RIS3 in the context of northern Mexico: Lessons learned in the process of drafting state innovation agendas

Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization (RIS3) methodology has been tested in Europe for the development of agendas for territorial economic transformation. In 2014 RIS3 was adapted in Mexico to define innovation agendas for each of the 32 states of the country. This process was promoted by the National Council for Science and Technology and the authors of this paper participated in the development of the agendas of seven states in northern Mexico. Based on this experience, this paper analyzes the process carried out to develop these agendas, which included the following main stages: identification of the areas for Smart specialization; integration of governance bodies and advisory groups; organization of consensus - building workshops to identify priority innovation programs and roadmaps to achieve their objectives. This paper describes the process in detail, recognizing the main stakeholders participating in the process and the main factors favoring or hindering it. The role of government, academic and industrial sectors' representatives is evaluated under specific circumstances of access to critical information, political motivations and a short-term vision. Based on this analysis, the lessons learned are presented and recommendations for further work in innovation policy are drafted with the intention of enriching this process in countries with little tradition of defining smart specialization sectors.