The USD 116.4 million Croatia Digital, Innovation and Green Technology (DIGIT) Project will facilitate the digital transformation and green transition of the Croatian economy, increase resources for applied research and experimental development, and support the authorities' efforts to strengthen institutional capacity to deliver research and innovation policies.
Digital transformation involves integrating digital technologies to enhance productivity and economic efficiency. Concurrently, green transition aims to promote solutions that enable a shift towards a climate-neutral and environmentally friendly economy.
Croatia continues its ambitious path towards dual transitions—digital and green. Through the National Resilience and Recovery Plan (NRRP), Croatia has committed to various reforms focusing on resilient, inclusive, green, and digital recovery. In science, technology, and innovation, the country’s current efforts to expand climate-sensitive policies through investments in digital and green technology have been noteworthy.
However, most dual transition funding comes in the form of support for technology adoption, with no programs directly targeting digital and green technology creation. Research suggests that firms investing in research and development tend to outperform their peers.
Thus, Croatia faces the challenge of improving results in digital and green research and innovation, which continue to be modest. The research community has faced challenges producing high-quality research and establishing effective linkages with the business sector due to a lack of funding, outdated infrastructure, equipment, governance issues, and a suboptimal institutional framework. Participation in competitive international research funding has also been low. In the digital and green space, research has been limited with very few patents in industrial digital technologies; only 9.5% of domestic patents are environment-related technologies.
The Government of Croatia seeks to address this gap through the Ministry of Science and Education’s Digital Innovation and Green Technology Project supported by the World Bank. The Project strives to improve conditions for research, development, innovation—and with it—Croatia’s standing in the digital-green transition. Activities under this project will finance various grant schemes for digital-green research innovations while complementing existing investments' effectiveness. It will also build institutional capacities needed for this agenda's delivery.
Furthermore, DIGIT will support reforms envisaged in NRRP as well as those within Smart Specialization Strategy critical for Croatia's accession into Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD). This project is expected not only to catalyze transitions but benefit Croatia's entire economy by enhancing systemic outlooks conducive toward robust R&D environments leading subsequently toward business growth/productivity/job creation increases.
For more information about project activities please consult either Project Appraisal Document available online or Ministry Of Science/Education dedicated website accessible via Croatian language options.