The Federal State of Brandenburg – one of sixteen Federal States in Germany – is located in the Eastern part of Germany. Besides its capital Potsdam, it has three other independent cities and 14 counties. Together with Berlin, which it surrounds completely, it forms the Berlin/Brandenburg metropolitan region, of which there are eleven in total in Germany. Most of Brandenburg’s 2.6 million inhabitants live in the suburban area of Berlin. The GDP of the state was 97 million EUR in 2023, accounting for 2.3 % of the total German economic output, putting Brandenburg in the lower range of the country. Brandenburg is mostly a rural area, but with a varied industrial base including engineering, steelmaking, metalworking, paper production, food processing, petroleum refining, mining, and the production of energy from lignite. The Brandenburg-Berlin region and especially Potsdam is the site of an emerging cluster of biotechnology research-and-development activities. It consists of three public universities, four public colleges and different non-university science organisations, such as Fraunhofer Institutes (especially IAP), Leibnitz-Institutes (especially IGZ, ATB, IHP), and Max-Planck Institutes.
EIT Digital is a leading European organization that drives digital innovation and entrepreneurial education to strengthen Europe’s position in the global digital economy. As a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), it fosters collaboration between startups, scaleups, research institutions, and industry leaders to accelerate the development and commercialization of cutting-edge digital technologies. EIT Digital supports deep tech ventures, offers education programs that combine technical excellence with entrepreneurial skills, and funds innovation activities that address major societal and economic challenges in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure.
Hauts-de-France Region designates the French regional authority (Council).
Hauts-de-France Regional Council is notably in charge of :
Innlandet is Norway’s leading bioeconomy region and plays a central role in the RIVCircular partnership as a largely rural innovation ecosystem. The region is home to strong knowledge communities in bio-based circular economy, sustainable construction, and cyber security.
Through its smart specialization strategy, the Inland Portfolio (Innlandsporteføljen), Innlandet is driving a transition towards a more sustainable and innovation-driven economy. The strategy focuses on strengthening knowledge-intensive industries, fostering collaboration between research and business, and developing cutting-edge solutions within bioeconomy, circular value chains, and digitalization.
Košice region is making a significant contribution to the regional innovation ecosystem through the Innovation Centre of the Košice Region. This organization was established as an interest association of legal entities, with founding members including UPJŠ, TUKE, UVLFKE, the City of Košice, and the Košice Self-governing Region.
A sustainable circular economy is part of the vision defined in the Environmental Policy Strategy of the Slovak Republic 2030.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS OF THE KYIV REGIONAL STATE ADMINISTRATION
Since 2021, four priority domains of smart specialization have been studied in the Kyiv region:
The Development Strategy of the Kyiv Region for 2021-2027 provides for the implementation of tasks related to effective waste management, support for innovative developments and the introduction of the latest technologies in the field of waste processing and the return of resource-valuable materials to the economy.
The Kyiv region has successful examples of implementing the principles of a circular economy, in particular, in the textile industry, which faces the problem of processing textile waste.
Located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, the Community of Madrid is the most densely populated region in Spain, with 8,021.80 km² and around 6.9 million inhabitants. Madrid is a leader in research and development through initiatives such as the RIVCircular project and the Regional Innovation Partnerships.
Madrid’s dynamic ecosystem includes IMDEA, six leading public universities and numerous companies, representing around 16% of all companies in Spain. Its Smart and Sustainable Specialisation Strategy (S3) is driving the transformation of the production model with a strong focus on the circular economy. Key sectors include biotechnology, ICT, aerospace, clean energy and logistics.
The region is at the forefront of global circular economy efforts, focusing on construction waste recycling, wastewater treatment, energy storage, ICT innovation, emissions management, electric vehicle battery recycling and textile industry sustainability. Through innovation and sustainable practices, Madrid is leading the environmental transition.
The Fundación para el Conocimiento madri+d is an initiative of the Government of the Community of Madrid created in 2002 to manage the Regional Plan for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation.
Madri+d works with all universities and public research organisations in the region, as well as with technology companies and entrepreneurs. Its objective is to contribute to the creation of an efficient and integrated knowledge-based regional innovation ecosystem in the European Union.
Project Nº 101161013. Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however this of the author(s) only and do no necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
