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Period 2015-2019
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Coordinator Carmelina Bevilacqua - Università Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria - PAU Department
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Fund HORIZON 2020 – MARIE CURIE - RISE - Grant Agreement No 645651
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Topics S3, Place-based approach,Sustainable Return on Investment, PPP
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Amount € 1.512.000,00
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Role LEAD PARTNER
Research
S3 – Smart Specialisation Strategy Place-based regeneration policy for local economic development
The project examined how S3 can be implemented, with respect to the new agenda of Europe 2020, by incorporating a place-based dimension to understand how smart specialization strategies (s3) can be translated into spatially-oriented local development policies. The project built and tested an evidence- based methodology for recognizing and assessing emerging and potential of S3. The methodology has been developed by drawing insights from existing successful US Clusters.
MAPS-LED “Multidisciplinary Approach to Plan Smart Specialisation Strategies for Local Economic Development” is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie RISE research project funded by the European Union’s HORIZON 2020 program for Research and Innovation.
The RISE Program aims to strengthen research partnerships concerning innovative issues by the exchange of researchers among EU and Non-EU countries
The joint Exchange programme is based on a research project integrated with a higher education agenda designed to build and test a Multidisciplinary Approach aiming at understanding how Smart Specialization Strategies (S3) can be translated into spatially-oriented local development policies.
Approach
The joint Exchange program of MAPS-LED is based on a research project integrated with a higher education agenda designed to build and test a Multidisciplinary Approach aiming at understanding how Smart Specialization Strategies (S3) can be translated into spatially-oriented local development policies.
Smart specialization is a new innovation policy concept designed to promote the efficient and effective use of public investment in research. Its goal is to boost regional innovation in order to achieve economic growth and prosperity, by enabling regions to focus on their strengths. Smart specialization understands that spreading investment too thinly across several frontier technology fields risks limiting the impact in any one area.
The project intends to examine how S3 can be implemented, with respect to the new agenda of Europe 2020, by incorporating a place-based dimension.
The main aims are:
To identify and examine S3 in terms of spatial, social and environmental factors;
To take into account local needs and opportunities driving regional policy interventions not only to emphasize “Key Enable Technologies”, but also to empower local innovation process – tacit knowledge, embedded social networks, innovative milieu.
Innovation
The selected theme of the project is a response to the demand for “a comprehensive innovation strategy to enhance Europe’s capacity to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and highlights the concept of smart specialization as a way to achieve these goals” (Smart Specialization Platform – European Commission).
The main objective of the MAPS-LED program is to build and test an evidence- based methodology for recognizing and assessing emerging and potential of S3. The methodology will be developed by drawing insights from existing successful US Clusters.
Europe 2020 is the European Union’s ten-year growth and jobs strategy that was launched in 2010. It is about more than just overcoming the crisis from which our economies are now gradually recovering. It is also about addressing the shortcomings of our growth model and creating the conditions for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Following the Smart Specialization Platform (European Commission), the general track of the project is to implement smart specialization as a key element for place-based regeneration policies for local economic areas.
The MAPS-LED process
Starts from a place-based framework and will include two important drivers:
Cluster policy and cluster-based analysis. Innovative milieu in terms of the local value chains based on the urban-rural linkages (drawing from the CLUDs project findings). The MAPS-LED project will be built in order to connect three important key-factors including:
- Governance: in terms of cluster policy and based cluster analysis;
- Localization: in terms of place-based approach;
- Territorial network: in terms of innovative milieu based on urban-rural link.
The core of this network activity will be driven by joint research and training activities along three main topics:
- Innovation approaching the S3 concept through spatial planning (city-region and S3);
- Innovation in assessing the potential S3 (cluster policy and territorial milieu);
- Innovation in the application of an emerging evaluative tool: Sustainable Return On Investment (SuROI)
Implementation
The background knowledge to build the conceptual framework for gathering data, information from the case studies areas (Boston and San Diego). It is expected to produce, beyond the current state of the art on the cluster theory, a novel concept of cluster more socially and locally oriented, paving the way to pursue ground- breaking objectives, to be achieved through a rigorous and evidence- based empirical work delivered in WP2 and WP3.
Objectives: 1. To build an assessment methodology based on a spatially- led approach and governance-oriented, including qualitative and quantitative indicators, suitable to unveil the hidden potential of regions and sub-regions in terms of S3; 2_To build a panel of data on clusters, suitable to be gathered on official open sources both in the US and in the EU, thus, suitable to support a comparative analysis of the US and EU case studies through a shared set of indicators
The creation of an evidence- based and users- oriented framework, based on the selected case studies, with respect to the spatial factors and governance of the cluster approach.
Objectives: O.2.1_To build a sound and evidence-based methodology to approach clusters with a spatial planningled and governance – oriented approach, also by including a robust set of lessons learned by mapping spatial and organisational success factors from existing cases belonging to cluster theory implementation; O.2.2_To allow the knowledge transfer among partners the innovative methodology on clusters assessment, particularly during the 2nd mid-term meeting and through the Web-Platform; O.2.3_To train Early Stage Researchers through the field work on case studies, delivered under the supervision of the staff at NEU; O.2.4_To disseminate the research goals throughout the larger stakeholders community through the 1st workshop held at FOCUS, allowing to share and assess the preliminary findings.
WP3 concerns the development and application of a valuation tool that monetises the social and environmental value of new clusters identified and described in WP2
Objectives: O.3.1_To test an emerging evaluation tool using social return on investment and ecosystem services approaches to calculate the value of regional clusters in underinvested areas; O.3.2_To provide policy makers and planners with a tested methodology capable showing why the new policy will be successful, and how public investment can be justified; O.3.3_To allow the knowledge transfer among partners the innovative methodology on S3 place- based strategies, particularly during the 4th mid-term meeting, the Symposium and through the construction of the Web-Platform; O.3.4_To train Early Stage Researchers through the research work on testing the methodology; O.3.5_To disseminate the research goals throughout the larger stakeholders community through the 3rd workshop held at AALTO and the Symposium, allowing to share the research findings.
WP4 concerns the interpretation of end-users feedbacks and information and the creation of an enhanced and comparative method, based on the results from WP2 and WP3, that is supposed to be tested in pilot S3 areas purposely selected across the EU.
Objectives:O.4.1_To test an evidence- based methodology for recognizing and assessing emerging and potential S3, suitable to be further exploited through S3-oriented policies in Europe and worldwide. O.4.2_To provide policy makers and planners with a tested methodology capable to support the decision- making process on building appropriate policy mix and enhance the potential of S3 place- based strategies. O.4.3_To allow the knowledge transfer among partners the innovative methodology on S3 place- based strategies, particularly during the 4th mid-term meeting, the Symposium and through the construction of the Web-Platform. O.4.4_To train Early Stage Researchers through the research work on testing the methodology. O.4.5_To disseminate the research goals throughout the larger stakeholders community through the 3rd workshop held at AALTO and the Symposium, allowing to share the research findings.
Findings

