The European Commission, with the support of the S3 Community of Practice (S3 CoP) Secretariat where ERRIN is a partner, is organising the highly anticipated Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) Conference 2025. The event will take place on 18 June in Brussels.

This Conference is the fourth in a series of events that the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), with the support of the S3 CoP Secretariat, is organising for S3 stakeholders from across regions in EU Member States.

Join S3 practitioners, experts, policymakers and other key stakeholders to network and discuss the development of the Smart Specialisation policy concept and its role in promoting the economic transformation of territories and the broader EU policy objectives. Together with speakers from the European Commission, academia, managing authorities and S3 implementing bodies, including ERRIN members, the S3 Conference will be presented around four main pillars:  

• Latest developments in S3: reflections on smart specialisation trends and links to key policy initiatives
• S3 Community of Practice: a review of three years of activities, results, and lessons learned
• S3 and interregional collaboration: opportunities for collaboration, support mechanisms, and case studies from S3 Thematic Platforms
• Taking stock of S3 implementation and outlook: assessment of smart specialisation strategies for 2021-2027 and future perspectives

Register to the event here.

For more details on the pillars and the event please visit the event website.

While the conference is planned as a physical event, all sessions will be organised with a live recording and will be broadcast for an online audience.

While the S3 Conference will be a one-day event, there will be a set of side events including:

• 17 June 2025 - Steering committee meeting of the S3 Thematic Platforms
• 19 June 2025 - Working Groups on innovation diffusion, interregional collaboration, and industrial transitions

For any queries, you are welcome to contact events@S3-cop.eu.