Smart Specialisation: what gets lost in translation from concept to practice?

This paper investigates how and to what extent the Smart Specialisation approach to innovation policy is currently being translated into strategic decisions and policy interventions in Europe. It defines three complementary conditions that operationalize the intervention logic of Smart Specialisation and tests them empirically. The results reveal that Smart Specialisation is being partially implemented. There are in fact significant indications that regions and countries have put in place mechanisms that may circumvent the logic of selective intervention. Implications for policy evaluation are discussed.