic context, main actors, funding trends & human resources, policies to address R&I challenges, and R&I in national and regional smart specialisation processes. Data is provided by Eurostat, unless otherwise referenced, and is up-to-date as of February 2018. Data based upon other international sources is also cited and dated as available in February 2018. The report aims to analyse the state of play of the national R&I system and its challenges, including in support of the European Semester exercise., JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

The R&I Observatory Country Report 2017 provides a brief analysis of the R&I system covering the economic context, main actors, funding trends & human resources, policies to address R&I challenges, and R&I in national and regional smart specialisation processes. Data is provided by Eurostat, unless otherwise referenced, and is up-to-date as of February 2018. Data based upon other international sources is also cited and dated as available in February 2018. The report aims to analyse the state of play of the national R&I system and its challenges, including in support of the European Semester exercise., JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

The R&I Observatory Country Report 2017 provides a brief analysis of the R&I system covering the economic context, main actors, funding trends & human resources, policies to address R&I challenges, and R&I in national and regional smart specialisation processes. Data is provided by Eurostat, unless otherwise referenced, and is up-to-date as of February 2018. Data based upon other international sources is also cited and dated as available in February 2018. The report aims to analyse the state of play of the national R&I system and its challenges, including in support of the European Semester exercise., JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

The 2016 series of the RIO Country Report analyses and assesses the development and performance of the national research and innovation system of the EU-28 Member States and related policies with the aim of monitoring and evaluating the EU policy implementation as well as facilitating policy learning in the Member States., JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

The 2016 series of the RIO Country Report analyses and assesses the development and performance of the national research and innovation system of the EU-28 Member States and related policies with the aim of monitoring and evaluating the EU policy implementation as well as facilitating policy learning in the Member States., JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

This report aims to map the policy measures supporting intersectoral mobility in the Member States and based on the policy measures evaluations analyse the available evidence of their impact. The analysis shows that policies to foster intersectoral mobility are in place in almost all MS. Many of them have been implemented for several years now, yet the readily available evaluations are scarce. The existing evaluations are also often coming short of evaluating the broader socio-economic impact. Yet, the evaluations provide evidence of positive impact of those measures on researchers' skills and employability. To a lesser extent data points to the impact on patents' and publications' propensity and R&D intensity of companies. The strongest evidence is provided in the industrial PhDs evaluations and the impact on skills and employability of PhD researchers can be clearly attested., JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

The executive summaries of the 2015 series of RIO Country Reports put forward the main challenges of the research and innovation systems in the Member States, JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

The executive summaries of the 2015 series of RIO Country Reports put forward the main challenges of the research and innovation systems in the Member States, JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth

The 2015 series of RIO Country Reports analyse and assess the policy and the national research and innovation system developments in relation to national policy priorities and the EU policy agenda with special focus on ERA and Innovation Union. The executive summaries of these reports put forward the main challenges of the research and innovation systems., JRC.J.6-Innovation Systems Analysis

The 2015 series of RIO Country Reports analyse and assess the policy and the national research and innovation system developments in relation to national policy priorities and the EU policy agenda with special focus on ERA and Innovation Union. The executive summaries of these reports put forward the main challenges of the research and innovation systems., JRC.J.6-Innovation Systems Analysis

The 2015 series of RIO Country Reports analyse and assess the policy and the national research and innovation system developments in relation to national policy priorities and the EU policy agenda with special focus on ERA and Innovation Union. The executive summaries of these reports put forward the main challenges of the research and innovation systems., JRC.J.6-Innovation Systems Analysis

The executive summaries of the 2015 series of RIO Country Reports put forward the main challenges of the research and innovation systems in the Member States, JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth