Making Knowledge Work

European UnionEuropean Regional Development Fund


1 project100’s of contacts1000 ideas

5605 KujawsKo-

PomorsKie,PoLaND

56 regionalactionPlan

64 BestPractice

6606 LoDZKie

reGioN,PoLaND


4 00 iNTroDuCTioN

4 Forewords

10 introduction

14 overviewparticipatingregionsandpartners

2602 BraiNPorT

eiNDhoveNreGioN,TheNeTherLaNDs


34 BestPractice

16 01 BirmiNGham,

uNiTeDKiNGDom


24 BestPractice

4604 heLsiNKi,

FiNLaND


54 BestPractice

3603 FLaNDers,

BeLGium


44 BestPractice

Making knowledge work 3

8008 Navarra,

sPaiN


88 BestPractice

11412 sTuTTGarT

reGioN,GermaNY


122 BestPractice

7207 LomBarDY

reGioN,iTaLY


78 BestPractice

10811 ØresuND,

sweDeN

108summary

9009 NorD-Pas

DeCaLais,FraNCe


98 BestPractice

12413 erriN

124 summary

10010 NorThwesT,

uNiTeDKiNGDom

100regionalactionPlan

106BestPractice

12814 CoNCLusioNs

128Conclusion

132 Colophon

4 forewords

FOREWORDS


FOREWORDS Forward to the Making Knowledge work Mainstreaming Guide

havingworkedcloselywiththemaking

KnowledgeworkinteregivCfasttrackproject,

wewelcomethismainstreamingguidewhich

showshoweuropeanfundingcanactively

contributetosustainedcollaborativeaction

betweentheprojectpartnerregionsandcities

overthepasttwoyears.

Cohesionpolicyisamotorfor

growthandcompetitiveness.This

competitivenesswillbedrivennot

bylowercostsbutbyaninnovative

europewhichmeanstargetingfuture

structuralFundsinvestmentatsmes,

innovationandenergyefficiency.

Futureregionalcompetitivenesswill

comefromregionsdevelopingtheir

ownindividualregionalinnovation

eco-systemsbasedonsmartspeciali-

sationandmobilisingtheirdemand

ofinnovation.smartspecialisationis

allaboutinvolvingregionalpartners

inabottomupprocessofentrepre-

neurialdiscoveryandwhere

theneedsofallpublicactorsand

procurersarewellidentifiedand

>

6 forewords

anticipatedbythesupplychain,par-

ticularlysmes.Thisprocessshould

notbeinwardlooking.regionscan

andshouldmakesurethattheyare

awareofwhatisgoingonoutsidein

othereuropeanregions.Theyneed

toidentifycooperationopportuni-

ties,forinstance,bylinkingtheir

businessclustersorbygoingforjoint

innovativeprocurementtostimulate

demandforinnovativesolutions.

makingKnowledgeworkhasshown

thatthisisbeingdoneinmanyre-

gionsacrosseuropeandtheregional

actionplanspresentedinthisguide

indicatethelearning,sharingand

implementationactivitiesthathave

orwilltakeplaceinallregions.we

congratulatetheregionalactors

involvedinthisprojectwhohave

broughtenergytotheprojectand

madethingshappen.

Thisguidehasapracticalusage

tostimulateallregionstotakeup

oradapttheideaspresented.inad-

dition,theguideprovidesimportant

inputforthinkingonfutureregional

initiativesandtransnationalcoopera-

tionatatimewheneuropehas

tomakesurethatitexploitsall

availablefutureeuropeanfunding

inthemostefficientmanner.

we,therefore,thanktheproject

membersforsharingtheir

activitiesandideasandwebelieve

thatthisguidewillbeauseful

assetforotherregionswishingto

explorehowtheycanupgradetheir

innovationactivities.

Claus Schultze DirectorateGeneralregio

Bertrand wert DirectorateGeneralenterpriseandindustry


MaKING KNowLEdGE worK makes a difference!

wereallyenjoyedit!ThemakingKnowledge

work(mKw)projectbroughttogether12

enthusiasticpartnerregionsfromacross

europe,alldedicatedtoinvestinginknowledge

andturninginventiveideasintomarketable

productsandservices.Duringatwo-year

iNTerreGivCprojectledbytheBrainport

eindhovenregion,weexchangedgood

practices,learnedextensivelyfromourpartner

regionsandsetupimprovedregionalpolicies,

projects,programmesandinitiatives.

8 forewords

Thefirstyear(2010)ofthemKwpro-

jectsawprojectpartnersputforward

goodpracticeswhichsethighstand-

ardsbothindevelopinginnovative

ideasandcommercialisingr&Dresults

effectively.withaninventoryof12

goodpractices,mKwcoveredabroad

rangeofapproaches,methodologies

andactivitiesinthefieldof'bridging

theinnovationgap'.examplesofgood

practicesincludetheFlandersinstitute

ofBiotechnology,theinnovation-

Design-entrepreneurshipandscience

initiativeinNorthwestengland,

BirminghamscienceParkinthe

westmidlands,andinnovativePublic

Procurementinthehelsinkiregion.

intensiveexchangesofexperiences

tookplaceduringfact-findingmis-

sionsandmutualfollow-upvisitsthat

providedallthepartnersinvolvedwith

first-handexperience.

Duringthesecondyear(2011),the

focuswasonthesuccessfultransfer

ofgoodpracticesfromoneregion

toanother.asthetransferofgood

practicesisonlyasgoodasthe

peoplethatmakethemwork,itwas

importanttoidentifytherightpeople

withtherightlevelofcommitment.

welearnedthattransferringgood

practicesishighlydependenton

thevaryingmaturityoftheinnova-

tionecosystemsanddifferencesin

mindset,cultureandadministrative

environments.andwelearnedtobe

carefulassomeofthegoodpractices,

whileexcellentintheirownenviron-

ment,appearedtobemoredifficult

toimplementinotherregionsduethe

reasonsmentionedabove.

GoodexamplesofmKwtransfersfrom

oneregiontoanotheraretheadop-

tionoftheNord-PasdeCalaisregion’s

iNNosCoPetoolbythewestmidlands

andBrainporteindhovenregions,

theimplementationofthestuttgart

region’sCompetenceCentrePro-

grammebytheLombardyregion,how

themKwprojectinfluencedNavarra’s

newregionalinnovationstrategyas

wellastheplansfortheCopernicus

instituteinKujawsko-Pomorskieand

theartincubatorinLodz,basedon

thegoodpracticesintheØresund

region’smobileheightsBusiness

Centre,theBrainporteindhoven

region’sCreativeConversionFactory

andthehelsinkiregion’saaltoDesign

Factory.

andthat’snotall.ThemKwproject

hasmadealotofefforttocommu-

nicatewhatwehavebeendoing,so

thateuropeingeneral,aswellasour

regions,knowwhatwehavedone

andwhatwehavelearned.inkeeping

withrobertFrost’s‘TheroadNot

Taken’,wehaveexploredandtaken

roadslesstravelled.

atthejointTechnicalsecretariat

iNTerreGivCbriefinginBrusselson

12thjuly2011,anaudienceofmore

than100mePswatchedthemKw

videowhichclearlyillustratedthe

waysinwhichwearebridgingthe

innovationgapineurope.Thevideo

wasalsoscreenedanddiscussed

atvariousothereventsincluding

theregionsforeconomicChange

Conference(24thjune2011)andat

thefinalmKweventwhichispartof

theCreativityworldForum(16-17th

November2011)inhasselt.

wehavealsousedawiderangeof

communicationactivitiesinclud-

ingthesethreesuccessfulBrussels

Briefingscoveringissuessuchas

theeu'sinnovationunionflagship

(25thoctober2010),exploringhow

regionalstakeholderswereteaching

theinnovationprocess(23rdFebruary

2011)andsmartspecialisation(22nd

june2011).Bytheendoftheproject,

twomKwnewsletterswillhavebeen

published,andawiderangeofpress

releaseshaveledtovariousarticles

appearinginnewspapersandmaga-

zinesinthedifferentregions.andlast

butnotleast,themKwprojecthas

beenpresentedanddiscussedata

varietyofregional,nationalandeuro-

peaninnovationandeconomyevents.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.

(robertFrost)


andnowweareproudtopresent

thisbook.itcontainsasummaryof

allthemKwpartners’regionalaction

plans.Theseactionplanshavebeen

drawnupinclosecooperationwith

regionalstakeholdersandmanage-

mentauthorities.althougherDF

fundsaredepletedinmanyregions,

alternativefinanceshavebeenand

willbesoughtforspecificmKw

transferinitiativesatlocal,regional,

nationalandeuropeanlevel.inother

words,wearesettingofftowards

reallifeimplementation,fulfillingthe

goalsofouractionplans.

ThepoetrobertFrostwasright:you

cantravelroadsyouknowandfeel

comfortableasyougo.Buttaking

roadslesstravelledbringsfresh

inspiration,newinsightsandop-

portunitiesthatcanchangeyourlife.

weareconvincedthatthisproject

hashelpeditsregionschangethe

waytheythinkandact,andwelook

forwardtothespecificprojectsand

activitiesthatwillbeproofofthisin

thenextfewyears.

Laurens Meijering,

Project Manager,

Making Knowledge Work,

Brainport Development N.V.,

Brainport Eindhoven Region,

The Netherlands

richard Tuffs,

Project Leader,

MKW Communication, Director

of European Regions Research

and Innovation Network (ERRIN),

Brussels, Belgium

Peter Bertels,

Project Leader,

MKW Transfer of Knowledge,

Flanders District of Creativity,

Leuven, Belgium

10 INTroducTIoN

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

"Making Knowledge work" (MKw)isan

eu-fundedprojectthataimstoexploitideasand

fostersmart,sustainablegrowthbyexchanging

experienceabouthowregionssupportthe

processofcommercialisingideasandr&D

results.ThemKwprojecthelpstobridgegapsin

theinnovationchainwhichhaveheldeurope's

creativepotentialbackfortoolong.

12 introdUction

INTroducTIoNmKwbringstogether12regionsfrom

acrosstheeuropeanunionwhichare

dedicatedtoinvestinginknowledge

andturninginventiveideasinto

marketableproductsandservices.By

encouraginginventiveandproduc-

tivecollaborationbetweenbusiness,

governmentandacademia,mKw's

projectpartnersarecontributingto

thecreationofaeuropeaninnova-

tionunioncapableofgenerating

smart,sustainablegrowth.inpracti-

calterms,theprojectworksby

exchangingexperienceabouthow

regionscanincreasethecommer-

cialisationofresearchandinnovative

ideas,bysharinginformationabout

successfulinitiativesthatcanbe

usedasamodelforothersandby

settingupregionalactionplans.

Theprojectisco-fundedbytheeuro-

peanunion'sregionalDevelopment

Fund(iNTerreGivCprogramme)

andhasbeendesignatedasaeuro-

peanCommissionCapitalisationFast

Trackprojectunderthe"regionsfor

economicChangeinitiative”.This

underlinesitsstrategicimportance

fortheeuropeanunion,aswellas

theinvolvementoftheeuropean

Commissionintheproject'simple-

mentation.

BrIdgINg The INNovaTIoN gapinnovationisthekeytocompetitive-

nessandtofosteringsmartecono-

mies.innovationcancontribute

toprovidingsolutionstosocietal

challengessuchasclimatechange,

economicrecession,healthissues,

ageingandunemploymentinanaf-

fordableandtimelymanner.europe

understandsthesechallengesand

hasthereforeprioritisedfostering

'smart'economiesthatcreateand

sustainjobsandstimulategrowthin

itsregions.

oneofeurope'sstrengthsliesinits

abilitytostimulater&D,whichgives

itvastinnovationpotential.ithas

along-standingtraditionofbreak-

throughinventions.itishometoa

wealthofcreativepeopleanditcan

capitaliseonexcellentresearchand

culturaldiversity.Yet,europedoes

notbenefitfullyfromtheseadvan-

tages,partlybecausetheresearch,

resultsandideasfromuniversities,

labs,companiesandinventorsoften

donotfindtheirwayintocommer-

ciallyviableproducts,servicesand

processes.Thisisastrueforeurope

asitisforothermajordevelopedand

developingregionsacrosstheworld.

mKwaimstobridgethisgapinthe

innovationchainthroughspecific

policiesandprojectsinvolvingkey

stakeholdersandinnovationplayers.

mKwbringstogether12regionsfrom

acrosstheeuropeanunionwhich

arededicatedtoinvestinginbuild-

ingupknowledgeandturningthat

knowledgeintomarketableproducts

andservices.

Greatnessismorethanpotential,

itistheexecutionofthatpotential

mKwanalysesandtransferssuc-

cessfulactivitiesthatstimulatethe

uptakeandcommercialisationof

innovativeideasandr&Dresults.

mKwcontributestotheambition

ofcreatingaeuropeaninnovation

unionbyexploitingideasand

fosteringsmart,sustainablegrowth.

inthefirstphase,theprojectworks

byshowcasingbestpracticeswhich

demonstratehowregionshave

increasedthecommercialisationof

theirideas,iPrandresearchresults.

exchangingbestpracticesopenlywill

teachusmoreaboutthekeydrivers

requiredforturninggoodideasinto

viableproductsandservices.among

itsrangeoftools,mKworganises

fact-findingmissionstovisitsuc-

cessfulbestpractices,itrunsawide

varietyofstakeholdereventsto

promotetheexchangeofknowledge

including4BrusselsBriefings,and

itisdrawingupanonlinedatabase

containinggoodpracticesfromthe

differentregions.

inthesecondphase,eachregion

drawsupadefiniteactionplanthat

definespreciselyhowthelessons

learntthroughthebestpractices

fromotherregionswillbeimple-

mented.Theseactionplansare

strategicdocumentstowhichthe

respectivestructuralFundsmanag-

ingauthorityandrelevantstake-

holderswillcommitsupportand/

orfunds.Thisbook,officiallycalled

themainstreamingguide,contains


theabstractsofalltheregional

actionplansandbestpracticesin

theregions.itisthestartingpoint

formovingontothenextphaseof

turningthecrossoverpotentialinto

realaction.

The projecT parTNersThemKwconsortiumcomprises12

innovativeeuropeanregionsandis

ledbyBrainportDevelopmentNv

(Brainporteindhovenregion,the

Netherlands).Theeuropeanregions

researchandinnovationNetwork,

erriN,supportstheproject.erriN

comprisesmorethan90dynamic,

researchintensiveregionsacross

europe.

