NEWS: Local Co-Creation Workshops Driving Green Innovation Across the Adriatic-Ionian Region

As part of the GREENSMES project (Activity 1.2), a series of local co-creation workshops were successfully organised across partner regions, bringing together key stakeholders to support the green and circular transition of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Seven project partners implemented local workshops in their territories:

• PP2 Business and Cultural Development Centre – KEPA (Greece)
• PP3 RDA Green Karst (Slovenia)
• PP4 Zadar County Rural Development Agency – AGRRA (Croatia)
• PP5 City Development Agency Banja Luka – CIDEA
• PP8 National Centre for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning – NCDIEL (North Macedonia)
• PP9 Municipality of Herceg Novi (Montenegro)
• PP10 Together Everyone Achieves More Center – TEAM Center (Albania)

Altogether, more than 90 participants from the public sector, business community, academia and civil society took part in the workshops, reflecting the Quadruple Helix approach that lies at the core of the GREENSMES methodology.

From Analysis to Co-Creation

The workshops were designed as interactive and participatory sessions, primarily based on Design Thinking principles. Through structured steps such as empathy building, stakeholder mapping, ideation, brainwriting and idea prioritisation, participants jointly explored:

• regional green innovation ecosystems,
• key findings from the GREENSMES desk research,
• existing good practices in green and circular business models,
• concrete opportunities for SMEs to strengthen their role in the green transition.

While each workshop was tailored to local and regional contexts, all of them shared a strong focus on collaboration, creativity and practical problem-solving.

Outcomes and Next Steps

Each local co-creation workshop resulted in a valuable set of ideas and priority proposals. These outcomes will directly feed into the next phases of the GREENSMES project, particularly:

• the development of innovation marketing strategies,
• the formulation of policy recommendations supporting green and sustainable growth.

Beyond tangible results, the workshops demonstrated a high level of motivation among stakeholders to collaborate across sectors and co-create solutions for the green transition.

By connecting local knowledge with transnational project objectives, the GREENSMES local co-creation workshops have laid a strong foundation for impactful, bottom-up innovation across the Adriatic-Ionian region.