The first day of the conference called “Anticipatory science advice in the Western Balkans”, which is co-organized by the Science and Technology Park of Montenegro as part of the Policy answers project, has opened.

The goal of the conference is to present three scenarios about the possible futures of Research and Innovation (R&I) policies in the Western Balkans in 2035.  The scenarios were co-created in the framework of the study by the European Commission: Strategic Foresight in the Western Balkans: Recovery on the Horizon.

At the opening of the conference spoke, Minister of Science and Technological Development of Montenegro Biljana Scepanovic, acting director general of the Directorate for Digital Economy and Technological Development Marijeta Barjaktarovic Lanzardi, executive director of the Science and Technology Park of Montenegro Velibor Boskovic, as well as project coordinators Elke Dall and Simon Schmitz.

The Policy answers project aims to continue and increase the joint efforts of the European Union and the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – for cooperation in the fields of innovation, research, education, culture, youth and sports .

The scenarios in the report are rooted in an extensive co-creation process with more than 700 experts on R&I from the Western Balkans, who represent academia, civil society, the private sector, international organisations as well as central and subnational governments. In order to provide inspiration to implement future-proof policies on R&I, the report moreover entails initial roadmaps. These seek to inspire decision makers by pinpointing goals and their required actions to further develop their R&I systems for the benefits of all citizens in the Western Balkans.


The Policy answers project officially started on April 14, 2022, bringing together 14 partner organizations and will last until 2025.