Danube-INCO.NET — Advancing Research and Innovation in the Danube Region

The IPTS has been collaborating since its inception with networks of research partners in the Member States (MS) as well as with the other Institutes of the DG JRC and other EC Directorates General in numerous European and international projects. The work for this project is undertaken by the Knowledge for Growth (KfG) Unit, whose mission is to provide evidence-based strategic techno-economic intelligence to support policy making in development of a competitive and sustainable knowledge-based economy and society in Europe. This relates to the fundamental role of the "knowledge triangle" in the achievement of the re-launched Lisbon objectives and of the further development of the European Research Area while scientific cooperation with partners from many countries has with time formulated an EU reference platform for monitoring and analysing research, innovation and human resources in R&D, innovation and related policies and delivered strategic techno-economic intelligence to policy-making in Europe and wider. The KfG has been actively involved in numerous ERA-Nets, INCO-Nets and international projects. One of the latest related collaborations is WBC-INCO.NET funded by the FP7 Capacities Programme. The IPTS has established and is continuously developing the evidence based research and innovation inventory "ERAWATCH" covering 61 countries (including all the Danube region countries) as well as the inventory of ERA-Net projects "NETWATCH", and the "I3S-Innovation Union Information and Intelligence System" supporting the Innovation Union as a part of the Horizon 2020 initiative. The active participation of the "Smart Specialisation Platform" (S3P) in the project is foreseen, established by the EC at the KfG unit to provide professional advice to the EU MS and regions for the design of their research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3). The main support services of the S3P platform to the MS and regions are the following: developing and providing guidance material and good practice examples; organizing information sessions and providing training for policy makers; facilitating peer-reviews; supporting access to relevant data; participating in high-quality research projects to facilitate strategy formation and policy making.