One major part of RegStrat is the validation of the Compendium and Guide through activities in the partner regions. This is realised by designing and implementing individual pilot applications for SPI tool sets tailored to the concrete situation of the six partner regions. Each regional partner develops its pilot project in close cooperation with and supported by the other project partners, taking into account both the specific regional situation and previous SPI activities which were conducted in the region. Also, the need for policy advice (for the development of regional RTDI or other policies) and upcoming funding possibilities (regional, national and European, especially Structural Funds for the Convergence regions) for the regions will be taken into account.
These pilot applications are designed around one or more workshops or seminars with regional stakeholders and decision-makers to test the usability, appropriateness and robustness of the Compendium and Guide. Either smaller exercises or pre-projects to test and kick-off larger exercises are conducted in this framework. This includes regional SPI awareness raising, gap analyses, recommendations on how to implement the findings in the specific regional policy and investment environments, and regional implementation and outreach activities.
The pilot activities take place between January and December 2007. First project ideas were presented during the RegStrat workshop in Dublin in November 2006. The final project design was presented during the joint RegStrat and Six Countries Programme workshop in April 2007 (see Events). Further information on the pilots will be supplied continuously on this website when available.