The region of Central Macedonia, located in northern Greece, has a population of 1,795,669 residents and covers an area of 18,811 km². The region plays a pivotal role in Greece’s economic and cultural landscape, distinguished by its focus on innovation and development. With over 110,000 university students and more than 10,000 researchers and related professionals, Central Macedonia constitutes one of Greece’s foremost academic and research hubs. Notably, two of its Research and Development centres rank among the European Union’s top twenty in attracting research funding. Innovation in Central Macedonia is actively promoted through structured regional initiatives. In 2017, the Independent Directorate of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support was established to fully support entrepreneurship, strengthen innovation and develop mechanisms for financing and collaboration. Building on this effort, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Mechanism began operating in 2019 under the brand name One-Stop Liaison Office (OSLO). Part of the Independent Directorate, OSLO supports the region through S3 strategy planning, monitoring, and evaluation, while also assisting the broader innovation ecosystem with mentoring, mapping and co-designing policies and projects, strengthening the capacity for innovation-driven development across Central Macedonia.
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Head of office
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Regional Address
Vas. Olgas Av. 198
54655 Thessaloniki
Greece
S3 Strategy
The main dimension of the Smart Specialisation Strategy is national, but it is linked to and supported by the regional dimension, to optimally meet the identified needs of each region and exploit its potential. The regional RIS3 focuses on the following priority areas:
- Materials, Industry, clothing-textiles
- Tourism, Culture, CCI
- Agrifood chain
- Environment and circular economy
- Bioscience, health
- Smart transportation and Logistics
- Sustainable Energy
- ICT
Strategic R&I Projects
IFS Awards
The Innovation for Society (IFS) Awards is a challenge-based open innovation competition held in the RCM, Greece. The initiative brought together startups, researchers and professionals to solve concrete corporate challenges through open innovation.
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Foresight & Strategic Planning
A specialised platform (Horizonscanning) continuously monitors megatrends, trends and weak signals across RIS3 areas, providing valuable insights for regional innovation policy.
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Innovation 2040 (edition)
The Innovation 2030 and Innovation 2040 initiatives apply strategic foresight through participatory interactive workshops to explore future scenarios and guide long-term planning for Central Macedonia’s innovation-driven growth.
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Latest Updates
- By Astrid Hannes
Four years on: Celebrating Circular Cities and Regions Pilots’ achievements in driving circular change across Europe
Local and regional authorities across Europe are increasingly committed to the circular economy, yet many still ask the same question: what does implementation look like in practice? A new publication of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) presents circular systemic solutions which were implemented by twelve Circular Pilot Cities and Regions from 2022-2025. Providing concrete answers and pathways for replication, the pilot solutions span different territorial contexts – from small municipalities to large regions – and cover a wide range of value chains, including construction and the built environment, circular resource management, bioeconomy and nutrient recovery, consumer goods, packaging and food systems.
- By Astrid Hannes
New report: Circular Cities and Regions Pilot Solutions: Insights, impacts, and replication paths
From 2023 until 2025, the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative has supported 12 European cities and regions to test what it really takes to turn circular economy ambition into practical, local and systemic solutions. Their examples in developing Circular Systemic Solutions (CSS) across various sectors and focus priorities form the foundation of this booklet. This compilation brings together the insights and solutions developed through the CCRI Pilot programme between January 2023 and October 2025. It highlights not only what the Pilots achieved, but how they did it: the partnerships they built, the barriers they faced, the tools they used and developed and the lessons that can help others accelerate their own transitions.
- By Astrid Hannes
Get inspired by success stories of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative
During an online webinar on 11 December, 12 success stories of regions and cities that piloted circular systemic solutions in their territories with support of the Circular Cities and Regions initiatives were presented. We encourage ERRIN members to check the recordings of this webinar, as the lessons learned and experiences shared can inspire other local and regional authorities to launch new local and regional circular initiatives across Europe.
- By Ana Nava
EIT Water launched: new European innovation community to accelerate solutions for water resilience
EIT has launched EIT Water, a new EU-wide innovation community addressing water resilience, marine and freshwater ecosystem protection, and the sustainable blue economy. The initiative will offer major opportunities for regions to engage in research, innovation and capacity-building.
- By Silvia Ghiretti
15 Hydrogen Valleys receive project development support: 11 in ERRIN regions
On 16 October, 15 Hydrogen Valleys were awarded Project Development Assistance (PDA) from Hydrogen Valleys Facility to help further develop and strengthen their project concepts. ERRIN is pleased to note that 11 of these Valleys are located in ERRIN member regions.
- By Astrid Hannes
Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue: CCRI Policy recommendations in view of the Circular Economy Act
On 12 February 2026, the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), is organising an hybrid multi-stakeholder dialogue in view of collecting inputs for the Circular Economy Act which is expected to be published in the third quarter of 2026. During this dialogue, cities and regions will have the unique opportunity to provide their feedback on the policy recommendations the CCRI is proposing for supporting the circular transition locally. The dialogue will focus particularly on circular public procurement, EPR schemes, the revision of End-of-Waste criteria, product-specific recycled content mandates, the recycling of WEEE and transnational and regional initiatives. We encourage ERRIN members to engage in this important dialogue offering the opportunity to shape the circular future for cities and regions across Europe.