QUINTUPLE HELIX APPROACH TO TARGETED OPEN INNOVATION IN ENERGY, WATER, AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTH MEDITERRANEAN NEIGHBORHOOD Title UNIMED Mediterranean Universities Union Marcello Scalisi Director

UNIMED- Mediterranean Universities Union UNIMED - Who we are UNIMED is a network of universities and research centres, active in promoting Euro-Mediterranean academic cooperation. Our mission is to facilitate the Euro-Mediterranean dimension of University collaborations in order to enhance scientific, cultural, social and economic development of the region. It counts 93 associated Universities from 22 countries of both shores of the Mediterranean. UNIMED- Mediterranean Universities Union

AIMS To support the Science and Innovation Policy Dialogue Platform for a more strategic priority setting for international cooperation on water, energy and food targeted specific following NEXUS (Agri-food, Energy, Water- approach with co-design and co-ownership. To audit the existing international cooperation between EU-MPC focused on targeted open innovation in the energy, water and food sectors following a NEXUS approach to increase the coordination and synergies between policies and programmes among both regions. To promote and achieve a deeper international R&I cooperation between EU-MPC in the water, energy and food sectors and contribute to the establishment of Common Knowledge and Innovation Space of specialization (RIS) in the Southern Mediterranean Neighborhood. To raise awareness concerning targeted open innovation in water, agriculture and energy sectors among policy, business community and civil society to spread the concept of international cooperation between EU-MPC actors.

THE PARTNERSHIP 16 countries involved (ES, IT, BE, DE, GR, FR, AT, LB, PS, TN, DZ, MO, EG, JO, LY, TR) 24 organizations 1 Chambers of commerce 6 ministries & national agencies 3 international /national networks 4 companies 1 technology transfer organization 1 foundation 1 Technological park 8 universities & research centres

PENTA HELIX APPROACH Government Social Organizations Education Circulation of knowledge to enhance R&I smart specialization strategies Government Social Organizations Education Citizens Private sector Knowledge Trust Finance Mutual understanding Agile & driven by competencies Support & legitimation To support regional development through main NEXUS opportunities

UNIMED’s ROLE AS A UNIVERSITY NETWORK UNIMED as a Network is the coordinator of WP4: Science and Innovation Policy Dialogue Platform In this frame the Nexus Think Tank (NTT) has been set up NTT is a group of 39 experts from different fields and countries, structured into the 3 thematic areas The goals are: To identify obstacles in the development of innovation policies To Formulate suggestions to overcome these obstacles To produce white papers addressing these issues.

UNIMED’s ROLE AS A UNIVERSITY NETWORK The existence of the UNIMED network of HEIs has been vital in order to create the NTT BUT The NTT includes experts not only from academia but also from the industry, public administrations, NGOs Thus fostering the cooperation and exchange of views among these actors in a truly 5 Helix approach One of the first outcomes is that a regional (i.e. Mediterranean) approach to innovation is difficult to implement We are working at regional customised approaches taking into Account national priorities and constraints

UNIMED- Mediterranean Universities Union Thank you for your attention Marcello Scalisi UNIMED Director m.scalisi@uni-med.net www.uni-med.net UNIMED- Mediterranean Universities Union