The project intends to examine how S3 can be implemented, with respect to the new agenda of Europe 2020, by incorporating a place-based dimension. The main aims are: 1) to identify and examine S3 in terms of spatial, social and environmental factors; 2) to take into account local needs and opportunities driving regional policy interventions not only to emphasize “Key Enable Technologies”, but also to empower local innovation process – tacit knowledge, embedded social networks, innovative milieu.
The selected theme of the project is a response to the demand for “a comprehensive innovation strategy to enhance Europe’s capacity to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and highlights the concept of smart specialisation as a way to achieve these goals” (Smart Specialisation Platform – European Commission).
The main objective of the MAPS-LED program is to build and test an evidence- based methodology for recognizing and assessing emerging and potential of S3. The methodology will be developed by drawing insights from existing successful US Clusters.
Following the Smart Specialisation Platform (European Commission), the general track of the project is to implement smart specialization as a key element for place-based regeneration policies for local economic areas.
The MAPS-LED process starts from a place-based framework and will include two important drivers:
1. Cluster policy and cluster-based analysis,
2. Innovative milieu in terms of the local value chains based on the urban-rural linkages.
The MAPS-LED project will be built in order to connect three important key-factors including:
Governance – in terms of cluster policy and based cluster analysis;
Localization – in terms of place-based approach;
Territorial network – in terms of innovative milieu based on urban-rural link.
The core of this network activity will be driven by joint research and training activities along three main topics:
Innovation approaching the S3 concept through spatial planning (city-region and S3);
Innovation in assessing the potential S3 (cluster policy and territorial milieu)

