Objective 5 of the San Sebastian “2030 Strategy” focuses on achieving economic balance by strengthening the city’s scientific and innovative capabilities. It aims to:

1. Develop a more robust and advanced scientific and innovation system (5.1).
2. Promote the bioscience and health industries, leveraging the existing ecosystem, public-private partnerships, and opportunities presented by technological transformation (5.3).
3. Advance entrepreneurship and employment, fostering growth in these areas (5.4).

This strategy is implemented through a multi-layered approach:

• SKILL: Developing human capital.
• SCALE: Supporting business growth and strengthening the business ecosystem.
• CONNECT: Building both local and global networks of collaboration among various stakeholders.

The Metropolitan Strategic Plan (MSP), established under Law 56/2014, serves as the key policy and planning tool for the social, economic, and environmental development of the metropolitan area. It outlines general, sector-specific, and cross-cutting goals, identifies intervention priorities, allocates necessary resources, and sets a timeline and methodology for implementation, all while adhering to principles of environmental sustainability. The Metropolitan City of Turin (MCT) plays a central role in adopting and annually updating the three-year strategic plan for the metropolitan area.

MSP 2021-2023 Vision

The MSP 2021-2023 envisions Turin as an "augmented metropolis." The plan focuses on reducing social, economic, and territorial inequalities within the metropolitan area by supporting digitalization, innovation, and the competitiveness of the local production system, with a particular focus on micro and small enterprises.

Selected Policy Instrument: Strategy 1.3

The selected policy instrument is Strategy 1.3: "Stimulate Innovation in SMEs and Micro-enterprises." This strategy promotes "Industry 4.0" initiatives that complement national and regional efforts, specifically targeting micro-enterprises and SMEs. It encourages the development of networks and cooperation between businesses to boost competitiveness and innovation. Strategy 1.3 is part of the MSP's first axis, which focuses on enhancing the area's overall competitiveness, productivity, and innovation.

One of the key objectives of the Local Economic Pact is to support Grenoble's local unicorns, fostering a more resilient local economy and strengthening collaboration between private industries and public authorities. A specific focus of this initiative is identifying start-ups through the Start-up Observatory, which tracks key economic indicators such as significant fundraising, rapid job growth, high revenue, or the receipt of national and international awards.

Grenoble's Alpes Métropole also utilizes an AI-powered database to help identify these success criteria. After identifying promising start-ups, Grenoble's Alps Metropole conducts interviews to understand their needs and explore how local public authorities can support their growth. This could involve facilitating networking opportunities, securing public R&D funding, or providing real estate to help these companies establish production sites within the region.

The goal is for Grenoble's Alps Métropole to be recognized as a key supporter of start-ups as they scale up, playing an active role in their development. This initiative began during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, when Grenoble's Alps Metropole observed that several start-ups successfully scaled up and secured funding despite the economic challenges.

Currently, the GAM Innovation Service is monitoring 93 local unicorns, with a particular focus on pre-industrialized start-ups, ensuring they can establish their production sites within the territory.

The National Smart Specialization Strategy (ENEI 2030) serves as a key framework for prioritizing public interventions in Portugal, aiming to coordinate public policy tools and maximize their impact. This strategy spans the full spectrum of innovation policies, with a strong emphasis on technology transfer and aligning R&D with innovation policies. The core idea behind ENEI 2030 is to concentrate resources on strategic areas that can boost Portugal's competitiveness in global markets. To achieve this, the strategy is built collectively through dynamic processes and smart specialization, focusing on activities that have the potential to drive structural change.

The strategy's vision emphasizes quality of life, a creative environment, and scientific and innovative capacity as key factors for attracting and retaining talent, as well as fostering business dynamism. These elements are seen as critical to driving growth and convergence.

ENEI 2030 outlines six broad priority areas:

1. Digital Transition
2. Green Transition
3. Materials, Systems, and Production Technologies
4. Society, Creativity, and Heritage
5. Health, Biotechnology, and Food
6. Forests, Oceans, and Space

In each of these priority domains, business acceleration and technology transfer are central focuses of public policy, working in alignment with the RIS3 (Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization) to enhance the economic and social value of R&D and innovation.

The Law on Support for Start-ups aims to encourage the growth of start-ups in Latvia by promoting research-based activities and the use of innovative ideas, products, or processes in business (commercializing research).

The law outlines:

1. The criteria for granting support and the procedure for administering aid to new enterprises.
2. Qualification requirements for venture capital investors.
3. The process for establishing and defining the responsibilities of the commission that evaluates new enterprises.

One of the key benefits of the law is the creation of a favorable tax regime for start-ups, offering two options:

1. A special flat tax rate of €340.90 per month per employee, regardless of salary, combined with a 0% individual income tax rate.
2. 45% co-financing for highly qualified specialists.

While the Latvian start-up ecosystem benefits from this supportive regulation, the law focuses primarily on criteria and procedures for financial support, rather than setting clear goals to help start-ups thrive. A key challenge is the lack of a strategic plan to drive better outcomes. The ecosystem is calling on the government for more specific strategies and detailed plans, emphasizing the need for better planning to achieve stronger results. 

Within EDIO PLUS, PBN will focus on improving Priority Axis 1 – Enterprise Development, and Sub-priority 2.1.1: Enhancing the sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs, as well as fostering job creation through productive investment.

This sub-priority focuses on two key areas:

1. Targeted Competitiveness Enhancement
   This initiative supports businesses with significant or high-growth potential by providing tailored, partnership-based business development services through a program of excellence. It aims to deliver large-scale, complex improvements for dynamic growth businesses, focusing on areas such as:

   • Adopting the latest technological solutions
   • Digitalization
   • Strategy development
   • Organizational improvements
   • Branding and product development
   • Expanding into export markets

2. Increasing Trust and Cooperation through the Agency Model
   This initiative focuses on providing comprehensive, partnership-based services to a broader range of businesses by developing institutional capacity and introducing the agency model for enterprise development. Key components include:

   • Facilitating interactions between enterprises, such as virtual marketplaces and operational registers
   • Strengthening relationships between SMEs and the institutional system for development policy, including applicant support systems, certification processes, and knowledge enhancement programs
   • Promoting cooperation with clusters, providing training and mentoring services, and fostering collaboration among institutional actors