S3 Governance and the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) in the Province of East Flanders

From 6 to 7 March 2024, the Policy Learning Platform is organising a peer review for the Province of East Flanders, Belgium. 

East Flanders is one of the five provinces in Flanders. With a population of over 1.5 million people or 514 inhabitants per square kilometre, spread over 60 municipalities and cities, it is one of the most densely populated regions in Europe. 

The region's strategic location within Europe makes it a hub for logistics and transport with well developed road, rail and waterways.

The Province of East Flanders is designing and implementing a Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) under the umbrella of Innovation Playground East Flanders. They aim to focus on mission-driven innovations that offer an answer to the major social, ecological and economic challenges of the 21st century.

However, this S3 strategy lacks a clear logic of intervention and well-defined targets to monitor and evaluate.