Theprojectpartnersare:

•BrainportDevelopmentNv,

Brainporteindhovenregion,

theNetherlands(leadpartner)

•BirminghamCityCouncil,west

midlandsregion,unitedKingdom

•Culminatuminnovationoy,helsinki

region,Finland

•FlandersDistrictofCreativity,

Flanders,Belgium

•innovhub,ChamberofCommerce

milan,Lombardy,italy

•Kujawsko-Pomorskieregion,

Poland

•Lancasteruniversitymanagement

school,Northwestregion,united

Kingdom

•Lodzregion,Poland

•Lunduniversity,Øresundregion,

sweden

•NavarraGovernment,DG

enterprise,Navarraregion,spain

•NordFranceinnovation

Développement,Nord-PasdeCalais,

France

•stuttgartregioneconomic

DevelopmentCorporation,stuttgart

region,Germany

•europeanregionsresearchand

innovationNetwork(erriN),

Brussels

FormoreinformationaboutmKw,goto

http://www.makingknowledgework.eu.

mKwissupportedbytheeu's

regionalDevelopmentFund,

iNTerreGivC,whichhelpsregions

worktogethertoshareexperience

andgoodpracticeintheareasof

innovation,theknowledgeeconomy,

theenvironmentandriskprevention.

€302millionisavailableforproject

funding.inaddition,theprogramme

providesawealthofknowledgeand

adviceforregionalpolicymakers.

iNTerreGivCisfinancedbythe

euregionalDevelopmentFund.

TheeuropeanCommissionhasalso

selectedmKwasafasttrackproject

undertheregionsforeconomic

Changeinitiative.

14 introdUction overvIeW parTIcIpTINg regIoNs & parTNers

01Birmingham, unitedKingdom

Birmingham City Council

1LancasterCircusQueenswayBirmingham,B47Dj

05Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland

Marshal's office of Kujawsko-Pomorskie region

PlacTeatralny287-100Torun+48566218487r.modrzewski@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl

09Nord-Pas de Calais,France

Nord France Innovation développement (NFId)

323BoulevardduPré[email protected]

02

06

10

Brainport Eindhoven region, theNetherlands Brainport development N.V.

PoBoX21825600CDeindhoven+31407512424a.verhaag@brainportdevelopment.nl

Lodzkie region, Poland

department of regional Policy

marshal'sofficeinLodzal.Pił[email protected]

North west,unitedKingdom

Lancaster University Management School

BailriggLancasterLa14YX+44(0)[email protected]

03

07

11

Flanders,Belgium

Flanders district of Creativity

[email protected]

Lombardy region, italy

Innovhub - Stazioni Sperimentali per l'Industria, Special agency of Milan Chamber of Commerce

viaCamperio,[email protected]

Øresund, sweden

Lund University

[email protected]

04

08

12

Helsinki, Finland

Culminatum Innovation oy Ltd

Tekniikantie12Fi-02150espoo+358400968189kauko.huhtinen@culminatum.fi

Navarra, spain

dG Enterprise and Innovation department of rural development, Industry, Employment and Environment Navarra Government PlazaTomásCaballero131005Pamplona+34848427663rafael.muguerza.eraso@cfnavarra.es

Stuttgart region, Germany

Stuttgart region Economic development Corporation

stephanieFleischmannFriedrichstraße1070174stuttgart+497112283526stephanie.fleischmann@region-stuttgart.de

region


ErrIN

[email protected]

08

09

01

10

03 02

07

04

12 06

11

05

16 regional action plan 01 BIrmINgham cITy couNcIl, uNITed kINgdom

01

0302

01 Birmingham University

02 project partners - Birmingham

03 Mark Barrow - strategic director: development

04 Birmingham science park aston


03

04

01 regional action PlanBirminghamCityCouncil,unitedKingdom


1.0 Scope and context

research1showsthatbetween2000

and2007,two-thirdsofproductivity

growthintheuKprivatesectorwas

theresultofinnovation.aseparate

worldwidestudy2confirmedthat

innovationiscentraltogrowthwhile

uKbusinesses’developmentand

competitiveadvantagedependson

effectiveknowledgemanagement

andtherapidcommercialisationof

technologies3.

Thewestmidlandsregionunder-

performsinthiscomparedwiththe

englishaverageandfallsintothe

bottomhalfoftheregionsin12of

the16indicatorsmeasured.research

highlightstheworkneededto

fosteraninnovativeenvironment

inthewestmidlandsinorderto

improveeconomicprosperityand

productivity,improvecommercial

exploitation,andclosetheproduc-

tivitygap.inaddition,itisrecognised

thatthewestmidlandshasapoor

recordofcommercialisinginnovation.

inparticular,theregion’sbusinesses

areinvestinglessininnovationout-

putactivitiesthantheircounterparts

inotherregions4.

BirminghamCityCouncil(BCC)has

astrategicroleinimplementing

regionalandCityCouncilpolicies

whichpromotetheknowledge

economy,transferbestpracticeand

supportanetworkofagencies.one

oftheprioritiesoftheBirmingham

CityCouncilPlan2010isto‘succeed

economically’withakeyoutcome

beingtoensurethatinnovationand

businessenterprisearestimulated

andsupported.BCCworkswithboth

academic(universityofBirmingham,

astonuniversity,BirminghamCity

university)andspecialistknowledge

managementagencies(Central

TechnologyBelt,Birminghamscience

Parkaston,serviceBirmingham

andDigitalBirmingham).arange

ofknowledge-basedprogrammes

aredeliveredfromr&Dto‘closeto

market’initiatives,suchastheindex

scheme.BCCplaysaninstrumental

roleincommercialisingknowledge.

1 NesTainnovationindex20092 oeCDinnovationstrategy:

GettingaheadstartonTomorrow3 Concepttocommercialisation,

TechnologystrategyBoard4 measuringregionalinnovation,

westmidlandsregionalobservatory

2.0 Project 1 Theinnovationengine

WhaTTheinnovationengine(ie)isan

open,secureandactiveinnovation

managementservicethatenables

localbusinessestoexploittheir

intellectualPropertyandallows

globalbusinessestoaccessthe

bestlocalideas,knowledgeand

innovation,therebyboostingthe

localeconomy.Thissystemwill

developlinkswithwestmidlands

hiveandFinditinBirminghamto

provideamoreintegratedoffering.


TheieisinspiredbytheiNNosCoPe

tooldevelopedin2002byNord

FranceinnovationDéveloppement

(NFiD),theNord-PasdeCalais’

regionalinnovationagency.iNNo-

sCoPeisananalyticaltoolbasedon

financialdatawhich,incooperation

withauniversityresearchlaboratory,

allowsinnovativecompaniestobe

identified.withthehelpofthetool,it

becomeseasytoidentifyinnovative

smes,i.e.thosewhichcouldreceive

publicfundingforthedevelopment

ofinnovativeprojects.Today,onein

threesmesidentifiedusingiNNo-

sCoPeisinfactpotentiallyinterest-

edindevelopinginnovativeprojects.

itwasinterestingtoseeatoolthat

embracedorganisationsinthearea,

butwenoteditwasameasureofpo-

tentialforfurtherinnovationrather

thanadriverofcurrentinnovation.it

inspiredustousetheconcepttode-

signatoolthatwoulddrivesmesand

corporate,researchandacademic

organisationstocommunicate,con-

nectandcommercialisewithinthe

Birminghammetropolitanregion.

WhyTheinnovationengine(ie)aims

toexploitideastofostersmart

sustainablegrowth.alargebodyof

inventions,ideasandskillscapable

ofcreatinghighaddedvaluelieun-

exploitedinuniversities,businesses,

governmentalandnon-governmental

organisations.Thisproposalwill

deliveramechanismforconnecting

ideaswithawiderangeoforganisa-

tionscapableofcommercialisation.

projecT oBjecTIvesTheproject’sobjectiveswere:

•Toinvolve1,090businesses,includ-

ing720smes,whichgenerated

166,850onlinehitsfromcom-

panies,dealtwith33,370initial

enquiries,6,674validatedenquiries

and667followupinterchanges,

resultingintangiblecommercial

benefitto333companies.

•Tocreateashopwindowfor

theinnovationgeneratorsfrom

universitiesandsmestoshowcase

theirideastoawidecommercial

audienceaccessedby,andlinked

to,globalinnovationandbusiness

advicenetworks.

•Toprovideanetworkhubgener-

atedthroughsocialnetworking

interestaroundinnovation,where

innovativeideasandcompetitive-

mindedbusinessescanbelinkedin

completeconfidentiality.

hoWByprovidinganeasilyaccessible

informationsystemforbusinesses

forlocatingtherelevantcompe-

tenciesandinnovativeconcepts

withinparticipatinghighereducation

institutions(heis)andcompanies.

Byenablinginnovatorstoshowcase

theirideasbysettingupasecure

innovationhublinkedtomorewidely

establishedinnovationnetworksand

serviceswherenewideasandbusi-

nessescanbelinkedtomorewidely

establishedinnovationnetworksand

services.Theroleoftheknowledge

brokerswillbetoactasaninterface

betweensmesandtheinnovation

engine,therebygivingsmesamore

interactiveapproachtointellectual

propertyandconnectionswithlarger

companies.

Whoinvolvedpartners:BirminghamCity

Council,BirminghamsciencePark

aston,universityofBirmingham,

BirminghamCityuniversity,

innovationXChangeandBirmingham

scienceCity.

whowillbenefit:smes,higheredu-

cationinstitutions,localbusinesses

andscienceparks.inthelongerterm,

theregionaleconomy.>

As a direct result of participating in the MKW project, Birmingham Science Park Aston has adopted technologies,

processes and frameworks that are helping the entrepreneurs and innovative companies associated

with the Park to be more efficient and prosperous.


Where aNd WheNDevelopment,design,management

etc.,willbebetweenBirmingham-

basedpartnersinaspecificlocation.

Theiewillbelaunchedwhenfunding

issecured.

FuNdINgFundingtosupportthedeliveryof

theprojecthasappliedfor50%

privatefundingtomatchtheerDF

callfromawm,theregionalDevelop-

mentagency.Theclosingdatefor

outlineproposalswas24thjune2011.

Theprivatesectormatchingfunding

willbesupportedthroughproject

partners:BirminghamCityCouncil,

BirminghamscienceParkaston,

innovationXChange,universityof

BirminghamandBirminghamCity

university.

resultsfromthepanelinjuly

confirmedthatourapplicationfor

fundingfromtheerDFwasunsuc-

cessful.wearenowlookingatfuture

fundingopportunitieswhenthey

arise.atpresenttherearenone

availabletosupportthisprojectin

thenearfuture.

Theprojectwillbedevelopedinto

aself-fundingmodelviaatiered

membershipschemeproviding

connectionsbetweensmes,large

companiesandeducationalinstitu-

tions.informalpeergroupnetworks

andspecificinterestgroupswillalso

besetuptoaddresscommongoals

andenhancesupplychaincapability,

inenvironmentalperformance,the

automotivesectoretc.

sTraTegIc FITTheprojectisagoodmatchwiththree

ofthewestmidlandsoperational

Programme’spriorities:‘promoting

innovation’,‘improvingbusinessper-

formance’and‘developingastronger

entrepreneurialculture’.

TheprogrammesupportstheLo-

calenterprisePartnership(LeP)

strategywithitsvisionofcreating

andsupportingagloballycompetitive

knowledgeeconomy,andbecominga

globalleaderininnovationenterprise.

Furthermore,theprojectendorsesthe

LePstrategyofcreatingacultureand

climatewhereinnovationandenter-

prisecanthriveandprosper.

Theprogrammealsosupportsthe

BirminghamCityCouncilPlanand

its‘succeedeconomically’theme,

byworkingwithpartnerstoimprove

economicprosperity.TheBirmingham

CityCouncileconomicstrategy-key

area3is‘FosteringBusinessDevelop-

mentandDiversification’.subsection

3.2,‘innovationandcreativity’s

strategicobjective’istoencourage

businessinnovationandacceleratethe

conversionoftechnologicalprogress

intonewcommercialopportunities.

sTraTegIc added valueThesystemisorganisedintofoursec-

tionsandhasthefollowingbenefits:

•asatellitevaultwhichwillincrease

partnershipworking.Thisisanup-to-

date,high-qualitydatabaseofideas,

confidentialtotheuniversityor

organisation.Thedatabasecollects

dataaboutbusinessinterestfrom

thewebsite,whichitthencorre-

lateswiththeinnovationsorideas.

satellitedomainswillbeavailable

touniversitiesandheis,research

institutes,scienceparksandany

organisationwhereideasneeddis-

seminating,suchas

BirminghamCityCouncil.

•amastervaultformingasecure

hubforaregionalnetwork,allowing

networkingoutsidetheregion.sev-

eralsatelliteslinktogetherarounda

centralhub(themastervault)where

individualsatellitedataaboutany

company’sneedscanbematchedto

ideasavailablethroughouttheentire

network.oncematched,thebusiness

“Opinion formers and economic agencies such as civic leaders, business and research organisations recognise the need for mechanisms that encourage and stimulate the innovation pipeline. The Innovation Engine directly addresses theseissues and will become an important driver of commercialising innovation in the region.”


needsandinnovationsorideasare

thensenttotherelevantsatellite.

•asatellitewebsiteoperatingasan

openportalforincreasedawareness

andaclimateofinnovation:afree

open-accesswebsiteareawhere

businessescanviewtheinnovative

ideasintheregionandinnovators

getachancetoshowcasetheir

ideas.

•aseriesoflinkswillenhancethe

webofferingsoftheinstitutions

concernedtoimprovenetworking.

Thesewillstrengthenthecurrent

infrastructuresofFinditin

Birminghamandwestmidlands

hive,aswellaslinkswitheuropean

systems,e.g.iNNosCoPeinLille.

3.0 Project 2 PublicProcurement WhaTPublicprocurementisbigbusiness.

intheeuropeanunion,itrepresents

over17%ofgrossdomesticproduct,

or€2trillionayear.however,some

peopleclaimthattraditional

operatingmethodsleavemuchof

themarket’sinnovationpotential

underused.authoritiesinthe

helsinkiregionhavecreatedthe

‘PublicProcurementforinnovation’

programmetodeveloptheexpertise,

methodsandoperatingculture

neededtofindinnovativepublic

procurementsolutionsaspartof

Finland’sNationalinnovation

strategy.

WhoBirminghamCityCouncil,inpartner-

shipwithBirminghamscienceCity,

isleadingthedevelopmentofthe

transferof‘PublicProcurement’best

practicefromthemKwproject.

BirminghamscienceCityisa

regionalpartnershipwhichdevelops

andusesscienceandtechnologyto

improvetheprosperityandquality

oflifeinthewestmidlands.Together,

BCCandscienceCityformedalocal

steeringgroupthatdecidedtode-

veloptheideaofimprovingprocure-

mentasastimulusforinnovationin

theregion.

