Presented during the Ministerial Round Table on Science and Higher Education. From Bilateral to pan-European Cooperation held over 21-22 May 2010 in Tirana, Albania

1. Regional Cooperation Council
Regional Strategy for Research and
Development for Innovation for the
Western Balkans
Mladen Dragasevic,
Head of Building Human Capital Unit
SEE Expert Meeting, Tirana, 21 May 2010

2. • Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) has completed two years of operation.
• RCC’s structures and Secretariat were set up and became fully operational
‐ transition from the Stability Pact was achieved successfully.
• As a new, regionally owned organisation the RCC represents the region,
supports and initiates regional cooperation.
• The RCC operates under the political umbrella of the South East Europe
Cooperation Process (SEECP). Its objectives, working methods and
priority areas for action are defined by the Statute and other documents
adopted at Annual Meetings and endorsed by SEECP Summits.

3. The RCC exercises a number of general (‘horizontal’) functions:
• Representing the region
• Assisting the SEECP
• Monitoring regional activities
• Exerting strategic leadership in regional cooperation
• Providing a regional perspective in donor assistance, notably in EU
assistance under the Instrument for Pre‐Accession Assistance (IPA)
In its above functions, the RCC concentrates on a role of catalyst and
‘incubator’ of activities, leaving the implementation of specific projects to the
appropriate actors.

4. RCC PLATFORM

5. RCC Priority: Building Human Capital
• Taking over the coordination of Ljubljana
Process;
• Support to higher education reform;
• Finalising the process for making ReSPA a
fully operational regional school;
• Development of a Regional Strategy for
Research and Development for Innovation for
the Western Balkans.

6. Key problems/needs of Science and Technology
at national and regional level identified
• lack of clear science and technology policies and
corresponding finance;
• the weak involvement of decision makers in supporting R&D
activities and programmes;
• different level of integration and participation into
international projects and co‐operation programmes;
• the shortage of competence and skills amplified by a brain
drain;
• the lack of communication and information services and
networks connecting academic research and higher education
institutions.

7. Bottlenecks identified for WB in
connection with R&D
• rather low demand for R&D,
• national R&D systems practically disconnected
from higher education and productive sectors,
• rather low R&D capacities in many cases,
specifically in productive sectors,
• practically zero financing of R&D from
business sector, even in case of direct foreign
investment businesses and multinationals,
etc.

8. Specific objectives of the Strategy:
• to enhance regional cooperation in the field of
R&D;
• to develop cooperation between R&D, higher
education and business sectors;
• to explore possibilities for financing R&D
under existing EU funds;
• to explore possibilities of better use of FP
funds;
• to further integrate the WB region in the ERA.

9. Preparatory Activities
• Ministerial Conference, April 2009, RCC
Secretariat, Czech Republic Presidency of the
Council of the EU (Joint Ministerial Statement)
• Follow‐up Meeting, September 2009
(Coordination Body)
• Foresight Training, JRC/IPTS, (January – March
2010)

10. Main results expected:
• Regional priorities in R&D defined;
• Policy of structural and institutional transformation of R&D systems
outlined;
• Action plan defining further steps in strengthening cooperation clearly
set;
• Regional Centres of Excellence in R&D mapped;
• Existing and new mechanisms for enhancing absorption capacity of
available European funds improved and developed;
• Better integration in ERA as the overarching and long‐term result.
• System of monitoring of cooperation development and criteria of
assessment of the results of cooperation outlined.

11. Main activities
• Building administrative capacities
• Development of Human Resources in R&D
• Revitalization of Institutes and R&D Capacities
• Building ICT infrastructure
• Setting‐up Regional R&D priorities
• Evaluation of project outcomes and Diffusion
and dissemination of results

12. Regional initiatives and task forces
• RCC Task Force Fostering and Building Human
Capital (TF FBHC)
• Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern
Europe (ERI SEE)