Purpose: The purpose of this research and consultancy work is to explore the existing smart growth potential in the region around the city of Strumica in South-east Macedonia and further provide an intervention model for accelerated and smarter growth of the region especially in the agriculture and rural development. The intervention model is expected to be grounded on the leading principles of cooperation between the key stakeholders in the region, academic support and facilitation of applicable solutions for increased productivity and growth. The research will further build upon the existing national policies for support of innovations and small and medium sized enterprises in the focus fields and aim to provide solutions that transform those policies in practice. In the age of knowledge based economy grounded on the small and medium enterprises performance, the innovation processes must be especially targeted and supported with concrete national policy measures. In the developed countries the innovators and research institutes are those who give the engine of the economic growth. In Macedonia, small and medium enterprises are lacking support and orientation, sufficient funds, training, administrative and logistical support to pace their development towards greater competitiveness and make a better use of all available resources such as partnership possibilities, research models and solutions, approach to available EU funds (such as IPA and IPARD instruments) etc. In most similar situations of lacking capacity for innovation and new product development at company, regional or national level, different forms of virtual R&D entities (teams, units, centres) are created and implemented. 2 Considering those tendencies and based upon such experience we believe that it iss possible to create and develop partnership capacity of key stakeholders (companies, municipalities, academic institutions, NGO) in some form of virtual organization for regional economic development. Design/methodology/approach: In order to be able to develop an intervention model 3 BAS Institute for Management (BASIM) will apply both desk and field research methods. The desk research will on one hand provide more theoretical knowledge regarding the use of innovations in the focus fields and smart growth as well as practical examples/success stories for the smart regions worldwide. It will more precisely explore the national agricultural policies, the room for innovations and applied academic research in the agriculture as well as available national and international funding in the targeted fields. The field research and consultancy process will collect information about the needs and problems of the key actors in the field of agriculture and rural development in the region as well as the available potential in the region and countrywide for design and implementation of practical solutions to the detected problems and needs. Therefore, the field research and consultancy process will incorporate three compatible methods: - Diagnostic workshops with key stakeholders in the field of agriculture, food processing industry and other complementary business in the region - Consultative sessions with the representatives of the academic community in the focus fields - Interviews/survey with research centres, NGOs, local authorities and other relevant actors in the focus fields The set of methods will be joined with short informative sessions to introduce stakeholders and other participants interesting success stories and smart growth solutions from the focus fields worldwide. The field work will be entirely planned and implemented with academic support of the BASIM's pool of researchers and with logistical support of Business Academy Smilevski (BAS) unit located in Strumica. Originality/value: The intervention model produced through this research process will mainly build on the pool of knowledge created through exploring the existing problems and needs and providing fresh and applicable solutions on the field. The originality is recognized in the unique approach that this model will present in order to interlink existing national and regional knowledge (academic, institutional and business) and facilitated forms for sharing company experience and joint development of innovations and new products. From the academic perspective, the research process will be focused on action research in the field of regional development. Practical implications: The collected information both from the desk and field research and consultancy process will serve towards development of intervention model based on the potential within the region and the available human, financial and technical resources in the country. The intervention model may include a set of specific interventions for different selected problems most of them incorporating the academic knowledge and practice as well as transforming applicable success stories to the regional and national characteristics. Developed intervention model will improve the national policy by establishing links between the proposed policy solutions in the field of agriculture and rural development, support of innovations and small and medium sized development. Furthermore, this practical solution will be available and applicable for other regions and other fields in the country. On a long run, this intervention model might be developed into academic and entrepreneurial regional facility that will incorporate physically companies and various research laboratories in one space with principal orientation in agriculture, food production and processing and rural development.