TheBirminghamsteeringgroup

comprisesrepresentativesfromthe

CityCouncil,Birminghamscience

City,universityofaston,Birmingham

sciencePark–astonandthe

universityofBirmingham.

hoW: INTegraTIoN INTo The regIoNal FrameWorkalthoughthesteeringgrouprecog-

nisestheimportanceofchanging

procurementprocesses,thereality

canbechallenging.Thisisbecauseof

theentrenchedcultureofrisk-aver-

sionamongstpublicsectorprocurers

andtheclimateofausteritywhich

makesitdifficulttobridgethecost

gapbetweenbuyingwhatwehaveal-

waysboughtandbuyinginnovation.

inconsultationwithprocurement

officersatBirminghamCityCouncil,

anumberofchanges,interventions

orpolicyshiftsneedtooccurin

Birminghamforchangetohappen.

Theseinclude:

•Nominationofaseniorchampionto

helpchangethecultureinservice

areasofriskaversioni.e.buying

whatweknow.

•Fundingisneededtoremovethe

issueofadditionalcomplexityand

risk-managementinvolvedinpro-

curinginnovation.

•anetworkandstaffresourcesneed

>

The involvement of the Innovation Exchange (IXC) with the MKW project has given us a unique insight into

the requirements of SMEs in a low-growth, economically challenged urban area. It has also shown us the how

they can benefit from intervention by a local authority which has learned best practices from European partners.


tobeavailabletoidentify,consider

andprioritiseopportunities(this

istheareathatisbestdeveloped

throughscienceCity).Thisgroup

needstobringtogetherthecom-

plementaryskillsofprocurement,

technologyexpertise,economists

andregeneration.Currently,weare

workingwithpartnerstotryand

developaconsortiumaroundthe

futureprocurementoflowcarbon

vehicles.Thiswillinitiallybeafea-

sibilitystudy,butwillalsoevaluate

thepotentialbenefitsofcollective

procurement.

•establishingapre-commercial

procurementdemonstratorproject

toillustratesomeofthebenefitsof

theprocesstoprocurersandother

Councilofficials,suchasthosein

finance,budgetholdersetc.

FuNdINgusingpotentialfuturefunding

sourcestotryanddeliveramore

ambitiousprocurementactivity,

liketheFP7calldueinjuly2012

concerningpre-commercialprocure-

ment.Theaimwouldbethatthe

fundingwillalleviatesomeofthe

fearsabouttherisksinvolvedin

buyingtechnologythathasnotyet

beendevelopedorproven.

shouldwebeunabletoaccess

europeanfunding,wewillthenlook

atsomeofthebestpracticesthat

wemightbeabletoimplementon

asmallerscaleatBCCorthrough

workingwithprocurementleads

acrossournewlyformedLocal

enterprisePartnership.Forexample,

Tekesfocusesonthecultural/be-

haviouralaspectsofmovingtowards

moreinnovativeprocurement.

Thisismainlycentredonactionsto

raiseawarenessaboutthepotential

innovationimpactofpublicprocure-

ment.

WheN: ImplemeNTaTIoN schedule •itislikelythatwewillbidfor

transnationalfundsinthecurrent

FrameworkProgramme.other

activityislikelytotakeplacein

amoreadhocway,asandwhen

fundingopportunitiespresent

themselves.

•Theworkwearedoingwithlocal

partnersonthefeasibilitystudy

aboutlowcarbonvehicleswasdue

tobecompletedinmay2011.

•BirminghamscienceCitywill

continuewithitsquarterlymeet-

ingsaboutpublicprocurementasa

stimulusforinnovationtotryand

identifynewopportunities/funding

opportunities.

expecTed ImpacTTheimpactsvaryaccordingtothe

periodoverwhichimplementation

isviewed.ifwemanagetoimplement

asmallprocurementofelectric

vehiclesfollowingtheworkof

sustainabilitywestmidlands,this

willhavesmalloverallimpactbut

willbegintodemonstratehow

outcome-basedorforwardcommit-

mentprocurementmightworkinthe

future.Currently,pre-commercial

procurementisprobablymoreofa

‘leapoffaith’formanyprocurers,but

hopefullywewillbeabletostimulate

thisworkfurtherbyapplyingfor

projectfunding.

intheshort-term,wearelikely

tohavea‘casestudy’orproject

approachtousingprocurementto

stimulateinnovation.however,a

criticalmassofprojectsorinitiatives

mayenableustobuildsomething

closetoastrategicapproachto

procuringinnovationoverthelong

term.however,thesearedifficult

timesingovernment(bothlocaland

national)intheuK,andtheausterity

measurescouldcompoundrisk-

aversion

intheimmediatefuture.

TheBirminghamscienceCity

workingGrouponstimulating

innovationthroughpublicprocure-

mentwillremainanimportant

collectiveduringthisperiod.

ultimately,ouraimwouldbefor

BCCtobeacriticalplayerin

stimulatinghighereducationand

innovativelocalcompaniestoprovide

solutionswhichenableustomeet

ourstrategicambitions.Thespin-off

fromthiswouldbewealthcreation

andimprovementofqualityoflife

intheCity.


01BestPracticeBirminghamCityCouncil,unitedKingdom

24 Best practice 01 BIrmINgham cITy couNcIl, uNITed kINgdom

parTNer BirminghamCityCouncil

coNTacT

Gary GoULd

BirminghamsciencePark

astonFaradaywharf

holdstreet

BirminghamB74BB

unitedKingdom

+441212503513

[email protected]

Birmingham Science Park aston

anincubatorofcompaniesforfutureentrepreneurs


withtheknowledgeeconomycrucial

tomovingtheeconomyoutof

recession,theBirminghamscience

Parkaston(BsPa)hasredirectedits

strategytoplacerenewedemphasis

onbackingyoungtechnologyentre-

preneurs.

Launchedinlate2009,theentrepre-

neursfortheFutureincubatorfacility

issupporting26iTcompaniesin

fieldsrangingfromaudioandvideo

streaming,tomedicaltechnologyand

digitaladvertising.

iftheypasstheselectionprocess,

theyoungentrepreneursaregiven

businesssupport,mentoring,ac-

cesstofinanceandsix-monthsfree

accommodationattheBsPasitein

theheartofBirmingham.“wetakea

riskifwethinkthatabusinesstruly

doeshavepotential,”saysproject

managerhugorussell.“hopefully,

they’llendupgrowingsotheytake

spaceinthefacilitieshereandgrow

fortheregion”.

setupin1982,BsPaquickly

developedintooneofBritain’sp

remierscienceparksandisnow

seekinganewdirectiontopromote

theknowledgeeconomyasanengine

ofregionaleconomicregeneration.

anothernewinitiativeisscience

Parkwithoutwalls,whichaimsto

buildlinkswithcompanieswell

beyondtheregion.

overall,BsPaaccommodatesover

70businessesonits8hectaresite

andisworkingonalong-termplan

foritsprojectsrunningupto2020,

withmorepropertydevelopment

takingplaceatthesiteoverthe

next2-5years.Theprojectisbased

oncreatingprivatesectorincome

andbecomingself-sufficient.BsPa

believesitcanbecomeamodelfor

otherregionsandiskeentowork

withothermKwpartners.

01 skyline of eindhoven by night

02 design in strijp-s Brainport eindhoven region

03 future cooking

04 Making fun during fact-finding-mission at creative conversion factory eindhoven

05 it is the people that makes knowledge work

01

02 03

26 regional action plan 02 BraINporT eINdhoveN regIoN, The NeTherlaNds

02 regional action PlanBrainporteindhovenregion,theNetherlands

04

05



mKwanalysesandtransferssuc-

cessfulactivitiesthatstimulatethe

takeupandcommercialisationof

innovativeideasandr&Dresults.

BrainportDevelopmentandawide

rangeofotherregionalstakeholders

havetakenacloselookatgoodprac-

ticesinothereuropeanregionsin

thefieldof‘bridgingtheinnovation

gap’.Basedondetailedinformation

exchangebetweenmKwpartners,

threebestpractices(innovativepub-

licprocurement,smartsmesupport

tools,andproofofconceptfundand

entrepeneurship)havebeenselected

whichcloselymatchtheambitions

oftheBrainporteindhovenregion’s

Brainport2020agenda,aswellas

provincialandnationalpolicies.The

lessonslearnedhavebeentrans-

ferredintothisactionplanforthe

eindhovenregionintheNetherlands.


1.1 Brainport 2020 agenda

Brainport2020isavisionandstrat-

egy,aswellasatangibleimplementa-

tionprogramme,fortheBrainport

eindhovenregionwithinthecontext

ofthesouth-easternpartoftheNeth-

erlands.TheBrainport2020agenda

comprisesacohesiveandcomprehen-

sivevisionofBrainportinparallelwith

theDutchairport(amsterdamregion)

andseaport(rotterdamregion)

visions.italsohasfocusoncross-

borderlinkstoFlandersand

Nordrhein-westfalenonthesoutheast

Netherlandslevel,withtheBrainport

eindhovenregionasitspivot.”The

DutchCabinetwantstomakethe

Dutcheconomyoneoftheworld’stop

fiveeconomiesandhastherefore

optedtofocusontopsectors.high

Techsystems&materials,Chemical

engineering&Chemistryandagro-

foodareallsubstantialcontributors

totheDutcheconomy.Thesethree

sectorsaccountfor68%ofallprivate

spendingonresearchanddevelop-

ment,andtogethermakeupalmost

halfofallDutchexports,theengineof

thecountry’seconomicgrowth.world

players,multinationalsandsmalland

mediumsizedenterpriseswithstrong

exportpositionsinthesesectorsare

locatedinsoutheastNetherlands.

Lookingattopregionsaroundthe

worldwithasimilarbusinessand

technologyprofile,aeuropean

topthreespotandworldtopten

rankingcanbereachedforthe

southeastNetherlands.Buttoachieve

this,specificactivitiesandinvestments

arenecessary.Theseareoutlined

intheBrainport2020agenda“Top

economy,smartsociety”.Keyambi-

tionsexpressedintheBrainport2020

programmeare:

• in2020southeastNetherlandswill

beoneofthetopthreeeuropean

toptechnologyregionsandinthe

toptenonaglobalscale.

•economicgrowthinsoutheast

Netherlandsofaround3%isdouble

ourcountry’saverage.

•Theindustrialbaseinsoutheast

Netherlandsistakingadvantageof

opportunitiesforgrowth,withits

annualshareofgrossnational

productrisingby€40billiontoa

totalof€136billion.

•Theimplementationofthreefield

labsofworldrenownareactingasan

incubatorforinnovativesolutionsin

thefieldsofhomecare,mobilityand

sustainablebuildings.

•southeastNetherlandswillbe

headingfornearfullemployment.

everytalentwillbeused,fromclever

skilledworkerstohighlyeducated

knowledgeworkers.

Theprogrammedescribescrucial

shortandlongtermmeasuresin

thefieldsofpeople(jobmarket),

technology(r&D/design),business,

basics(qualityofthelivingenviron-

mentandinfrastructure),governance

andinternationalcooperation.

1.2 Province of Brabant agenda

TheBrainporteindhovenregionis

locatedintheprovinceofBrabant.

ThemissionoftheprovincialBrabant

agendaistocreateanexcellent

environmentforeconomicandsocial

developmentaimingforahighquality

oflifeand,throughthis,toachievean

innovativeandgloballycompetitive

region.Theprioritiesoftheprovince

ofBrabantemphasisetheneedfor

‘smartconnections’betweensocial

demandsandeconomicpotential,

betweenregional-national-european

agendasandbetweentriple-helix-

stakeholders.>

What the MKW people share are their imagination, driveand determination, making them passionate about takinginnovation to the next level. Good practices are only as good as the people who make them work.

Ton van Lier, former MKW Project Manager (now working at the Municipality of Helmond).


TheBrabantprioritiesinclude:

•strengtheningentrepreneurship

(smes),innovationandvalorisation

•Creatingcontinuitybetweenjobs,

knowledgeandbusinesslocations/

campusareas

•Fosteringinternationalgrowth,

investmentsandcooperation.

innovativepublicprocurement,smart

smesupporttools,andmeasuresto

bridgetheinnovationgaparesup-

portedwithintheBrainport2020and

provincialagenda.

2.0 Project 1 innovativePublicProcurement

WhaT TheBrainporteindhovenregion

needsmoremarket-focusedstart-up

companiesandrapid,innovative

growers.Thisrequiresadditional

capitalforpromisingcompaniesin

everyphaseoftheirdevelopment.

Thepublicsectorcantakeanimpor-

tantdecisioninthisbypurchasing

innovativeproductsas(launching)

customers.integratinginnovation

andpublicprocurementpolicies

canacceleratethisprocess.The

innovativePublicProcurement(iPP)

practicesfromCulminatuminnova-

tion,helsinkiregion(Finland)are

animportantinputfortakingpublic

sectorpurchasingofinnovative

productstothenextlevel,fittinginto

Brainport2020’sandtheBrabant

agenda’siPPambitions.Thehelsinki

regionhascreatedPublicProcure-

mentforinnovationtodevelopthe

expertise,methodsandoperating

cultureneeded.TheBrainporteind-

hovenregioncanlearnthefollowing

lessonsfromthisgoodpractice:

•TheFinnishthematic approach

ofinnovativePublicProcurement,

suchasinthefieldofhousing,

sustainabilityconceptsandhealth

issues.

•innovativePPisstimulated at

several levels,suchasatmunicipal

level,athelsinkiregionalleveland

atanationallevelthroughTeKes

(theFinnishFundingagencyfor

Technology&innovation).

•earlystakeholder involvement:in

Finlandthedemandsideisinvolved

ataveryearlystageandfurtheron

throughoutthecompleteprocure-

mentprocess.

inthisregard,BrainportDevelop-

mentorganisedaconferenceon

june30th2011called‘innovative

purchasing:theopportunity!’incoop-

erationwiththeDutchministryof

economicaffairsandinnovationand

withPianoo(theDutchPublicPro-

curementexpertiseCentre).Finnish

publicprocurementgoodpractices

wereshowcasedanddiscussed.

Furthermorein2011,mrhenkBrink,

economicaffairsaldermaninthe

municipalityofeindhoven,wasas-

signedasamemberoftheNational

NetworkofiPPambassadorsandthe

sBir(smallBusinessandinnovation

research)programme.

