Analysis of projects funded as of December 31, 2022, within the scope of the main actions oriented towards research, development and innovation and their relevance to the priorities of Tuscany’s smart specialization strategy

This study was commissioned from IRPET by the Tuscany Region – Managing Authority of the POR-FESR. The work was carried out by Local Global Sas for the Productive Sectors and Enterprises area of ​​IRPET. Paolo Chini, Marco Mariani, and Renato Paniccià collaborated on IRPET’s project.
Edited by Elena Zangheri.

The objective of this report is to assess the progress of the Tuscany Region’s Smart Specialization Strategy. This strategy, which aims to strengthen the international competitiveness of businesses and improve the organization of our region’s supply chains, was analyzed primarily in terms of its priorities and technological roadmap, confirming the strategy’s strong relevance overall (almost €1 billion in investments against approximately €388 million in grants) and especially in terms of priorities (Smart Factory) and application areas, aimed at modernizing our production system across sectors. Smart specialization confirms its role as a program that supports the technological development of a broad target of businesses (almost 2,200), which are the primary beneficiaries, accounting for 88% of the grants disbursed. The smart specialization framework was further enriched by an analysis of Tuscan funding in the European program, Horizon. The numerous and profound differences between the two programs were highlighted, as well as their overlap on the ‘technology map’ (priorities and roadmap), a condition that potentially makes integration between the two instruments possible, with consequent benefits for our production system and its transition towards the modernization and competitiveness marked by the Smart Specialization Strategy.