National-regional governance of STI

In Austria the majority of research and innovation policy is organised nationally (about 78% of public R&D expenditure is financed at federal level, the remaining 12% is financed by the Länder). The federal ministries for Education Science and Research (BMBWF), Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK), Labor and Economy (BMAW) cover most issues regarding research and innovation policy. The main national funding agencies are the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) focusing on applied and industrial research, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) focusing on basic research, and the Austrian Wirtschafts Service Gesellschaft (AWS) as the federal development and financing bank. No regulation comprehensively allocates competencies between national and regional levels.

National and regional S3s: organisation and governance

Austria has one Smart Specialisation strategy at the national level, the Austria RTI Strategy 2030. However, each of the 9 Bundesländer (regions) has its own economic and innovation strategy. These Länder strategies are in line with the overall framework of the federal RTI Strategy 2030. There is regular and structured exchange between the Federal Government and the Länder on RTI policy through appropriate dialogue formats, specifically at the meetings of the Bundesländerdialog organised by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and also within the ÖROK (Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning) Subcommittee for Regional Economy, which deals with regional policy in the context of RTI. The interaction between the national and regional smart specialisation strategies is described in the Policy framework for smart specialisation in Austria (oerok.gv.at). The Austrian RTI Strategy 2030 aims to address the fragmentation in top-level research and institutional disciplines by promoting cooperation and closing the innovation chain. It emphasizes the utilization of European Research Area (ERA) programs and international collaborations to enhance research impact. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of research infrastructures meeting leading-edge standards and strengthening applied research to bridge basic research and societal needs. The strategy is based on a commitment to increasing efficiency and output in the research system, drawing insights from OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy: Austria 2018 and the European Commission's Smart Specialisation concept. It also integrates cross-cutting issues such as Sustainable Development Goals, digitalization, gender equality, Responsible Science, Open Science, and Open Innovation. The governance structure of the RTI Strategy 2030 involves a cross-departmental approach, led by the RTI Task Force comprising representatives from various federal ministries. This task force coordinates policy and oversees strategy implementation, leveraging expertise from diverse stakeholders.

For information on regional S3s, please return to the homepage: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/assets/s3-observatory/index_en.html