Why reasonstoimplementthisgood

practice:

•innovativepublicprocurementisan

eu,nationalandregionalpriority

forthenextyears(alignmentinall

levelsisneeded)

•TheDutchpublicsectorspends

€60-70billionperyearon

products,services,buildingsand

infrastructure.Thepublicsector

shouldtaketheleadinactingas

amoderncustomerbybuyingin-

novativeproductsandservicesand

stimulatingtheinnovativepowerof

Dutchcompanies

•Contributetotheestablishmentof

theinnovativePublicProcurement

Open innovation is learning from people who get things going in environments different from those you are used to.

Pieter de Bock, Innovation Lab, Eindhoven Technical University.

MainstreaMing gUide 31

ambitionswithintheBrainport2020

agenda

•Combineandmutuallystrengthen

regionalandlocalinnovationand

publicprocurementpolicyobjectives

hoW aNd WheN Foreseenactionplantoimplementthis

goodpractice:

•Createawarenessandrolloutthe

iPPapproachinlocalandregional

policiesfrom2012onwards

•strengthentheiPPcooperationwith

thenationalsBirprogrammeand

Pianoo(DutchPublicProcurement

expertiseCentre)

•embarkoneuropeanprojects

inthefieldofinnovativePublic

Procurement,e.g.withinthecurrent

Frameworkprogramme(FP8)and/or

theCompetitivenessandinnovation

Programme(CiP),andthe‘horizon

2020’,thefutureintegratedfunding

systemthatwillcoveralleuresearch

andinnovationfunding

•Projectdevelopmentwithinlocal,

regional,nationalanderDFiPP

tenders(2012-2020)

• implementationofrunningiPP

projectssuchastheBrainporthealth

innovationPCPproject‘silver’on

robotics(2011-2013).

FINaNcINg wearelookingforfinanceforouriPP-

ambitionsfromregional,nationaland

europeanfunds.estimateoffinance

required:€300,000(2012)andsome

mln€eachyearfrom2013-2020.

integrationofapproachinexistingPP

funds.

Who Thefollowingstakeholderswillbein-

volvedintheforeseenimplementation

ofthisgoodpractice:

•ProvinceofBrabant

•BrainportDevelopment

•Cityofeindhoven

•Cityofhelmond

•Thecityregioneindhovensre

(intermunicipalco-operativeunion)

•Pianoo(DutchPublicProcurement

expertiseCentre)

•Dutchministryofeconomicaffairs,

agricultureandinnovation(sBir

programme)

•eupartnerregionssuchasstuttgart,

Birminghamandhelsinki

3.0 Project 2 Toolkitforidentifyingandmonitoringinnovativesmes

WhaT TheBrainporteindhovenregionand

intermediaryorganisationswithinthe

provinceofBrabantneedcleversup-

porttoolstoidentifyandmonitorinno-

vativesmes.onetoolwhichcanmeet

thisneedisinnoscope,themKwgood

practicefromNordFranceinnovation

Développement,Lille(France).This

onlinemappingtoolbasedondataat

firmlevelhelpstoidentifyandmonitor

innovativesmesandhasthepotential

toimprovetheexistingsmetoolkit

portfoliousedintheregionbysmefa-

cilitatorsyntens,amongstothers.The

syntensinnovationCentrecontributes

tothegrowthoftheDutcheconomy

bystimulatinginnovationinsmes.

TogetherwiththeregionalChambers

ofCommerce,syntensraisesaware-

nessamongstsmesoftheiroptions

forinnovationandhelpsthemtotake

definitestepsthatleadtotangiblere-

sults.TheBrainporteindhovenregion

canlearnthefollowinglessonsfrom

theinnoscopegoodpractice:

•Thistool increases the effective-

ness of SME support,asitgivesa

thoroughinsightintotheopportuni-

tiesfordifferentcompanies

• innoscopeisnotastandalone

monitoringtool,butitisembedded

ina customer relation manage-

ment systemwithcompanyrelated

information.Thisallowsoptimumuse

ofavailabledata

•Thequalityofthedataisensured

bythe involvement of all relevant

stakeholders:everybodyhastoen-

terapplicabledata.auniquepenalty

systemmotivatesallparties

Why reasonstoimplementthisgood

practice:

• increasetheeffectivenessand

>


efficiencyofsmesupportinthe

Brainporteindhovenregionand

withinsmefacilitatorsyntens

•raisethequalityofdatamonitoring

ofregionalsmeinnovationpolicies

•raisetheintelligenceforneweco-

nomicpoliciesandstrategies

•Long-term:stimulatestructural

multipleuseofsmetoolkitsand

customerrelationmanagement

throughstrongercooperationof

regionalinnovationintermediaries


goodpractice:

• innoscopepilotwithintheBrainport

eindhovenregionfor100to500

smes,forexample(2012:pilotplan-

ningandset-up,executionofpilot)

•roll-outalook-a-likeinnoscopetool

(aftersuccessfulpilot,2012-2013)

intosmeadviceactivitieswithin

BrainportDevelopmentandincuba-

tor3+(monitoringthedevelop-

mentofstart-upsandfastgrowth

companies,linktonationalvalorisa-

tionprogrammes)andintothesme

toolkitfromsmefacilitatorsyntens

•roll-outacommonsmetoolkit

withintheecosystemofsmeinnova-

tionintermediariesintheprovinceof

Brabant(2012onwards)

FINaNcINgwearelookingforfinancefor

innoscopeambitionsfromregional

(2012:reaP,regionaleconomic

actionProgramme),nationaland

europeanfunds.estimateoffinance

required:€100,000(2012)and

€2,000,000(2013-2020).

WhoThefollowingstakeholderswillbe

involvedintheforeseenimplemen-

tationofthisgoodpractice:


•smefacilitatorsyntensandthe

ChamberofCommerceBrabant


•othersmeinnovationintermediar-

ies(suchasNLagency,Bom,Tu/e

innovationLab,rewiN,etc.)and

Tilburgschoolofeconomicsand

managementofTilburguniversity

4.0 Project 3 ProofofConceptandentrepreneurship

WhaT TheBrainportregionaimstode-

velopandattractbothdomesticand

foreignengineeringandentrepre-

neurialtalent.Theapproachofthe

mobileheightsBusinessCentre

goodpracticewillbeagoodaddition

tothepracticesalreadyinplacein

theregion:matchingentrepeneurs

withnewideasandvalorizeidleiPr.

ThemobileheightsBusinessCentre

(mhBC,sweden)waslaunchedin

2009asaclusterorganisationlink-

ingbusiness,academiaandregional

government.Thevisionwastoes-

tablishmobileheightsastheworld’s

firstecosystembasedonopenin-

novationinmobilecommunications.

ThesuccessofmhBChasgivenin-

spirationtolinkingentrepreneurship

forcreatingnewstart-ups,university

spinoffsandhelpingfastgrowth

companies.TheBrainporteindhoven

regioncanlearnthefollowingles-

sonsfromthisgoodpractice:

•Matching the right entrepeneurs

totherightnewtechnologiesand/

orintellectualpropertyrightsto

createnewbusinessstart-ups

•Specific working methods with

entrepreneursincreasesthechanc-

esofsuccess.specialfeatures

includeacombinationofmanage-

menttools,intensivematchingand

learningprocessandtheinvolve-

mentofexperiencedentrepeneurs

inastart-upcommunity

•ThemhBC,aaltoDesignFactory

(helsinki)andCreativeConversion

Factory(Brainport)initiativesall

encounterthesamegap:bridging

the‘proofofconcept/relevance’

phase.Lessonslearnedcanbe

incorporatedinfutureinstruments

tobridge the innovation gap.

Whymatchingtherightentrepreneurs

totherightideaswillcontribute

toachievingtheambitionsofthe

Brainport2020programme.however,

thegapinfinancingofthe‘proofof

MainstreaMing gUide 33

concept/relevance’phaseneedsto

beovercomeinordertomakeany

entrepreneurialprojectsuccessful.

Financingthewholeinnovationcycle

isclearlyaproblemencounteredby

start-upsandfast-growingfirms.This

appliesespeciallytofinancingthe

earlystageofbusinessdevelopment,

withgapsexistingbetweenthedif-

ferenttypesoffundsandwithsome

fundslackingsufficientvolume.inthe

europeanarena,itisstronglybelieved

nowadaysthatusingfinancialengi-

neeringinstruments,fundedbythe

futureCommonstrategicFramework

foreuresearchandinnovationand/or

futurestructuralFundsormanagedby

theeuinvestmentBankandeuinvest-

mentFundforexample,arepartofthe

solutiontothisproblem.especiallyat

atimeoflimitedpublicfundsavail-

able,asthesefinancialengineering

instrumentsarethoughttoevolveinto

revolvingfunds.withintheBrainport

eindhovenregion,theeindhoven

Technicaluniversity(Tu/e)isworking

hardtodevelopa‘proofofconcept/

relevancefund’(PoCF).Theinnovation

Lab(TechnologyTransferoffice)of

Tu/eisexploringthepossibilitiesfor

suchafundinregional,nationaland

europeanarenas,workingwithother

stakeholders(universities,agencies,

localgovernment,etc.)frominsideand

outsidetheeindhovenregion,aswell

asfromtheaachen,Leuvenandother

europeanregions.


goodpractice:

•setupaProofofConcept/relevance

Fundproject(contents,consortium,

finances,2011-2012)includinglessons

learnedfrommobileheightsBusi-

nessCentre

• iffeasible,developlargescaleProof

ofConceptFundincooperationwith

thejointTechnicalsecretariatfor

newstructuralFundsbudgeting

period(2014-2020)

•Linkuptoeufinancialengineering

supportschemeslikejeremieand/

oriNTerreG(forthcomingperiod)

FINaNcINg TheTu/eislookingforadditional

financeforPoCFambitionsfrom

regional,nationalandeuropeanfunds

forforthcomingyears.

estimateoffinancerequired:tobe

determined(~somemillion€ayear).

WhoThefollowingstakeholderswillbe

involvedintheforeseenimplementa-

tionofthisgoodpractice:

•Tu/einnovationLab

• internationalTechnologyTransfer

officesatrwThaachenand

universityofLeuvenamongstothers



•NationalintermediaryTechnopartner

The Making Knowledge Work project is a shop window whichshowcases ways of speeding up innovation. Our region

is eager to adopt some of these European best practices.

Piet Boomsma, Policy Advisor Economy and Innovation, Province of Brabant.

34 Best practice 02 BraINporT eINdhoveN regIoN, The NeTherlaNds

Creative Conversion Factory

Turningpromisingideasintobrilliantproducts

02BestPracticeBrainport,TheNetherlands

parTNer BrainportDevelopmentN.v.,

Brainporteindhovenregion

coNTacT

aNNE VErHaaG - VaN NULaNd

PoBoX2182,5600CDeindhoven

TheNetherlands

+31407512424

[email protected]


Fromintelligentbuildingblocksand

wallpanelsthatbuzz,glowandflicker

withlighttogivekidsawholenew

conceptofinteractivegames,toa

navigationsystemthatallowsvisitors

tofindtheirwayaroundlabyrinthine

modernbuildings,theCreativeCon-

versionFactory(CCF)ineindhoven

isanincubatorforturningpromising

ideasintosmartandmarketablenew

products.

TheCCFwassetupin2007by

Brainporteindhoveninconjunction

withPhilipsDesign,Philipsresearch,

theeindhovenuniversityofTechnol-

ogyandanumberofotherresearch,

designandbusinesspartners.The

conceptsprangfromthegrowing

realisationthattoomanypotentially

good,innovativeideaslayunused

becauseofalackofexpertiseorno

directfitwiththebusinessinterests

ofapatentowner.ThroughtheCCF,

ideascanbeexaminedforpotential

andthenputthroughbusinessdevel-

opmentandmatchmakingprocesses

withpartnerswhoarelikelytotake

theconcepttomarket.

aprimeexamplewastheintelligent

Playgroundwhichdrewonanidea

fromtwostudentsattheeindhoven

universityofTechnologyofcreat-

inginteractivegamesforkidsusing

coloursandsoundstogetthem

playinginthephysicalworldasan

alternativetocomputergames.

Thestudentsweregivencoaching

inbusinesspracticesandtheiridea

wascombinedwithotherslyingin

Philips’archives.Theywerethenput

intouchwithKorein,acompanythat

runs80day-carecentresaroundthe

southernNetherlands,andagroup

ofbusinessmenwhowereinterested

inmarketingthegamesunderthe

NYoYN(pronounced‘enjoy’en’)

brand.“itwasaperfecttiming,they

gotofftoaflyingstartwiththe

stuffwehadbeenworkingon,”says

hansrobertus,creativedirectorof

Brainporteindhoven.“Thebusiness

isdoingwellnowadays…andnothing

wouldhavehappenedifthoseplans

werestilllyinginthearchives.”

TheCCFwassetupwith€900,000

frompublicfunding.inthefuture,

theCCFwillmergewiththetech-

nostarterprogrammesetupbythe

innovationLaboftheeindhoven

universityofTechnologytosupport

studentswhowanttoturnideasinto

businesses.

36 regional action plan 03 FlaNders dc, BelgIum

01

03030201 Bar d'office, flanders dc's network of coworking spaces in flanders

02 flanders institute of Biotechnology © ViB, Valerie clarysse

03 flanders district of creativity makes creativity happen in flanders

04 gps brainstorming kit, one of the free tools developed by flanders dc

05 flanders institute of Biotechnology, one of the strategic research centres in flanders


04

05

03 regional actionPlanFlandersDC,Belgium


TheFlandersregionishappytohave

beeninvolvedinthemakingKnowl-

edgework(mKw)project.During12

fact-findingmissionsandfollow-ups,

wewereabletoexchangeexperi-

enceswithallourpartnersinallthe

partnerregionsacrosseurope.

Thesefruitfuldiscussionsconfirmed

thevalueofseveralideasandbest

practicesinFlanders.Thebestprac-

ticesinthemKwprojectprovided

valuableinputforFlemishstakehold-

ersandourbrainstormingsession

aboutfuturecommonprojects.

1.0 Broader scope and context: Flandersinaction

ThisregionalactionPlanneeds

tobereadinconjunctionwiththe

'Flandersinaction'project(via

2020),launchedbytheFlemish

Government.on20thjanuary2009,

thenewPact2020waspresentedto

stakeholdersinhasselt.

inthisambitiousplan,Flandersis

lookingaheadto2020andaiming

totakeupaleadingpositionasone

ofeurope’sbest-performingregions.

anambitiousgoal,yetonethatcan

beattainediftheFlemishcommunity

canbringallofitsconsiderableas-

setstobearonthisendeavour.

