After a strong start in Plovdiv in June, the national initiative Dialogue Innovations.bg 2040, organized by the Applied Research and Communications Fund, is heading out on a national tour that will pass through five Bulgarian cities. The events will take place on October 9 in Ruse, October 15 in Veliko Tarnovo, October 16 in Varna, October 17 in Burgas, and October 21 in Blagoevgrad. The tour is being carried out in partnership with the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria, Sofia Tech Park, Innobridge, and Digihub.
The initiative is dedicated to building a sustainable national system for technology transfer and a competitive innovation ecosystem with a horizon up to the year 2040. At the core of the discussions are key European priorities such as competitiveness, smart specialization, strategic autonomy, digital technologies, a circular and sustainable economy, as well as science-based economic development. The forums will bring together representatives of national and local institutions, business, academia, entrepreneurs, and financial organizations to outline shared directions for action and build trust among the different sectors of Bulgaria’s economy and scientific community.
The discussions will seek answers to the question of how Bulgaria can mobilize available resources and talent, overcome the fragmentation of the innovation environment, and create effective financing models that support the transition from the laboratory to the market. The dialogue will focus on developing a unified national platform for technology transfer that integrates the efforts of science, business, and public institutions.
The Dialogue Innovations.bg 2040 tour will also highlight successful examples from practice. In each city, models of public–private partnerships, regional smart specialization strategies, and mechanisms for the accelerated implementation of innovations in the economy will be presented.
Alongside the national dialogue, preparations continue for the 21st edition of the prestigious “Innovative Enterprise of the Year” competition, which traditionally recognizes the most successful companies and organizations that have created and implemented innovations with long-lasting economic impact. The winners will be showcased as examples of sustainable innovative development and will demonstrate how Bulgarian businesses can be competitive on the international stage. In this way, the Dialogue Innovations.bg 2040 initiative and the “Innovative Enterprise of the Year” competition complement each other—the former creates a space for vision and policy-making, while the latter provides living proof that innovation is already happening.
In the long term, the initiative aims not merely to hold a series of events, but to build a sustainable and competitive innovation ecosystem that will establish Bulgaria as an innovative nation by the year 2040. The October tour is the next decisive step on this path – a step that will engage the regions, highlight talent and entrepreneurial spirit, and create the conditions for accelerated economic development through knowledge and technology.
