The operational program of the European Regional Development Fund Catalonia 2014-2020 (OP FEDER Catalonia 2014-2020 aims to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of the territory, in line with the guidelines set by the strategy Europe 2020 of the European Commission and its implementation in Catalonia.
The Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization in Catalonia (RIS3CAT) is Catalonia's response to the European Commission's demand that the states and regions of the European Union draw up research and innovation strategies for to research innovation strategies for smart specialization (RIS3) that match their innovation potential.
One of the instruments proposed to activate this role of the territory are the projects of specialization and territorial competitiveness (PECT).
These are initiatives promoted by local agents and led by local public entities in Catalonia to promote actions that contribute to the economic transformation of the territory and have a strong innovation component. Their main objectives are: to improve the competitiveness of the productive fabric, to create employment and to create links with the international value chain.
The essential characteristics of the actions of the PECT are the following:
- They respond to a territorial strategy that has a broad consensus in the territory.
They pursue specific and coherent goals.
- They have a multiple impact in the territory of action, through the contribution to smart specialization, the improvement of competitiveness, the creation of employment and, as much as possible, the creation of links with the value chain international.
The PECT Projects are co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union, within the framework of the Operational Program ERDF of Catalonia 2014-2020 'Investment objective in growth and employment'