Focus group meetings

On the 17-18^th of March 2022, severalfocus group meeting were organized within the “Support toGeorgia’s Researchers’ Mobility” Programme.

During the project inception phase specificfocus groups have been setup with the aim of mapping the R&D sector byfields and to find out the niches where the Georgian research community membersmay contribute to the priority fields of the EU grants with high added value.The following Focus Groups have been setup:

• FocusGroup 1: researchers and innovators
• FocusGroup 2: representatives of R&D intensive companies or innovative SMEs
•  FocusGroup 3: Personnel of funding agencies

The specific purpose of the focus group meetings wasto collect opinions and self-reflection among actors and stakeholders of theR&I sector to be able to answer the question: “What types of capacities areneeded to perform the full cycle of R&I policy planning and management(implementation and monitoring and reporting) for participation in complexinternational RTDI projects by addressing following capacities:

• Institutional capacities –that include the rules, regulations, and practices that set the overarchingcontextual environment for research and innovation. (Accountability exists whendifferent parties adhere to a set of rules and procedures that govern theirinteractions and that are based on a mutual agreement or understanding of theirroles, responsibilities vis-à-vis others.)
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• Organizational capacities -that describe the organizational arrangements of the related ministries,councils, funding agencies and stakeholder organizations (R&D intensiveenterprises) operating within the institutional rules and context noted above.Organizational capacities shape how various actors come together to cooperatein research and innovation to perform the tasks needed to carry out the R&Iactivities defined within the frame of a complex project. These organizationalfeatures can either facilitate or constrain the performance of the projectplanning and its related management functions. These may include ‘hard’ rules,such as legal regulations or the terms of a contract, or ‘soft’ rules, likecodes of conduct or generally accepted values.
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• Individual capacities – thatcan take a variety of skills, such as technical, functional, and leadership.The technical and functional skills of the planning research staff can be veryvaried and are essential for the effective operation of project planning andmanagement functions. In addition, especially at the sector-wide level,leadership skills are particularly important in setting strategic directionsfor the sector, supporting the planning function for priority areas, andobtaining political support from government.