The overall objective of SpinIT is to address the common challenges identified in the DR:
1. Connect less developed hubs with the most advanced ones and build links within the participating regions, ensuring greater interconnectivity of DR
2. Create and engage businesses, academia, policy makers, the public sector and SMEs to connect them with start-ups
3. Network and peer-learning of the participating stakeholders (start-ups, academia, policy makers)
4. Stimulate and connect local public and private stakeholders (regulators, policy makers, governments, innovation agencies).
SpinIT project incorporates several outputs to address the challenges and achieve its objectives in the Danube Region. These outputs include:
- Enhanced cross-border cooperation among organizations: The project promotes cooperation among 30 organizations across borders. It facilitates knowledge exchange, benchmarking, and capacity building through reports, frameworks, and training programs.
- Local Action Plans: The project facilitates the joint development of strategies and action plans through stakeholder identification and analysis, activation of Local Discovery Groups, MoU development, workshops, and creation of Local Action Plans. This collaborative approach ensures the active involvement of stakeholders in formulating comprehensive and effective strategies to drive innovation and achieve the project’s objectives.
- Pilot Projects: The project facilitates the joint development and implementation of pilot actions in smart specialization (S3) and the IT sector. This includes defining project requirements, selecting pilot projects based on local action plans and best practices, developing appropriate methodologies, and executing 10 pilot projects focused on ICT, Industry 4.0, and cross-sector collaboration.
- Validation of Pilot Projects: The project facilitates the joint development and validation of pilot projects as a key output indicator. Implemented projects are replicated across diverse locations, allowing partners to collectively determine the most effective approach. Reports are submitted for analysis by scientific partners, ensuring scalability and identifying best practices.
The project takes a transnational approach by operating in 10 locations across 8 countries in the Danube Region. This approach is necessary because the challenges faced by the region are not confined to a single country or locality. By promoting knowledge exchange and transnational implementation of pilot projects, the project aims to support digitalization, smart specialization, and sustainable development in the region as a whole.
What is new and original about the SpinIT project is its focus on special niches of three pre-defined clusters: IT, I4.0 (Industry 4.0), and IT cross-sectoral collaboration. By concentrating on these areas
and targeting less developed geographies where the distance to global best practices is greatest (Southern and Eastern Europe), the project aims to maximize its impact. Additionally, the project emphasizes the importance of diversity and transnational cooperation as catalysts for innovation, market growth, resilience, sustainability, and financial performance.
