In an unprecedented initiative, in Portugal, higher education institutions, intermunicipal communities of Northeast and Chamber of Commerce and business association teamed up to sign a Commitment Letter (“Commitment 2020”: entrepreneurship and territorial cohesion forum) to promote a Development program for Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro region. In this letter, the signatories pointed out that the presence of the higher education entities, in the Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro region, continues to have strong challenges in the reinforcement of competitiveness and economic, social and territorial development. Following the letter, two forums were recently organized. Considering the region to be a land of opportunity, the forum intended to create a space for participation and sharing of ideas and concerns that could generate clear ideas and proposals, and promote more complicity and cooperation among the regional actors.
Decentralised structure formalised through the signature of a “Commitment Letter”. The Governance body Includes higher education institutions, intermunicipal communities and Chamber of Commerce and business association of Northeast Portugal.
Following the signature of a “Commitment Letter, two forums open to all stakeholders were organised allowing the participants to discuss and exchange information and ideas.
Encourage HEIs to pursue an active role in the priority -setting and delivery of RIS3 strategies, especially by contributing to find new ways in which HEIs can be engaged in the entrepreneurial discovery process as well as in other stages of the RIS3 design process, and also in its implementation process. Moreover, how HEIs can adjust their strategies and portfolios in order to incorporate the regional smart specialisation in their daily activities. Additionally, new communication mechanisms between HEIs and regional authorities should be developed and tested, by which dialogue and trust will be facilitated. The initiative tries to understand the role of universities in regional development.
The forum intended to create a space for participation and sharing of ideas and concerns that could generate clear ideas and proposals, and promote more complicity and cooperation among the regional actors such as civil society and local governance entities.