The multidisciplinary approach of the research has disclosed interesting lens of investigations in connecting urban studies with the dynamics of innovation and knowledge. The main cases derived from a GIS cluster spatialisation methodology applied at city level (Boston and Cambridge) that revealed important nexus with urban planning policy and tools. This methodology is based on spatially-led and governance-oriented approach to trace the behaviour of “place” in fostering knowledge dynamics to promote innovation. The first research question entails:
How cluster performance factors can be combined with the context characteristics by highlighting the spatial implications of knowledge dynamics?
The research activities demonstrated that the geographic concentration of cluster is characterized by a multiscalar and multivariable geography, in the sense that, in each territorial dimension (from state level to city level), the cluster provides a conceptual framework to describe and analyze important aspects of modern economies of that territorial dimension. Its role is not to define a specific area, but to characterize the specific geographic area in terms of innovation, specialization and capacity to activate competitive and comparative advantages. According to the applied spatialisation methodology, the cluster even with a physical configuration acquire the connotation a proxy for innovation concentration because its occurrence is strictly connected to innovation, specialization, job creation that are the success factors of cluster.
The emerging places in which innovation is concentrated, from clusters’ spatialisation, are urban areas subjected to urban regeneration initiatives, some of them explicitly finalized to innovation.
Cluster Spatialization
Impact
Peer Reviewed Article
Author(s): Claudia Mattogno, Rita Romano
Published in: Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Issue 223, 2016, Page(s) 812-817, ISSN 1877-0428
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.279
Author(s): Claudia Trillo, Pasquale Pizzimenti, Carmelina Bevilacqua, Carla Maione
Published in: Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Issue 223, 2016, Page(s) 244-250, ISSN 1877-0428
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.358
Author(s): Arnault Morisson, Carmelina Bevilacqua
Published in: Urban Research & Practice, 2018, Page(s) 1-21, ISSN 1753-5069
DOI: 10.1080/17535069.2018.1472799
Author(s): Arnault Morisson, Mathieu Doussineau
Published in: Regional Studies, Regional Science, Issue 6/1, 2019, Page(s) 101-116, ISSN 2168-1376
DOI: 10.1080/21681376.2019.1578257
Author(s): Arnault Morisson, Carmelina Bevilacqua
Published in: Urban Research & Practice, 2018, Page(s) 1-21, ISSN 1753-5069
DOI: 10.1080/17535069.2018.1472799
Author(s): Trillo Claudia, Petti Luigi
Published in: Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Issue 223, 2016, Page(s) 693-697, ISSN 1877-0428
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.243
Author(s): Alfonso Spisto
Published in: Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Issue 223, 2016, Page(s) 231-237, ISSN 1877-0428
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.355
Author(s): C. Bevilacqua, Y. Ou
Published in: International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, Issue 13/08, 2018, Page(s) 1072-1089, ISSN 1743-7601
DOI: 10.2495/SDP-V13-N8-1072-1089
Author(s): Arnault Morisson, Mathieu Doussineau
Published in: Regional Studies, Regional Science, Issue 6/1, 2019, Page(s) 101-116, ISSN 2168-1376
DOI: 10.1080/21681376.2019.1578257
Author(s): Carmelina Bevilacqua, Pasquale Pizzimenti
Published in: Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Issue 223, 2016, Page(s) 915-922, ISSN 1877-0428
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.315
Author(s): Gabriel Rissola (ed), Bevilacqua Carmelina, Monardo Bruno, Trillo Claudia