Forthatreason,Flandersinactionis

focusedonbreakthroughactivities.

suchanactionplanrequiresmuch

morethanjustaslowimprove-

mentorafewpercentagepointsof

growth.itpointstoanevolutionthat

fundamentallyalterstheFlemish

landscapeandFlemishsociety.inad-

dition,itisalsothefastestwaytothe

headoftheeuropeanpeloton.

Breakthroughsarenotachievedby

takingordinarymeasures.Break-

throughsdemanddramaticaction

thatwillreallymakeadifference,

strengthentheFlemisheconomy

anditssocietyinanumberofcrucial

respects,andbreathenewlifeintoit.

Theauthorities,industry,society,and

citizensmustallrolluptheirsleeves

andgettoworktoimplementthefol-

lowingsevencrucialbreakthroughs

inthefollowingareas:

•Theopenentrepreneur

•Flanderslearningsociety

•innovationcentreFlanders

•Greenanddynamicurbanregion

•europe'ssmarthub

•Caringsociety

•Decisivegovernance

Theultimategoalisnotyetwithin

reach,buttheroadtowardsitis

alreadyclearlymarked.Together

withallrelevantstakeholderorgani-

sations,theFlemishGovernmentis

turningthischallengingvisioninto

feasibleactionsthatbeartangible

results.

2.0Stakeholders

FlandersDCassembledagroupof24

peoplefromthemostrelevantstake-

holderorganisationsinthetriple

helixmodel.Theyattendedsomeof

thefact-findingmissionsandfollow-

ups.Thisgroupwassplitbetweenthe

threecomponents-government(6),

education(12)andcompanies(6)and

consistedof,amongothers,people

fromvlerickLeuven-Gentmanage-

mentschool,theiBBTresearch

centre,LessiusuniversityCollege,

industrialDesignCentre,howest,

FlandersDrive,strategischePro-

jectenorganisatieKempen,Flanders

DC,uNiZo(theassociationofsmes

inFlanders),voKa(theFlemish

ChambersofCommerce),enter-

priseFlandersagency(agentschap

ondernemen)andrepresentativesof

theFlemishGovernment…

FlandersDCinvitedthisstakeholder

grouptoanintensivesessionabout

thebestpracticespresentedinthe

fact-findingmissionsandfollow-ups.

Bestpracticeswerediscussedand

comparedwithsimilarprojectsor

approachesinFlanders.Thisdiscus-

sionwasthestartingpointforthe

brainstormingsessionwhicheventu-

allyledustothespecificprojects

presentedinthisactionplan.


Thestakeholdergroupidentified

threemajoritemsthatcanbe

improvedinFlanders.weneedmore

andbetterstart-ups,andweneedto

maketheentrepreneurialspiritanin-

tegralpartoftheFlemisheducation

system.athirditemthatcropped

upiscreativity.ingeneralterms,we

needtostimulatecreativeentre-

preneurship.Creativityallowsusto

findnewsolutionsandidentifynew

opportunities.Theprojectsselected

forthismKwregionalactionplanfit

perfectlyintothebroadervisionof

Flandersregion.Theycontributeto

the'openentrepreneur',the'Flemish

learningsociety','innovationcentre

Flanders'and'Greenanddynamic

urbanregion'.

3.0Creative Incubator

WhaTTheCreativeincubatorisaplatform

whichbringstogethertheinnovative

powerofbusinesses,government,

knowledgeinstitutions,thecreative

industriesandthesocialsector.The

Creativeincubator’sgoalistocreate

newandsustainableeconomicand

societaldevelopmentbasedonthe

urgentandcomplexquestionsthat

oursocietyfaces.Theinvolvementof

thecreativeindustrieswillhelpthe

incubatortobreakwithconventional

solutionsandtocomeupwithcrea-

tive,sustainablealternativeswith

botheconomicandsocietalbenefits.

WhoTheinitiativewillbestartedbythe

ProvincialehogeschoolLimburg

(PhL)andCreazy(creativeinnova-

tioncompany).TheCreativeincuba-

torwillbehostedatC-mine,the

creativehubinthecityofGenkinthe

provinceofLimburg.

PhLandCreazyarenowlookingfor

otherpartnerswhocanactivelysup-

porttheCreativeincubator.Possible

futurepartnerswillbefoundwithin

thetraditionaltriplehelixaswellas

inpublicsectors(healthcare,mobil-

ity,environment).PhLandCreazy

callthisgroupthequadruplehelix.

TheFlandersDistrictofCreativity

supportstheideaofstartingCrea-

tiveincubators.otherpartnerswho

werealsoenthusiasticaboutthis

ideaaretheLimburgsereconversie

maatschappij(aregionalinvest-

mentfund),uNiZo(theassociation

ofsmesinFlanders),voKa(the

FlemishChambersofCommerce),

theBusinessangelsNetworkFlan-

ders,enterpriseFlandersagency

(agentschapondernemen)andthe

innovationagencyoftheFlemish

Government(iwT),aswellasmajor

industrialplayerslikeBelgacom,

Philips,CanonandFord.

hoWCentraltotheconceptoftheCrea-

tiveincubatoristheCreativeinnova-

tionLab,fromwhichcreativeand

sustainablesolutionswillemerge.

ideas,conceptsand/orresearch

questionswillfollowa6-monthpath

throughtheinnovationlab.Thispath

involves4steps:

•BrainBath

•ingredientsroom

•BubblingZone

•spinout/offclass

Theinitialideasandconceptsgrow

intostart-upsastheyprogress

throughthefourphasesofthe

CreativeinnovationLab.Thisprocess

isstronglysupportedbyspecific

coursesatthesupportinguniversities

anduniversitycollegesandbythe

partneringknowledgeinstitutions.

afterthe6-monthperiod,themost

promisingstart-upsarespun-out

andgivenfurthersupportinthe

incubator.ideasthatdidnotleadtoa

promisingstart-upreceivenofurther

support.however,theseideaswillbe

storedonanopeninnovationplat-

form,wheretheycanbepickedup

byanyonewhohasgoodideasabout

waystodevelopthemfurther.

TheCreativeincubatorhasseveral

sourcesforinitialideasandconcepts:

•entrepreneurscancometothe

incubatorwithanidea

•Partnercompaniescanspin-out

someoftheirunusedideastothe

incubator

>


•Government,societyandnon-profit

organisationscanputresearch

questionsintotheincubator

WheNiffundingisfound,theCreativeincu-

batorwillstartinseptember2012.

FINaNcINgTheCreativeincubatorneedssome

start-upfundingforthefirsttwoto

threeyears.Thefoundingfathers

oftheCreativeincubator,PhLand

Creazy,arelookingforfinancialsup-

portfromaeuropeanprojectand/or

Flandersregionalfunds.

aftertheinitialperiod,theCreative

incubator’sbusinessmodelshouldbe

financiallysustainableviacontribu-

tionsfromthepartnerinstitutions,

companiesand(foraverysmall

amount)fromparticipatingstudents/

entrepreneurs.

lINkTheCreativeincubatorwasinspired

bytheCreativeConversionFactory

(Brainport,eindhoven)andmobile

heightsBusinessCentre(Lund,

sweden).TheCreativeConversion

Factoryhasshownthatitispossible

forcompaniestocommercialisetheir

unusedpatentsonaplatformwhich

createsnewstart-ups.mobileheights

BusinessCentrewasalsoaninspiring

example.mhBCissimilartotheCrea-

tiveincubatorinthesensethatit

startswiththestudent/entrepreneur

andnotjustwiththeideas(asinthe

CreativeConversionFactory).

4.0Practice Enterprise

WhaTPracticeenterpriseisaneweduca-

tionalconceptforlearninghowto

practiseprofessionalactivitiesin

highereducation,developedbyLes-

siusuniversityCollegemechelen.The

conceptstartedfromasimpleques-

tion.howcanhighereducationinsti-

tutionsintegratereallifeprofessional

contextstoaslargeanextentas

possiblewithintheirtrainingcourses?

Thiswasthebasicquestionforare-

searchprojectthatcameupwiththe

ideaoffullPracticeenterprise.

aPracticeenterpriseisacompany

(organisation)thatformsanintegral

partofaneducationalinstitution.it

isrunbystudentsandlecturers,and

functionsasalearningenvironment.

ThePracticeenterpriseisaperma-

nentunit,independentofstudents

enteringorleavingit.ThePractice

enterprisesuppliesrealproducts

and/orservicestocustomers.The

studentsperformafullrangeof

relevanttypicalprofessionalactivi-

ties.Thismeansthattheprofessional

worldisactivelyinvolvedineduca-

tion.Theeducationalinstitutionhas

thefinalresponsibilityforthequality

oftheworkandtheeducation.

severalcourse-specificPractice

enterprisesarecurrentlyoperating

atLessiusuniversityCollegeandat

partnersabroad.Furtherresearch

willmeasureandmonitorsomeof

theimportanteffectsdetectedbythe

researchgroupduringtheimplemen-

tationofPracticeenterprise:

•theimprovedqualityofstudents’

skills

•intrinsicentrepreneurship,

increasedratherthandecreased

motivationtolearnisareality

•companiesandentrepreneurshave

apositiveresponsetothese'newly

anddifferently'educatedyoung

professionals

•organisingmulti-campuseducation

isalogicalnextstepforeducational

institutionsasaninterdisciplinary

approachisthecornerstoneofa

fullPracticeenterpriseapproach.

WhoPracticeenterpriseisatwo-year

researchanddevelopmentproject

ledbyLessiusuniversityCollege

mechelen,togetherwithKatho-han-

talKortrijkandKatholiekehoge-

schoolKempen.

hoWPracticeenterpriseisanewteaching

conceptwhichiseasytoimplement.


educationalcoursescanchooseto

startagradualtransitionprocess,

workingtowardsafully-fledgedPrac-

ticeenterprise.

ThePracticeenterprisesimulates

theprofessionalcontextduringthe

course.Theconceptbuildsfurther

onfamiliarformatssuchasstudent

companies,collegecompanies,in-

companyprojects,workplacements

etc.butaimstogoseveralsteps

furtherinthatitoffers100%real-life

experience.

WheNToday,fourcourse-specificPractice

enterprisesarecurrentlyoperating

asdescribedabove.Theyareinterior

andFurnituredesign,journalism,

Communicationmanagementandof-

ficemanagement.Thisyear,Lessius’

coursesinmultimediaandBusiness

administrationalsostartedimple-

mentingPracticeenterprise.Lessius

universityCollege’sbroaderambition

istodevelopfullinterdisciplinary

Practiceenterprises,involving

studentsfromdifferentcourses,thus

aimingatimplementingmulti-

campuseducation.an'umbrella'

ambitionusingPracticeenterprise

asaneducationalfiltertodetectin-

trinsicentrepreneurshipistocreate

theconditionsforactually'breeding'

andfosteringnewentrepreneurship,

bystartingaguidanceofficeand

creatingfacilitatingtools,suchasa

pre-incubator.

FINaNcINgPracticeenterpriseisatwo-yearre-

searchanddevelopmentprojectmade

possiblebytheonderwijsontwikke-

lingsfondsofLeuvenuniversityasso-

ciationwhichendsinNovember2011.

Theproject’sresearchteam,Filip

BurgelmanandDr.LeenDom,are

lookingforfinancialsupporttocontin-

uedevelopingandimplementingthe

conceptfurtherintheinternational

highereducationarena.

lINkThePracticeenterpriseconceptwas

initiatedbyLessiusuniversityCol-

legein2009.Butavisittotheaalto

Designuniversity(helsinki)aspartof

themKwprojectshapedthefurther

developmentoftheconceptatLes-

sius.italsoinspiredustostartthink-

ingaboutextendingthisprojecttoall

otheruniversityCollegesinFlanders.

5.0Business Students meet Creative Students

WhaTThisisacrossoverprojectthatlets

studentsfrombusinessschoolsand

studentsincreativeeducationwork

togetheronabusinesscase.skills

frombothgroupswillbeintegrated

intheproject.Thisisapilotproject

whichistryingtofindamodelpro-

grammeforFlanders'education

systemtoimplementtomakeopti-

mumuseofthesynergiesbetween

businessandcreativestudents.

Who•vlerickLeuven-Gentmanagement

school:miguelmeuleman

•antwerpmanagementschool:

Geertvanwonterghem

•FlandersDistrictofCreativity:Carlo

vuijlsteke

•artesisuniversityCollege

•howestuniversityCollege

•syrris

•voKa,FlemishChambersofCom-

merce

hoWresearchersfromvlerickandantwerp

managementschoolwillstudybest

practicesineurope(aaltouniversity,

butalsotheuniversityofappliedarts

instituteofDesigninaustriaandsev-

eralothers).Fromthisresearch,they

willcreateamodelprogrammewhich

willbetestedbythebusinessschools

andthecreativeuniversitycolleges

involvedintheproject.

WheNTheprojectwillstartattheendof

2011.

>


FINaNcINgThisprojectisfinancedbyFlanders

DistrictofCreativityinlinewiththeir

visionofmakingentrepreneurial

Flandersmorecreativeandmaking

CreativeFlandersmoreentrepre-

neurial.

lINkaaltoDesignuniversity(helsinki)

6.0Competence Centre

coNTexTinDecember2010,stakeholdersfrom

Flandersparticipatedinthefact

findingmissiontostuttgartwhere

theCompetenceCentreProgramme

waspresentedasabestpractice.

Themissionofthisprogrammeis

equivalenttoFlanders’competence

poles.oneofthelargestcompe-

tencecentresisFlanders’Drive,the

automotivecluster,initiallyfunded

byerDF.

asastakeholderinthemaking

Knowledgeworkproject,Flanders’

Driveparticipatedtothefactfinding

missioninstuttgartwithvaluable

contactsanddiscussionsforthe

future.Flanders’Driveparticipated

totheTechnologieTagone-mobility

instuttgartinNovember2011with

supportoftheFlandersinnovation

agency(iwT)andFlandersinvest-

mentandTrade.

Flanders’Drivewillcertainlyplaya

keyroleinthefieldofgreenmobil-

ity.Duetothegreatdiversityof

stakeholdersbothfrompublicand

privatesector,openinnovationis

crucialtostrategicallymainstream

alltheexistingandnewinitiatives.in

thischallengingdomain,adecisive

boostforcommercialisationmight

alsocomefromcreativity,service

innovationandnewbusinessmodels

thatcouldmaketheinnovationmore

attractivefortheenduser.Flanders

DCwillbeanactorforcreativityto

makeinnovationbetterworkinado-

mainwhereuseracceptanceremains

animportantchallenge.

evaluaTINg The polIcy FrameWorkanexpertgroupiscurrentlyreview-

ingtheroleofFlemishexcellence

centresintheFlanders’policy

framework.Theaimofthisongoing

evaluationoftheFlemishinnovation

landscapeistofindwaystobetter

valoriseresearchinFlanders.This

objectivecouldberealisedusing

newbusinessmodelsandservice

innovation.inthisperspective,the

roleofthecompetencecentreswill

bere-analysedsotobetteralignwith

thestrategicresearchCentres.

