By publishing the call for proposals, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation is contributing to the goals set under the specific objective of Developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies under the priority Innovative knowledge-based society of Slovenia’s EU Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027.

The call for proposals will support the upgrading of SRIPs and thus enhance cooperation in the field of research, development, and innovation of independent stakeholders of individual areas covered by Slovenia’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S5). The call for proposals promotes systematic networking of stakeholders and competence building in the priority areas, or networking based on entrepreneurial initiatives and S5 application needs, as well as networking in international value chains (internationalisation). The call for proposals will contribute to fostering a more balanced regional development by bringing together relevant stakeholders from the two cohesion regions while reaching a critical mass for a breakthrough in terms of development. 

European Regional Development Fund contribution for the call for proposals, which is worth EUR 9 million, stands at EUR 5,340,690.