Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is crucial to European competitiveness, innovation strength and industrial development, especially as innovation is made possible in most cases by important developments in advanced ICT and their application. However, new policies and strategies are required to fully maximize the possible opportunities and meet the challenges that the rapid development of ICT creates. Given the dynamic evolution of the ICT sector and the current financial crisis, public policy-makers are facing increasing problems in identifying appropriate targets and choosing the proper means for implementing development strategies. This is particularly true at a regional level, where responsiveness and efficiency are crucial. Policy-makers need support to develop policies that combine three fundamental factors: (i) the given regional strengths and assets, (ii) innovation policies focusing on the establishment and support of continuous innovation in SMEs, and(iii) interregional policies aimed at the most relevant technological areas. BORDWIIS+ will tackle this challenge with smart specialisation strategies. The consortium, consisting of 10 partners representing 8 regions with complementary ICT competencies and policies, aims to create the best environment for ICT innovation and business opportunities in strategic sectors for their respective regions and as a blueprint for European regions in general. Each region is represented by the partner responsible for designing the region's ICT innovation policy, which in the cases of NRW and Skane are also the managing organization of their ICT clusters. Foreseen actions include the analysis of regional policies and assets, preparation of an ICT inventory in each region, best-practices in collaborative models, study trips, a conference to disseminate final outputs and results,a Dialogue with the Commission to discuss smart ICT innovation strategies on the European level, studies on interregional cooperation potential and regional impact, the publication of the "ICT innovation Strategy for European Regions: Recommendations for Regional Specialisation" as well as one implementation plan per region to ensure the durability of project results. The project will contribute to the INTERREG IVC goal of improving the effectiveness of regional development policies and instruments, economic modernisation and the increased competitiveness of Europe through large-scale information and experience exchange, collecting, putting into practice, evaluating and developing a new methodology among the partner regions to design, implement and monitor smart ICT innovation policies. Achievements: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an integral element for economic and regional development. However, development of ICT is so vast and rapid that existing policies and strategies are very often outdated to meet the challenges and benefits from opportunities created by its swift and widespread growth. BORDWIIS+ tackles this challenge with smart specialisation strategies. Each partner’s goal is to assess existing public policies and to draw up region-specific guidelines which consider local strategic strengths and opportunities. The kick-off meeting was organised in March 2012 in Metz to initiate the project, to agree on the work plan and to discuss reporting procedures as well as information and publicity guidelines. Partners shared their experience and knowledge about regional ICT development and a template was defined to identify and describe collaborative models (good practices). A visit to INRIA in Nancy was organised and two development projects – smart home and computer virus DNA – were introduced to the Kick-off participants. The University of Wuppertal prepared a report about the current ICT policies in all partner regions as well as a “Step by step-model” aiming at the development and implementation of an ICT strategy. This model is based on the experiences made in North Rhine Westphalia and contains recommendations for action. In addition, a SWOT analysis concerning the ICT industry in North Rhine Westphalia has been delivered as a template for the other partner regions. Three regional workshops have been organised. In North Rhine Westphalia the workshop was held in February and attended by 6 participants. It served as a platform where the regional ICT strategy was discussed and the next steps were presented. IFKA in Budapest organised an ICT innovation round-table discussion in June, attended by 13 participants and drafted the first version of regional ICT Innovation SWOT analysis based on face-to-face interviews and discussions with regional actors. The South East Regional Development Agency organised the regional workshop in June in Braila, attended by 26 participants, to promote the project and to exchange knowledge and experience between key regional stakeholders and ICT external experts. The BORDWIIS+ identity manual and poster were produced. The first press release with information about the Kick-off meeting was prepared and disseminated by all partner regions.