TogetherwithFlemishinnovation

fundingagencies,theexpertgroup

isdiscussingsolutionsforbetter

researchvalorisationintheopenin-

novationcontextofFlanders.

WheNrecommendationsaboutservice

innovationandnewbusinessmodels,

fromtheexpertreviewreport,

expectedattheendof2011,willbe

implementedbyfollow-upworking

groupsin2012andbeyond.

lIvINg laBs elecTrIc vehIcleFlemishGovernmentbringsforward

e-mobilityasapilotdomainforthe

implementationofthesenewideas

forresearchvalorisation.Thereforea

newinstrumentLivingLabselectric

vehiclewasinitiated.Flanders’Drive

playsakeyroleintheupcoming

years(2012-2013)fortherollout,

technologywatchandtransferfor

theirservicestoitsbusinesscasesof

electricvehicles.

FINaNcINginviewofthesmartspecialisa-

tionstrategyforthenextcohesion

programmingperiod,strategicap-

plicationswillbedonesothaterDF

fundingwillcomplementFlanders’

fundedactions.

lINkCompetenceCentreProgramme

(stuttgartregion)


44 Best practice 03 FlaNders dc, BelgIum

Flanders Institute of Biotechnology

PioneeringinnovationinLifesciences

03BestPracticeFlandersDC,Belgium

parTNer FlandersDistrictofCreativity

[email protected]

coNTacTjorisGansemans

viBheadquarters

rijvisschestraat120

9052Gent,Belgium

+3292446611

[email protected]


viB,aLifesciencesresearchcentre

inFlanders,isashowcaseforthe

regionalgovernment’sinnovation

strategythatbuildsonalongtradi-

tionofpioneeringworkLifesciences.

Launchedin1996asajointventure

betweentheuniversitiesofGhent,

antwerp,BrusselsandLeuven,the

viBservesasamulti-sitecentreof

excellencewiththeregionalgovern-

mentsupportingabout58%ofthe

researchcosts.Theinstitutehasover

1,200scientistsfrom60countries

workingonresearchprojectswhich

canhopefullybetranslatedinto

pharmaceutical,medical,agricultural

orindustrialapplications.adedi-

catedteamof15peopleexaminesthe

scientists’workforpossiblecommer-

cialapplications.viBalsoconducts

contractresearchforcompanies.

anotherobjectiveistoincubate

start-upcompaniesatarateof

aroundoneayear.“sofar,notasin-

gleonehasfailed,”saysjorisGanse-

mans,communicationscoordinator

atviB.“wehavealreadylaunched11,

andwehavetwoorthreemoreinthe

pipeline.”

viBstart-upsandlicenseesarework-

ingtodevelopdrugstotreatcancer,

rheumatoidarthritis,thrombosis,

flu,osteoporosisandotherdiseases,

aswellasdevelopingresistant,

high-yieldcropsoradvancedgenetic

analysistools.

althoughbiotechinnovationcantake

decadestocometomarket,viBhas

alreadychalkedupsomenotable

successstories.ablynxisworking

onanewgenerationoftherapeutic

antibodies,andDevgenisdeveloping

productstoprotectriceandother

cropsfromwormdamage.“it’snot

reallythenumberofcompaniesthat

countswithus,buttheirviability,”

Gansemansexplains.“it’snotjust

launchingtheidea,buttheentire

process.”

anon-profitorganisation,theviB

recordedanoperatingincomeof

€68.12millionin2009.Themanage-

mentagreementbetweentheFlem-

ishGovernmentandviBprovided

viBwithagrantof€39.46million

gross.Thisinvestmenthaspaidoff

overtheyears,asviBhasbuiltup

over160patentfamiliesandgener-

atedover€75millionfromindustrial

partners.

46 regional action plan 04 helsINkI, FINlaNd

03

01

01 popot sneaker store, city of Helsinki tourist & convention Bureau

© Material Bank - sakke somerma

02 arabianranta - new residential area, city of Helsinki

© Media Bank - seppo laakso

03 daycare centre toivo, city of Helsinki

© Media Bank - Vladimir pohtokari

04 child health centre - city of Helsinki, tourist & convention Bureau

© Material Bank - kimmo Brandt

05 cafe vehicle camionette, city of Helsinki tourist & convention Bureau

© Material Bank- sakke somerma

02

03


04

05

04 regional action Planhelsinki,Finland


1.0 Project 1 innovativeandpre-commercialpublicprocurement

Why aselsewhereineurope,thepublic

sectorinFinlandisfacingimmense

pressureforchange.Particularly

whenitcomestoenhancingthe

publicsector’sproductivity.This

willprovideagoodopportunityto

openpublicserviceprovisionsup

tocompetition.

however,traditionaloperatingmeth-

odsofpublicprocurementleavealot

ofthemarket’sinnovationpotential

unused.Theprocurementofcreative

andknowledge-intensiveservices

requiresnewmethods,skillsanda

changeinattitude.

Thelocalauthoritiesplayakeyrole

inimplementingpublicprocurement

policyandlegalframework.

Thehelsinkimetropolitanarea’s

Competitivenessstrategypresentsa

new,moreactiveroleforthecities.

Thismeanscloserintegrationofpub-

licserviceswiththecreationofnew

knowledgeandexpertise,andtheac-

tiveuseofnewinnovativesolutions

inthepublicsector’soperations.

workingtogether,thecitiesand

regionsareabletocreatethecritical

massneededinthenewerandoften

mostinnovativebusinesssectors.so

aregionmaybecomeanimportant

testmarketinimplementingnew

andinnovativeproductsand

technologies.

coNTexTsweepingreformofpublicprocure-

mentlegislationin2004clarifiedthe

opportunitiesforaddressinginnova-

tioninallprocurementprocesses.

TheneweuDirectiveshavecreated

severalopportunitiesforseeking

innovativesolutionsthroughpublic

procurement,suchaspossibilities

fortechnicaldialoguesbetween

purchaserandsupplier,theability


tospecifyrequirementsintermsof

functionalperformanceorstandards,

andoptionsforallowingvariants,

thusopeningupbidstoalternative

ideas.inaddition,acompletelynew

procedure,competitivenegotiation,

wasintroducedforhighlychallenging

procurements.

asinnovativepublicprocurementis

anewapproach,boththeproblems

andthepotentialarerathergeneric

ineachcountryandregion.

Futurechallengesinsociety(age-

ing)andtheenvironment(climate

change)aregenericandareoften

dealtwithbythepublicauthorities,

whichcreatesalotofopportunities

andchallengesfortheauthorities.

Thefieldofpublicprocurementis

sovastthattherecannotbeasingle

methodorcriterionforaddressing

thetopic.Casestudiesshouldthere-

forebeappliedandthebiggerpic-

turedrawnfromtheirresults.sofar,

theconcept,processandresultsof

innovativepublicprocurementhave

notbeensubjecttomuchstudyas

tothisisarelativelynewapproach.

Thereisalottodointhisrespect.

WhaTCurrently,thereisinsufficientreadi-

nesstoadoptinnovativemethods.

Cooperation,trainingand,most

importantly,practicalexperienceare

neededtocreatetheharmonyneed-

edtointerpretlegislationandfind

commongroundrules.makinguseof

theflexibilitythattheprocurement

frameworkofferswill,iftherulesare

appliedcorrectly,makeitpossible

tofindinnovativesolutionsfrom

themarket.it’simportanttonote

thatthekeyobstaclestoinnovation-

friendlyprocurementdonotflow

fromthelegalframework,butrather

fromthewaytherulesareapplied.

Thejointpilotprogrammeintro-

ducingtheneweuprocurement

processesandguidelinesdrawnup

mutuallybythecitiesofhelsinki,es-

poo,vantaaandKauniainenrequires

greaterattentionandresources.

TheaimofthisinnovativePublic

Procurementprojectistodevelop

theoperatingculture,expertise,

methodsandmodelsforidentify-

inginnovativesolutionsinpublic

procurement.Theprojectwillcreate

anddisseminateinformationthatcan

beappliedinprocurementproce-

duresandcontractualpracticesthat

promoteinnovations.itwillencour-

agedialoguebetweencustomersand

serviceproviders.andfinally,it

willstrengthentheprocuringorgani-

sation’sin-houseinnovationand

cooperationcapabilities.

pIloT projecTs aNd NeW opeNINgsinordertoachievesystematic

change,theprocurementpolicyand

guidelinesforinnovationneedtobe

builtuponconcreteexamples.The

citiesthereforestartedthreehands-

onpilotprocurementprocesses:

•aniCTsystemfortransportser-

vices

•alogisticssystemforahospital

•Thedevelopmentofresidentialser-

vicesforpeoplewithspecialneeds

inthesocialsector

weintendtocreateanetworkof

highlytrainedprocurementprofes-

sionalsandsupportthemwitha

web-basedtoolbox,butthishasnot

yetbeensetup.

Themostimportantfeatureofthese

projectsisthattheyaresetupin

closecooperationwiththesectors’

businesses,universities,research

institutesandpublicadministrations.

Definedpublicpoliciesandmeasures

topromotepublicandpre-commer-

cialprocurementhavebeenmainly

realisedthroughthecities’support

forlivinglabssuchasForumvirium

helsinkifordigitalmediaapplica-

tions,activeLifevillageforsocial

andhealthservices,aswellasrFiD

LabandsensorCentreforelectronic

identificationandsensors.

WhaT has already BeeN achIevedaservicevoucherhasbeenintro-

ducedsothatcitizenscangetmu-

nicipalservicesfromtheprivate

>


sectorifthepublicsectorisnotable

toprovidethem.

Changingtheworkprocesses,new

waysofworking(peernetworks),

technology(e-services)anddivi-

sionoflabouracrossorganisational

boundariesarealsobeingadopted

inplaces.

Procurementrenewalsareoftenfirst

developedandpilotedinprojectsand

thenadoptedaseverydaypractice.

Citieshavedefinedpublicprocure-

mentstrategiesthathavenovel

approaches.implementingthese

strategiestakestimeandneedsextra

support.

opporTuNITIesintoday’sglobaleconomy,thepublic

sector’sdemandsandpurchasing

activitieshaveasignificantimpact

onthedevelopmentandcompeti-

tivenessofmarkets.Publicprocure-

mentcanhelptoconcentrateand

strengthenmarkets,andcanalso

encouragethedevelopmentofnew,

competitivesolutionsinthemarket.

europeanpublicprocurementlegisla-

tionin2004clarifiedtheopportuni-

tiesforaddressinginnovationinall

procurementprocessesandintro-

ducedanewprocedure,competitive

negotiation,forhighlychallenging

procurements.

innovationscanalsobepromoted

bybuildinglong-termpartnerships

whichcontinuouslydevelopthe

service.innovationandlifecyclecosts

canbegivengreaterweightindefin-

ingprocurementrequirementsand

settingbidcomparisoncriteria.

Currently,thereisinsufficientreadi-

nesstoadoptinnovativemethods.

Cooperation,trainingand,most

importantly,practicalexperience

areneededtocreatetheharmony

neededtointerpretlegislationand

findcommongroundrules.

reNeWINg puBlIc procuremeNTPublicprocurementisanessential

partoftheeconomicecosystem.

innovativepublicandpre-commercial

procurementcanbeoneof

theapplicationsforsolvingthe

challengesfacedbycitiesand

municipalitiescausedbychangesin

populationstructureandthedemand

forsustainabledevelopmentfor

example.

Theincreaseinefficiencyandthe

numberofapplicationsshouldbeas-

sessedforcontinuallyincreasingthe

efficiencyofmunicipalservicesand

thelocaleconomy.

asarule,municipalitiesarethekey

operatorsinpublicprocurementas

purchasers.Privatecompanieshave

theirclearroleassuppliersandas

counterpartsinr&Dprojects,andthe

researchinstitutionshavetheirown

roleindevelopingpre-commercial

procurementapplications.

moreimportantthannewmethods

andtoolsisthenewkindofapproach

towardsthedeliveryofpublic

productsandservices.

Publicprocurementcomesfrom

specificcircumstances,creatinga

uniquemarketofitsown.Public

procurementisalwaysappliedlocally,

dependinggreatlyonthesurround-

ingenvironment.

WhoinFinland,theprojectsareoftenrun

byconsortiaofpublic,scienceand

businessstakeholders,andtheresults

areappliedbythepublicstakeholder

whichmakestheprojectsustainable.

applyinginnovativepublicprocure-

mentneedsadifferentkindof

mind-setfromtheoneoftraditional

civilservants.wehavetothinklike

businessmenandinnovators.

FuNdINgNationalpublicfundingisavail-

ableforr&Dactivitiesininnovative

publicprocurementthroughTekes.

Pilotr&Dprojectsarebothregional

andmainstream,dependingonthe

subject.

Nationalfundingfordesigninginno-

vativepublicprocurementistypically

75%ofaproject’stotalexpenses,and

alsotypically75%fortheproducer’s


andsupplier’sr&Dexpensesin

implementingprocurement.

poTeNTIalProcurementofpublicproductsand

servicesoffershugepotentialboth

forproductandservicedevelopers

andproviders,aswellasformu-

nicipalities,todelivertheseproducts

andservicesinmoreeffectiveand

economicways.

ateuropeanunionlevel,public

procurementrepresents17%ofthe

eu’sGDP,over€2trillion.justa1%

savingonthisfigurebyapplying

novelpublicprocurementmethods

isanimmensesumofmoney!

Finland’sGDPofisabout€190billion.

evenasmallsavinginpublicprocure-

mentbyapplyinginnovativemethods

willmeanremarkablepubliccost

reductionsinabsoluteterms.

innovativepublicprocurementcan

boostthelocaleconomyandevencre-

atenewglobalmarkets.

asthescopeandapplicationsofpub-

licprocurementareoftenveryspecif-

ic,theycanberatherdifficulttoapply

todifferentenvironments.ofcourse

wecanlearnfromtheprocesses,but

directcopyingisnotpossible,noteven

withinthedifferentdepartmentsof

thesamemunicipality,letalonefrom

municipalitytomunicipality.

innovativepublicprocurementisnot

theonlymeansofresolvingmostof

thechallengeswearefacingineurope

butitdefinitelyhaspotentialtodoso.

