RL - Agenzia Regionale Istruzione Formazione e Lavoro - Regione Lombardia

Lombardy is the fourth most-populated region in Europe, with the GDP placing it fifth among European regions (33.835,7 per inhabitant - 2014).

Lombardy’s production system is currently one of the most developed in Italy and Europe: at the beginning of 2015, there were approximately 813.000 active businesses (compared to some 5.150.000 at national level), out of which over 99% are micro and small companies, constituting the bases of the regional economy. Manufacturing industry is the leading sector by amount of businesses and fourth by workforce at a European level. Lombardy’s economic eco-system is strongly export-oriented and thus largely exposed to the changes triggered by globalization.

Lombardy’s knowledge-based system is extremely articulated, boasts specialization in a range of technical scientific disciplines and includes skills and research groups of international ranking. In Lombardy there are 14 academic institutions, which are complemented by a multitude of top ranking public and private research centres. 36 entities provide business accelerator/ incubator services, which provide help to more than 200 start-ups.

To consolidate the strengths and overcome weaknesses, Regione Lombardia implements measures and projects in support of the territory, based on the strong commitment of the Regional Administration to create better enabling conditions for the promotion of entrepreneurship and to favour the access of the small and medium enterprises to the commercial and financial opportunities.

In the field of research and innovation, the Region has approved the Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3) with the aim of seek to chart an “integrated path” of development of the Region, by identifying resources/skills and innovation potential, setting priorities in terms of industrial and technology areas to focus regional investments on. Lombardy RIS3 indicates the new regional system of research and innovation divided into 7 Specialisation Areas – SA (based on territorial skills – entrepreneurial discovery process):

·         Aerospace

·         Agrifood

·         Eco-industry,

·         Creative and Cultural Industries

·         Health Industry

·         Advanced Manufacturing

·         Sustainable mobility

In defining its strategies, Regione Lombardia has always maintained a constant and fruitful dialogue both internally, among the various Directorates-General, with national institutions (Ministries, Departments, Agencies, other regions) as well as with European institutions (other European regions, European Commission, Seville platforms, etc.), creating recurring opportunities to gather, discuss and align to the strategies.

Regione Lombardia has set up a dialogue with foreign regions within the network of the 4 Motors for Europe, focused on the discussion on Clusters (Cluster Dialogue) among the 4 regions in the network. In the context of the collaboration among European regions, Regione Lombardia has joined the initiative called “Vanguard Initiative New Growth by Smart Specialisation” and, together with the other 20 European regions, it intends to play a key role in the new European growth in the industrial sector, by identifying “smart specialisations” as engines for the development of new emerging industries capable of driving the dynamics of internal growth in Europe