Actionable Policy Recommendation Report

This report translates the findings of the DIALOGUE project's Regional Needs Analyses into concrete, actionable policy steps. Drawing on field research carried out across Türkiye (TR21), Bulgaria (BG33), and Romania (RO22), it identifies the three most pressing gaps shared by all three regions — the limited role of civil society in innovation, SMEs' reluctance to embrace the green and digital transition, and a shortage of the technical skills needed to keep pace with them.

Based on these findings, the report sets out practical policy recommendations across four areas:

• Bringing civil society into the innovation process, so NGOs become active partners rather than passive observers.
• Helping SMEs turn the green and digital transition into an opportunity, through testing facilities and targeted financial support.
• Transferring proven know-how, such as Türkiye's TEKMER model, to partner regions.
• Building cross-border cooperation mechanisms, from shared innovation indicators to joint thematic working groups.

This report serves as the foundation for the Recommendations for Effective and Sustainable International Cooperation, the project's main policy document, and closes with a set of open questions that guided further stakeholder consultation on the design of the Black Sea Innovation Platform.