Theneedforpublicprocurementis

alwaysthereandtheinnovativeap-

proachhasnolimits!

lINk WITh oTher parTNer regIoNsingeneral,therearestillrelatively

fewapplicationsofinnovativepublic

andpre-commercialprocurement

intheeu.Theneedtocutmunicipal

costsseemstobewidespreadin

thepartnerregions.Theseregions

areeagertolearnmoreabout

innovativeprocurementmethods

andsuccessfulapplicationsfrom

eachother.

2.0 Project 2 innoskooppi

coNTexTatthesametimethatpublicsupport

forcompaniesisdiminishingdue

tothegrimeconomicoutlook,the

supportsystemforastart-upsme

seemsconfusinglycomplicated.The

executivesummaryoftheevaluation

oftheFinnishNationalinnovation

system2009describesthepublic

supportinfrastructure:“high-growth

entrepreneurialcompaniesare

widelyregardedaskeydriversof

employment,industrialproductivity

andlong-termeconomicgrowthin

developedeconomies.”

ThecurrentFinnishpublicsupport

infrastructure,whichaimstohelp

growthcompaniesinboththeirpre-

commercialandcommercialstages,

istheresultofseveralyearsofevolv-

ingpolicyactivitiesandpractice.

supportismanagedandallocated

acrossavarietyofpublicbodies.asa

result,theenterprisesupportsystem

hasbecomeexcessivelycomplex

tobothaccessandadminister.one

costlyoutcomeofthiscomplexityis

thathigh-growthentrepreneursare

notalwaysabletofindandaccess

appropriatesourcesofsupportef-

ficiently.Theneedtodevotetimeand

attentiontounderstandingthecom-

plexpublicsupportsystemdiverts

scarcemanagerialresourcesfroma

moreproductiveattentiontocustom-

ersandthemarket.Furthermore,the

provisionofadviceandsupportdoes

notseemtofullytakeintoaccount

howcompaniesevolveovertime.

Theevaluationconcludesthatthe

complexenterprisesupportsystem

andtheneedsofinnovativegrowth

companiesdonotalwaysmeet.The

supportmaynotbechannelledtothe

mostdeservingsmes.

WhaTinnoskooppiisastatisticalanalysis

toolforbusinessdevelopment,based

ontheiNNosCoPetooldeveloped

>


in2002byNordFranceinnova-

tionDéveloppement(NFiD).This

toolallowstheregionalinnovation

agencyinLilletoidentifyinnovative

companies.

WorkINg BodIesinthehelsinkiregion,thebusiness

developmentorganisationsknow

eachotherwellbuttheylackthe

informationtheyneedabouttheir

targetgrouptobeabletoaccelerate

businessdevelopment.

TheCityofhelsinki’surbanFacts

departmentisveryactiveinprocess-

ingdataforvariouscitypurposes

aswellasforthewholehelsinki

region.urbanFactscanunderstand

theinnoskooppiconceptandalso

processthedataasinformationfor

businessdevelopment.inaddition

toproducingtheinformation,urban

Factscouldalsofollowupandevalu-

atetheeffectivenessofthebusiness

developmentmeasuresputinplace

byusingtheinformation.

helsinkiregioninfoshareisanopen

informationprojectthatfocuses

moreonexplainingtheinformation

needsforurbanplanning.Thepro-

ject’spartnersrepresentmanycities

andorganisationsinthehelsinkire-

gion.innoskooppicouldbeanaction

lineforthisprojectifitsactivities

becomepermanent.

specIFIc acTIoNsurbanFactsandenterprisesupport

organisationsshouldsitdownto

definethecriteriaforwhatdefines

sufficientinformation.

WhaT has already BeeN achIevedatTekes,theFinnishFundingagency

forTechnologyandinnovation,a

statisticalmethodwasdevelopedto

evaluatetheeffectivenessofsupport

measuresforcompaniesthatwere

givenpublicsupport,comparedwith

thosethatwerenot.Culminatum

oyappliedthemethodinevaluat-

ingthebusinessincubatorsfocus-

ingonknowledge-intensivecluster

companies.

reNeWINg puBlIc eNTerprIse supporT measuresinnoskooppihasbuilt-inpotential

tostreamlineenterprisesupport

measureswhilefocusingenterprise

supportmeasuresonlyonsmeswith

themostpotential.

Whointhehelsinkiregion,public-private

partnershipshavebeeneasyandare

commonpractice.Thedevelopment

ofinnoskooppineedstobecarried

outwiththeclosecooperationof

publicbodiesandbusinesssupport

organisations.

poTeNTIalProperallocationofenterprisesup-

portmeasuresforsmeswiththe

mostpotentialsavespublicresources

andwillbringmunicipalitiesmore

incomeastaxrevenue.

lINk WITh oTher parTNer regIoNsTheinnoskooppitoolisthehelsinki

implementationoftheiNNosCoPe

tooldevelopedinLilletoallocate

scarcepublicbusinesssupport

resourcesinausefulmanner.


54 Best practice 04 helsINkI, FINlaNd

Innovative Public Procurement

well-designedpublicprocurementhasacrucialroleinstimulatinginnovation

04BestPracticehelsinki,Finland

parTNer Culminatuminnovation,helsinkiregion coNTacTKaukohuhtinen

riikkahietanen

Tekniikantie12

Fl-02150espoo,Finland

+358400968189

[email protected]

+358405832496

[email protected]


Publicprocurementisbigbusiness.

intheeuropeanunion,itrepresents

over17%ofgrossdomesticproduct,

or€2trillionayear.

however,traditionaloperating

methodsleavemuchofthemarket's

innovationpotentialunderused.

Thereforeauthoritiesinthehelsinki

regionhaveidentifiedanurgent

needtointroducenewmethods

andskillsintotheprocurementof

creativeandknowledge-intensive

services.

workingtogether,thecitiesof

helsinki,espoo,vantaaandKauni-

ainenhavecreatedinnovativePublic

ProcurementProgrammetodevelop

theexpertise,methodsandoperat-

ingcultureneededtofindinnovative

publicprocurementsolutionsas

partofFinland'sNationalinnovation

strategy.

supportedbyfundingfromTekes,

theFinnishFundingagencyforTech-

nologyandinnovation,theyworkon

theprinciplethatprocurementcan

beststimulateinnovationwhenten-

dersandcontractingdocumentsare

definedintermsofperformanceand

functionalrequirementsratherthan

detailed,prescriptivespecifications.

Publicauthoritiesarechallengedto

‘thinkinnovation’whenlaunching

procurementprocedures,factoring

ininnovationissuesfromtheearli-

eststagesofpolicyformationand

projectshaping.Theycanstimulate

innovationinthemarketbywork-

ingoutnewsolutionstotheirneeds

throughcollaborativeprocurement

withpotentialsuppliers.

asaresultofclosecoordinationbe-

tweenbusiness,universities,research

institutesandpublicadministration,

anetworkofhighlytrainedprocure-

mentprofessionalshasbeensetup.

Thisnetworkwillbesupportedby

aweb-basedtoolboxandatraining

programmeforkeypersonneland

stakeholders.severalchallenges

needtobeovercome,including

raisingawarenessaboutinnovations

amongststaffatprocuringauthori-

ties,boostinginteractionbetween

procurersandsuppliers,developing

strategiestolinkpolicyobjectives

withnewmarketsandtechnological

developmentsaswellascounteringa

perceivedconflictbetweenvalue

formoneyandinnovation.

asacatalystforincorporatinginnova-

tionconsiderationsintotheprocure-

mentprocesssystematically,the

helsinkiregionlaunchedthree

hands-onpilotprocessesforthe

procurementofhospitallogistics,

iCTsystemsfortransportand

residentialservicesforpeoplewith

specialneeds.

sincethen,about25projectshave

beenfundedinFinlandbyTekes,

focusingonconstructionandreal

estate,watersupplyandsewerage,

socialservicesandhealthcare,as

wellasenergyandtheenvironment.

Tekesfundingtypicallycoversaround

50%ofthecostsintheplanning

stagesofprocurement,suchas

definingalong-termcost-and-benefit

perspectiveandpromotingtechni-

caldialoguebetweenstakeholders.

italsosupportsr&Dcostsincurred

bothbytheprocurerandthesupplier

duringtheprocurement’simplemen-

tationphase.

56 regional action plan 05 kujaWsko-pomorskIe, polaNd


05 regional action PlanKujawsko-Pomorskie,Poland



TheKujawsko-Pomorskieregion

istakingpartinthemKwproject

throughtheimplementationofthe

regionalinnovationstrategyto2015.

Prioritiesinthestrategy’simplemen-

tationaredevelopingcompaniesfor

aknowledge-basedeconomy,creat-

inganeffectivesystemofeconomic

andscientificcooperationinthe

regionaswellascreatingapro-inno-

vationbusinessenvironment.allof

theseprioritiescompriseinvestment,

institutional,educational,organisa-

tionalandpromotionalactivities.

ByparticipatinginthemKwProject,

theKujawsko-Pomorskieregionis

seekinggoodpracticesandexperi-

encesinordertoboostinnovation-

linkededucation,increasecoordina-

tionamongpotentiallyinnovative

partners,buildupaninformation

andknowledgeexchangesystem,

improveefficientuseoftheregion’s

innovationinfrastructureandsup-

portinnovationinmanagementand

humanresources.

asthemanagingauthorityofthe

regionaloperationalProgrammefor

2007-2013,andintermediateBody

inimplementingthehumanCapital

operationalProgramme,theregional

governmenthelpsintheuseof

acquiredknowledgeinlocalprojects,

specificallydirectedtowardsther&D

sectorandcompanies.Theeffects

ofimplementingtheprojectwillalso

affectprogrammingresourcesfor

tasksofthe2014-2020eufinancial

perspective.

sTudy vIsITsrepresentativesfromtheKujawsko-

Pomorskieregionwentonaseries

ofprojectmeetingsandstudyvisits,

includingvisitstohelsinki,Navarra,

stuttgart,manchesterandeind-

hoven.Therewerebothregionalau-

thorityworkersandexternalexperts,

whowerealsoinvolvedinanalysing

theproject’spartners’undertakings

andpreparingtheactionPlans.

Fact-findingmissionsmainlygave

themtheopportunitytoacquaint

themselveswithdetailedsolutions

andpracticalaspectsofhowthe

foreignpartners’individualprojects

worked.Thegreatvalueofthese

visitsandtheintellectualandeduca-

tionalworthoftheprojectsvisited

shouldbeemphasised.however,in

ourexperts’opinion,thepotential

abilitytoapplyinternational

experiencestoregionalpolicies

requiresthoroughorganisational

andlegalanalysis.

sTakeholdersThemainpartnersinvolvedinthe

mKwprojectrepresentther&Dsec-

torandnon-governmentalorganisa-

tions(NGos).itistherelationship

betweenboththesesectorsthatwill

bedevelopedinassociationwiththe

localgovernment.Byvirtueofthe

project’sstrongrelationshipwith

theregionalinnovationstrategy,it

wasnaturaltoforpartnerstojoin

theregionalauthoritiesinformulat-

inganinnovationpolicy.Toachieve

this,theycollaboratedwithmembers

oftheregionalinnovationCouncil,

includingrepresentativesfromad-

ministration,scienceandbusiness.

Thankstothecommitmentof

externalexperts,representativesof

scientific-researchsectorsandbusi-

nessinstitutionswhotookpartinthe

mKwprojectstudyvisits,additional

actionPlansforcreatingconducive

conditionsforknowledgeandtech-

nologytransferweredrawnup.

Thenextsectionsgiveanoverview

oftheinternalprojectsandproject

ideasfromstakeholders.Thestake-

holderprojectideaswereinspiredby

avisittostuttgartinmay2011.

2.0 Internal project 1 environmentalscienceandTechnologyPopularisationCentre


Youngpeopleandadultsinthe

Kujawsko-Pomorskieregionhave

limitedaccesstonaturalscience

popularisationcentres.Thisisbe-

causetherearelimitedplaceswhere

peoplecouldbecomeenthused

byenvironmentalsciencesand

experimentinteractivelyinphysics,

chemistryorbiology,orcarryout

astronomicalobservations.Thereis

alsoalackoftechnologicaleducation

andinsufficientmathsandnatural

scienceclassesinelementaryand

secondaryschools.

Becausetheregionalgovernment

wasawareoftheseproblems,it

designedauniqueproject,the‘envi-

ronmentalscienceandTechnology

PopularisationCentre’.Thisspecial-

isedbuildingcontainshi-techscience

laboratoriescomplementedbyan

astronomicobservatory,‘Copernicus

astrobase’.animportantelementof

thelaboratoryistheworldrenowned

multiCentre,anenvironmentofun-

limitedactivitiesinthenewtechnol-

ogyworld.Laboratoriesforchildren

from4to16yearsoldwillbecreated

withinmultiCentre.

Therewillalsobespacesforper-

manentandtemporaryscienceand

technologyexhibitionsintheCentre.

Thelaboratorieswillalsohavespe-

cialistscienceworkroomsforbiology,

physicsandchemistry.inthese,the

childrenwillbeabletoconductall

kindsofnaturalscienceexperiment.

TheCentre’sactivityisaimedat

differentsocialgroups.Therewillbe

classesareforpre-schoolchildren,

adolescents,adults,retireesand

especiallyforteachers.

Themaingoalofimplementingthe

‘environmentalscienceandTechnol-

ogyPopularisationCentre’project

istodevelopaninfrastructurefor

educationalpurposes,toimprove

thequalityoftraininginorderto

increaseeducationandqualification

levels,andtoadaptskillstomeetthe

needsofthelabourmarket(espe-

ciallyinruralareas).Theotherobjec-

tivesoftheimplementationare:

•levellingopportunitiesandbridging

thedigitaldivide

•acquaintingstudentswithhi-tech

technologies

•educatingyoungpeopleandadults

aboutastronomyandincreasing

students’interestinastronomy,

mathsandnaturalsciences

•popularisingastronomyand

increasing‘astronomicalaware-

ness’amongststudents,aswellas

amongstlocalpeople

•creatinganatmosphereofinnova-

tion.

Thedecisiontosetuptheprojectis

inresponsetotheneedtodevelop

agreaterrangeofcompetencies,

whichsupportthedisseminationof

knowledgeaboutmaths,naturalsci-

encesandiT.Popularisingastronomy

amongststudentsandlocalpeople

bybuildingastronomicobservatories

isagreatreasonforcreatingan‘en-

vironmentalscienceandTechnology

PopularisationCentre’.Thisproject

canalsosupportlocaltourisminitia-

tives.

Financingtheprojectamountsto€2

million,ofwhich65%(€1.3million)

willcomefromtheerDF.Therestwill

comefromtheKujawsko-Pomorskie

regionorlocalauthorities.

