University-industry technology transfer within the context of RIS3 North of Portugal

The purpose of this paper is to assess stakeholders’ perceptions on the implementation of the
smart specialization strategy (RIS3) in the North of Portugal, with a particular focus on
technology transfer (TT) activities between 2014 and 2017. A qualitative methodology was
followed through semi-structured interviews applied to the actors in the region based on the
eight priority domains of RIS3 North of Portugal. Data analysis was performed using Iramuteq
software. Our results suggest that the stakeholders’ perception of the fitness of the RIS3
defined for their region does not match with the RIS3 defined by the policy makers. Our
results contribute to a better understanding of the real perception of universities and industry
on TT in the context of RIS3 and the need for ongoing evaluation and adjustments of RIS3
priority domains by policy makers to address them to the real necessities of the industry/
market.