Smart specialisation and rural development in the Western Balkans

FABBRI Emanuele, SPALAZZI Annalisa · 2026 · Joint Research Centre (European Commission)

Summary. Smart Specialisation Strategies can help rural development in the Western Balkans, where rural areas comprise half the population but face economic stagnation and depopulation. This report examines how S3 frameworks address rural needs in agriculture, tourism, and energy sectors. Through stakeholder interviews and document analysis, researchers found gaps in rural integration within existing S3 strategies and identified opportunities for cross-border collaboration and territorial cohesion between urban and rural areas.

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@article{emanuele-2026-smart-specialisation-rural-development-western,
  title   = {Smart specialisation and rural development in the Western Balkans},
  author  = {FABBRI Emanuele and SPALAZZI Annalisa},
  journal = {Joint Research Centre (European Commission)},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.2760/3181347},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.2760/3181347}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Smart specialisation and rural development in the Western Balkans
AU  - FABBRI Emanuele
AU  - SPALAZZI Annalisa
JO  - Joint Research Centre (European Commission)
PY  - 2026
DO  - 10.2760/3181347
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2760/3181347
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.2760/3181347

Countries

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia

Regions

Europe

Categories

regional-innovation-systems, policy, general-innovation

Added

2026-10-01