Published in: EUR – Scientific and Technical Research Reports, 2019, ISSN 1018-5593
DOI: 10.2760/183238
Author(s): Carmelina Bevilacqua, Yapeng Ou
Published in: International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, Issue Volume 13 Issue 8, 2018, Page(s) 1072-1089, ISSN 1743-761X
DOI: 10.2495/sdp-v13-n8-1072-1089
Author(s): Vincenzo Provenzano, Massimo Arnone, Maria Rosaria Seminara
Published in: Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Issue 223, 2016, Page(s) 442-447, ISSN 1877-0428 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.269
Book Chapter
Smart Specialisation Strategies as Drivers for (Smart) Sustainable Urban Development
Author(s): Trillo, Claudia
Published in: Sustainable Urbanization, Issue 1, 2016
Conferences Proceedings
Author(s): Dario De Domenico, Carmelina Bevilacqua, Aurora Pisano
Published in: InternationalSymposiumonGreenManufacturingandApplications(ISGMA2015, 2015
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2667634
Author(s): Mohammed Agbali, Claudia Trillo, Yusuf Arayici, Terrence Fernando
Published in: International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering, Issue Vol.4, No.5, 2017
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1130403
Author(s): Gabr, Mohammed; Elkadi, Hisham; Trillo, Claudia
Published in: Proceedings of the Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning, Issue Vol 6, 2019
DOI: 10.7275/4564-3s24
Author(s): Nzau, Bernard; Trillo, Claudia
Published in: Land and Poverty Conference 2019: Catalyzing Innovation, 2019
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2652425
Author(s): Bevilacqua C., Provenzano V, Pizzimenti P., Maione C., Cappellano F., Spisto A.
Published in: XXXVI CONFERENZA ITALIANA DI SCIENZE REGIONALI, 2015
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4895.5925
People
Carmelina Bevilacqua
CLUDsLab Director - Project CoordinatorAssistant Professor - PAU Department Università degli Studi Mediterranea of Reggio CalabriaVincenzo PROVENZANO
Project Unit CoordiantorAssociate Professor - Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Aziendali e Statistiche Università degli Studi di Palermo, ItalyAlan W. Dyer
Project Unit CoordinatorProfessor Emeritus - Department of Economics Northeastern University, Boston, MA (USA)Gregory Wassall
Project unit MemberAssociate Professor - Department of Economics Northeastern University, Boston, MA (USA)Claudia Trillo
Project unit CoordinatorLecturer in Architecture - School of the Built Environment- SOBE - University of Salford - Manchester, UKChrister Bengs
Project Unt CoordinatorProfessor - Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics - Aalto University, Helsinki, FinlandKytta Marketta
Researcher of Environmental PsychologyDepartment of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics - Aalto University, Helsinki, FinlandiaBruno Monardo
Associate ProfessorProject Unit Coordinator FOCUS - Centro sulla Valorizzazione e gestione dei centri storici minori - Roma, ItaliaNico Calavita
Project Unit CoordinatorProfessor, School Of Public Affairs San Diego State University San Diego, CA (USA)
Partners

Università Degli Studi Mediterranea
Dipartimento Patrimonio Architettura Urbanistica - Reggio Calabria, Italia

Universita' degli studi "La Sapienza"
Centro sulla Valorizzazione e gestione dei centri storici minori - Roma, Italia

Northeastern University
Department of Economics School of Urban Affairs - Boston (MA), United States of America

Aalto University
Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics - Helsinki, Finlandia

University of Salford
School of the Built Environment - Manchester, United Kingdom

San Diego State University
School Of Public Affairs - San Diego, United States of America
Documents
MAPS-LED 1st Scientific Report
MAPS-LED 2nd Scientific Report
MAPS-LED 3rd Scientific Report
MAPS-LED Communication Plan

This Project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 645651