Institute researchers Maja Bašić and Matea Cvjetković participated in the 21st Annual International Symposium on Economic Theory, Policy and Applications in Athens, from 29 June to 1 July 2026, where they presented the results of two papers.

The researchers presented the paper Strategic Networking and Public Sector Innovation: A Cross-Sector Perspective (written with co-author Jasmina Mašović), which is based on a comparative analysis of strategic networking and innovation mechanisms in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Croatian local self-government units. They also presented the paper Understanding Transparency-Oriented Innovation: The Combined Effect of Funding Sources and Actor-Led Initiatives in the Public Sector (written with co-author Bojan Morić Milovanović), which investigates the role of funding sources and innovation initiators that lead to increased transparency in the public sector.

The conference gathered academics and researchers from the fields of economics and related disciplines. The program covered a wide range of topics, including microeconomics and macroeconomics, public finance, international economics, technological change, and other areas of economic science.

Participation in the conference was funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU) within the framework of the project Strategic networking and innovation as determinants of the business performance of small and medium-sized enterprises: possibilities of applying the experiences of private enterprises in the public sector economics.