Role of science parks in empowering regions to harness their development resources for economic growth: Southeast Serbia case

Technological Innovation and Digital Transformation reshapes economic structures and value chains in regions around the world. The increasingly dynamic process of change in the world and Serbia, leads to radical change in previously successful industries and at the same time acts on the emergence of new industries through sector innovation. These changes were expressed also through analysis of the economy of the South and Eastern Serbia region through observation of the companies of the members of the Science and Technology Park Niš. The concrete result sets the image of an innovative and technological ecosystem that could serve as case study for other underdeveloped regions. The research areas are represented by projects of development of regional capacities in the field of technological entrepreneurship in the South and East Serbia region and presentation of ecosystem of startups and technological and development companies as indicators of implementation of development strategies. Through the analysis of ecosystem, benefits were achieved through the introduction of innovation in business, but also future development directions for the South and Eastern Serbia Region. Innovative technology companies and their needs are mapped, based on which plans are formed to achieve better business results and create measures to harmonize the needs of companies and capacities of the region. In addition to theoretical basis, the work also contains an analysis of the current state of the ecosystem, which exists within current state measures, as well as expected forecasts.