12:15-14:00 EDT: Lunch break
14:00-14:45 EDT: Insights for policy makers on technological adoption and innovation financing
This session featured two presentations providing concrete insights for regional policymakers in supporting technological adoption and innovation. The presentations will be followed by Q&A.
Speakers:
Juan Ramón Larraín Aylwin, Economist/Policy Analyst, SME and Entrepreneurship Division, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (online)
Matthew Clancy, Programme Director, Abundance and Growth Fund, Coefficient Giving, United States (online)
14:45-15:30 EDT: Discussion tables – Round 1
This session was organised around two interactive discussion tables in smaller groups (in parallel) and gave participants the opportunity to exchange experiences and policy approaches in a more focused format.
Discussion Table 1: AI infrastructure and data centres – a strategic choice for industrial transition?
One discussion table focused on AI infrastructure and data centres, with particular attention to the policy challenges they raise for regional governments, including strategic positioning within regional development priorities, rising energy demand, public acceptance, and employment impacts.
Questions for discussion:
- How can regions assess whether AI infrastructure and data centres fit their broader industrial and regional development strategy?
- How should regional governments address the energy, land-use, and public acceptance challenges linked to AI infrastructure and data centres?
- How can regions maximise local employment, skills development, and innovation spillovers from AI infrastructure investments?
Discussion Table 2: Clean technology innovation for sustainable industrial transition
The second table focused on clean technology innovation for sustainable industrial transition, examining how regions can support the development and uptake of clean technologies, including hydrogen and renewable energy, while aligning sustainability goals with industrial competitiveness and regional development.
Questions for discussion:
- How can regions accelerate the adoption of clean technologies in industry?
- What role can innovation policy play in developing green sectors such as hydrogen?
- What is one example from your region of clean innovation supporting industrial transition?
The main insights from each table were reported back to the plenary to identify shared challenges, practical lessons, and points for mutual learning across regions.
15:30-15:45 EDT: Coffee break
15:45-16:30: Discussion tables – Round 2
This session was organised around two interactive discussion tables in smaller groups (in parallel), giving participants the opportunity to exchange experiences and policy approaches in a more focused format.
Discussion Table 1: Working with higher education institutions to strengthen regional innovation
This discussion table explored how regions can work more effectively with universities and other higher education institutions to support innovation, entrepreneurship, and industrial transition. It focused on practical collaboration models, including spin-offs, incubators, knowledge transfer partnerships, and applied research co-operation, that can help turn research and talent into regional economic opportunities.
Questions for discussion:
- Which collaboration models with higher education institutions work best in your region?
- How can regions better support spin-offs, incubators, and knowledge transfer?
- What are the main barriers to stronger university-industry collaboration, and how can policy help address them?
Discussion Table 2: Taking a strategic approach to innovation systems
This discussion table examined how regions can move beyond ad hoc approaches to innovation and develop more strategic and coordinated innovation systems. It focused on the policy frameworks, governance arrangements, and coordination mechanisms needed to align actors, set priorities, and ensure that innovation policy supports broader goals of industrial transition and regional development.
Questions for discussion:
- How can regions move from fragmented initiatives to a more strategic innovation system?
- What coordination mechanisms help align government, business, academia, and other stakeholders around shared priorities?
- How can regions adapt and reconfigure their innovation system when economic or technological conditions change?
The main insights from each table were reported back to the plenary to identify shared challenges, practical lessons, and points for mutual learning across regions.
16:30-17:00 EDT: Takeaways from participating regions and closing
Regions were invited to share one action point and key takeaways from the seminar.
Additional activity (8-9 June): Conference of Montréal
In-person participants were also invited to join the 2026 Conference of Montréal: Leadership among Uncertainty on 8-9 June.
