From plan to process: Governance & leadership implications of RIS3

James WilsonOrkestra & Deusto University

FP7 Smartspec

RIS3 and Entrepreneurial Discovery

• Territorial strategy undergoing a popularity boom• In Europe debate shaped around RIS3• Foray et al. (2012) & growing academic literature

• ‘Entrepreneurial discovery process’ (EDP) the defining characteristic of smart specialisation• Territorial strategy, not government strategy• Participation of ‘quadruple helix’

• In practice EDP a black box: we are all learning• In particular need to know more about governance &

leadership requirements

From plan to process

• EDP requires shift from fixed plans to open processes• Territorial strategy is ‘alive’

• EDP is sensitive• Vertical prioritization & horizontal prioritization• Ultimately about making choices, which are difficult

(Foray, 2013)

• EDP is complex• Multiple levels of territory• Multiple layers of decision-making

Illustration: Visualizing Basque EDP

New capabilities for RIS3• Lessons from literature on place-leadership

• Purposive vs spontaneous governance (Collinge & Gibney, 2010)

• Knowledge leadership (Sotarauta, 2012)• Shared leadership (Conger & Pearce, 2013)

• RIS3 requires:• A mix & rotation of leaderships

Leaders with systemic visionLeaders with understanding of processesLeaders with knowledge of specific fields

• Leaders with a dual reference frame• Leaders from different parts of the quadruple helix

Different regions, different needs

• Comparative analysis of Basque Country & Navarre reveals very different contexts for RIS3

• These characteristics are impacting noticeably on the development of their RIS3

Basque Country Navarre

• Administrative complexity• History of government-led plans &

thematic priorities• Lack of involvement of universities in

territorial strategy• Diversified & endogenous business

sector with a tradition of involvement in territorial strategy

• Political instability• History of more horizontal & bottom-up

policies• Lack of involvement of universities in

territorial strategy• Large presence of foreign capital in

business sector, with reluctance to participate in territorial strategy

Lessons for governance of RIS3

• Context matters, in particular type of regional complexity & degree of political stability• Systemic leadership key in more complex scenarios• Degree of political stability a prerequisite

• Path dependency shapes shift from plan to process• Security of plan presents a barrier• Perceptions of ownership of strategy very important

• We should think in terms of a leadership mix• Different leaderships necessary at different times• Knowing when to step forward & back is key

Thank You