Regional Policy of the European Union and the Stimulation of Innovation: The Role of the Operational Programmes in Poland

The effectiveness of Operational Programmes under the regional policy is a key issue of spending of EU funds in Poland. One of the most important priorities of the mentioned Programmes in the last fi nancial perspectives is innovation, treated as an essential factor of development. In Poland, we can talk about treating innovation as a priority starting from the period 2007–2013. At that time, about 17% of funds under regional policy (about PLN 49.7 billion) were allocated to activities related to innovativeness and competitiveness of the economy, similarly is in the current perspective for 2014–2020. It can be argued that funds under the EU Regional Policy Operational Programmes in Poland contribute to the achievement of innovation goals in a highly diversifi ed manner. There are areas in which the effects should be assessed negatively (eg some dependence of Business environment institutions on EU funds). There are also such effects that are definitely positive (eg improvement of public research infrastructure).