Theprojectwillbecompletedbythe

endof2012.Buildingand/oradapting

theinfrastructuretomeetthe

Centre’sneedswillbecarriedoutin

the2ndand3rdquarters,anditsinfra-

structureequipmentwillbeinstalled

inthe3rdand4thquartersof2012.

3.0 Internal project 2 researchandimplementationFund

ThisFundseekstoincreasethe

region’scompetitivenessthroughim-

provingcompanies’innovationlevels

byapplyingr&Dresultsandsignificant

developmentsinscienceandtechnol-

ogy.TheFundalsostimulateslinks

betweenscienceandbusiness.This

objectivewillbemetthroughgrants

forresearchanddevelopment.

universities,scientificandresearch

institutesandcompanies(including

start-ups)willbenefitfromtheFund.

>


otherbeneficiariesmaybeconsortia

ofentitiesoutsidetheKujawsko-

Pomorksieregionwhichworkwith

regionalstakeholderstoimplement

ourresearchefforts.

TheFundwillsupportareasofre-

searchwhicharemostlikelytohave

ascientificandinnovativeuseofnew

organisationalformsandadvanced

technologies.Thisresearchanddevel-

opmentshouldhelptosolvekeyprob-

lemsintheregion’seconomy,aswell

asdevelopingcooperationbetween

businessandscience,whichisanes-

sentialconditionfortheeffectiveness

oftheinnovationactivities.

Basicresearchwillnotbelookingfor

funding.industrialresearchanddevel-

opmentactivitieswillbefunded:

• industrialresearchmeansplanned

researchorcriticalinvestigation

aimedattheacquisitionofnew

knowledgeandskillsfordeveloping

newproducts,processesorservices,

ortheintroductionofsignificant

enhancementstoexistingproducts,

processesorservices.

•Developmentactivitiesmeans

acquiring,combining,shapingand

usingexistingknowledgeandskills

fromthefieldsofscience,technol-

ogy,businessandotherrelevant

knowledgeandskills,forplanningor

designingnew,alteredorimproved

products,processesorservices.

Projectslookingforsupportmust

complywiththeregionalinnovation

strategyto2015andtheKujawsko-

Pomorskieregion’s2007-2020

Developmentstrategy.Thedetailed

scopeandtypesofprojectwillbe

determinedinconsultationwith

agroupofexpertsininnovation

andr&Dpolicy,andtheregional

innovationCouncil.

Theprojectwillbeimplementedin

cooperationwithpartnersselectedin

acontestannouncedbythemarshal’s

office.entitiesfromthesphereof

scienceandbusinesswillbeinvited.

eachprojectmustbesupportedbya

researchteamandanentrepreneur.

Together,theywilloutlinethescope

andnatureoftheircooperationina

proposalforthecontest.

implementationoftheprojectwillpro-

ceedthroughpartnershipwhichwillbe

ledandcoordinatedbytheregion’slo-

calgovernment(themarshal’soffice).

Therestoftheproject’staskswillbe

carriedoutbythepartnersinvolvedin

researchworkandimplementation.

Theresearchandimplementation

Fundwillbeadministeredbythe

marshal’sofficeasaregional

authorityprojectundersection5.4of

the2007-2013regionaloperational

Programme.Theimplementationof

theprojectisplannedfor2012-2013.

Thetotalvalueoftheprojectis

€3.75millionofwhichresearch

grantsamounttoabout€3.6million.

4.0 Stakeholder project 1 regionalKnowledgeTransferProgramme

WhaTThemainobjectiveofthisprojectis

toadapttheGermanexperienceby

creatingconduciveconditionsfor

theestablishmentofnewcompanies

basedonhi-techtechnologies

spunofffromuniversitiesinthe

Kujawsko-Pomorskieregion.our

regionaluniversitiesareresearching

and/orownsomeveryadvanced

technologies,manyofwhichcould

becomethebasisfortransferto

existingcompaniesorforcreating

newbusiness.

Thebestsolutionwouldbetocreate

entirelynewspinoff/spinoutcom-

panies,whichwillownintellectual

Propertyrightsandcommercialise

newtechnology.inturn,theregional

authoritieswouldbeabletodirect

thedevelopmentofspecificindus-

triesintheregionbysupporting

thoseindustriesthroughgrantsor

competitionsforfunding.

Who aNd WheNresponsibleparty:NicolausCoper-

nicusuniversityinTorun,academic

BusinessincubatorofNCu(umK).

implementationschedule:2012-2013


FuNdINgFinancesource:humanCapital

operationalProgramme.Budget:

approx.€500,000

5.0 Stakeholder project 2 euroPLaN2020institute

WhaTaplannedTechnologyCreationand

Transfer(TCT)institute,whichwould

operateinthreebasicsareas:

1. Programming,basedonimplement-

ingtheeu3x20by2020Directive

(reducingenergyconsumption,

reducingCo2emissions,increas-

ingtheshareofrenewableenergy

sourcesshare,especiallytransport

fuels)

2.economicdevelopment,bylaunch-

ingspecialrenewableenergy

sourcesprojects,developingsci-

entificandtechnicalbasesforthe

manufactureanduseofrenewable

energysourcesinPoland,making

theregionenergyindependent

3.Progressiveinnovation,promoting

thescientificgrowthofuniversities

andtheprogressofenergy,design

andtechnologicalculture,monitor-

ingthenaturalresourcesofyoung

people.reducingharmfulemissions,

increasingthenumberofuniversity

andsecondaryschoolgraduatesin

employment.increasingproduction

ofregionalgoodsandprofessional

services.improvingexperience,

skillsandknowledge

Who aNd WheNresponsibleparty:universityofTech-

nologyandLifesciencesinBydgoszcz,

Facultyofmechanicalengineering


FuNdINgFinancesource:regionalandnational

operationalprogrammes.

Budget:approx.€2,300,000,including

investmentsofapprox.€800,000.

6.0 Stakeholder project 3 regionalprogrammeforraisingstaffengineeringqualifi-cationsininnovativecompanies

WhaTThemainobjectiveoftheprojectisto

adapttheGermanexperience(virtual

DimensionCentreFellbach)toimprove

thelevelofinnovationamongst

regionalcompaniesbyintroducing

productsandsolutionsbasedon

advancedengineeringtools.Thesewill

beinthefieldsofcomplexautomatic

systemdesign(eplan),dynamicdigital

modelling(matlab,Plecs),creating

mechanicalprojects(solidworks)

andadvancedelectronicsystems

(altiumDesigner).

Theproposedtrainingprogrammes

areaimedatenhancingthecompeti-

tivenessandlevelofinnovationof

companiesintheKujawsko-Pomor-

skieregion,byincreasingtheskills

ofengineeringstaffinadvanced

technologies.

Theaddedvalueofthisprojectlies

inthecooperationbetweentheengi-

neeringstaffofregionalcompanies

andskilledNicolausCopernicus

universityscientificstaff.Bybringing

togetherengineersfromdifferent

branchesofindustry,experiencein

transferringadvancedtechnologies

willbeexchanged.

Who aNd WheNresponsibleparty:NicolausCoper-

nicusuniversityinTorun,Facultyof

Physics,astronomyandinformation

Technology.

implementationschedule:jan-jun

2012

FuNdINgFinancesource:regionalandnational

operationalprogrammes.Budget:

approx.€120,000

>


7.0 Stakeholder project 4 CreationofregionalCopernicusinstitutemodelledontheGermanFraunhoferinstitute

WhaTThemainobjectiveofthisprojectis

toadapttheGermanexperienceby

creatingconduciveconditionsfor

turningknowledgeandtechnologies

fromuniversitiesintheKujawsko-

Pomorskieregionintoeconomic

practice,byorganisingandfounding

Copernicusinstitutesforresearch.

Thismustbeachievedbeforeimple-

mentingnewtechnology,prototyping

andtechnologydevelopmentona

semi-industrialscaleandcreatinga

newbusinesstocommercialisethis

technology.

Fraunhoferinstitutesworkonpartial

grantfunding(approx.35%)from

government,andgeneratethe

remaining65%oftheiroperating

costsfromordersobtainedfromlocal

government,nationalgovernmentor

frombusiness.

averyimportantelementofthis

systemistofindinstitutesnearthe

universities,sothatacademicstaff

canworkonapplyingtechnologies

withouthavingtogiveuptheirsci-

entificcareers.Thissystemtriggers

aseriesofpatentapplicationswhich

laterleadstoobtainingabouttwice

asmanypatentsthanbefore.obtain-

ingpatentscanrevolvearoundtheir

licensing,whichbringsadditional

incometotheirowners.

Theprocessofcreatinganetwork

ofCopernicusinstituteswouldbegin

firstlyfromusingcurrentr&D,but

managedonadifferentbasisfrom

before.Fundingonthisbasisgener-

atesteamsjustforthetaskrequired.

ifanorderisfilledandthereisno

othercontractofasimilarscope,the

teamwouldbedissolved.Thislimits

numbersofpermanentstaffatthe

institutestotheminimum.

Who aNd WheNresponsibleparty:Nicolaus

CopernicusuniversityinTorun,

academicBusinessincubatorofNCu


FuNdINgFinancesource:regional

operationalProgrammeofthe

Kujawsko-Pomorskieregion.

PlannedBudget:approx.€5,000,000


64 Best practice 05 kujaWsko-pomorskIe, polaNd

05BestPracticeKujawsko-Pomorskie,Poland

parTNer Kujawsko-Pomorskieregion coNTacTmaciejKruzewski

sklodowskiej-Curie73

87-100Torun,Poland

[email protected]

rafalmodrzewski

PlacTeatralny2

87-100Torun,Poland

[email protected]

regional Centre for Innovation development and Information Society

eliminatingthedivisionsbetweenscience,businessandgovernment


TheregionalCentreforinnovation

Developmentandinformationsoci-

etywassetupin2008tohelptackle

problemsfacingthedevelopmentof

innovationintheKujawsko-Pomorsk-

ieregion,notablythedivisionsbe-

tweenbusiness,academiaandpublic

authorities,andthelackoffinancial

instrumentstosupportthefulfilment

oftheregion’sinnovationpotential.

Themainobjectiveoftheprojectis

toeliminatethegulfthatfrequently

separatescompaniesfromregional

governmentandtheinnovationscre-

atedbyacademicresearchfacilities.

insteadofdivisions,thecentreaims

topromotecooperationtospark

commonpro-innovationprojectsand

useuniversityknow-howtoboost

economicdevelopment.

Locatedinnorth-centralPoland,the

regionisseekingtoboostinnovation-

linkededucation,increasecoordina-

tionamongpotentiallyinnovative

partners,buildupthesystemofin-

formationandknowledgeexchange,

maketheuseoftheregionalinnova-

tioninfrastructuremoreefficient,

andbackinnovationinmanagement

andhumanresources.accordingto

thecentre’swebsite,www.roriisi.eu,

“Thereinforcementofourregion’s

innovationpotentialseemstobe

indispensableforimprovingitscom-

petitiveness.”

Backedby€500,000inpublic

fundingfromthemarshal’soffice

ofKujawsko-Pomorskievoivodeship

andtheerDF,thecentreisusedto

coordinatethedevelopmentofa

networkofinnovationinstitutions

andentitiesacrosstheregion.one

ofitsfirsttaskswastosupportthe

establishmentofaninformationex-

changesystembetweenresearchers

andbusinesses,tofacilitatetechnol-

ogytransfersandmonitorregional

innovationdevelopment.attentionis

beinggiventoeliminatingsocialand

psychologicalbarrierstothespread

ofknowledge-basedinnovation.a

specialtrainingcourseisplanned

toeducatepublicadministration

personnel.

entitiesalreadyengagedininnovation

developmentintheregioninclude

theregionalinnovationCentreof

theuniversityofTechnologyandLife

sciencesinBydgoszcz,themoder-

nityCentre,theBusinessincubator

andTechnologyParkinTorun,the

interdisciplinaryCentreformodern

TechnologiesandtheacademicBusi-

nessincubatoratNicolausCopernicus

universityinTorun.

amongtheachievementssofarare

thecreationofadigitalsystemof

dataanalysis,eresmaT,aself-gov-

erningforumconsistingofaseries

ofmeetingsbetweenplayersfrom

science,businessandadministration,

andthecreationofanewsletterand

websitetodisseminateinforma-

tionaboutinnovationopportuni-

ties.ongoinginitiativesincludethe

implementationofavouchersystem

forcompaniestosupportresearchin

universitiesandapilotprojecttoset

upadigitalplatformforinnovation

throughpre-commercialprocure-

mentprocedures.

initssecondphase,thecentrewillbe

developedintoaCentreofregional

innovationsystemmanagement

(CeZaris)whichwillcreateafinan-

cialinstrumenttosupportdevelop-

mentthroughventurecapitalloans.

aconferenceheldatBydgoszczuni-

versityinNovemberpresentedthe

mainactivitiesof2010,includingthe

organisationofnationalinnovation

boards,theimplementationofare-

gionalsystemofinnovationfinancing

andtheappointmentofaregional

innovationCouncil.

66 regional action plan 06 lodZ, polaNd

0201

0301 fields of the lodz region © Marshal's office in lodz

02 landscape of the lodz region © Marshal's office in lodz

03 landscape of the lodz region © Marshal's office in lodz

04 folklore of the lodz region © Marshal's office in lodz

05 r+d, technical University in lodz © technical University of lodz


04

05

06 regional action PlanLodzkieregion,Poland


1.0 Scope and Context

Theprocessofcreatingknowledge

andinnovationresourcesisde-

terminedbyanumberoffactors,

suchassystemsandstructures,the

cooperationbetweenmanyparties

andthecompetenceoftheorganisa-

tion.inaccordancewithits2007-2013

regionaloperationalProgramme,

theLodzregionhasrecognisedthe

needtoinvestinbuildingaregional

innovativeeconomyaimedattech-

nologicalentrepreneurship.aneed

whichisalsometbyinternational

programmes.supportinstitutions

operatingattheinterfaceofbusiness,

scienceandpublicadministration

haveaparticularroletoplay.They

cancreategoodpracticesaswellas

implementthebestpracticesofother

Polishandforeigninstitutions.

onthestudyvisitsorganisedduring

thisFastTrackproject,webecame

acquaintedwithgoodpracticesin

themKwpartnerregions.repre-

sentativesfromthefollowingregional

institutionsintheLodzregionwere

invitedtotakepartinthemKw

project:

•TheuniversityofLodz

•TheTechnicaluniversityofLodz

•Theacademyofhumanitiesand

economicsinLodz

•TheinstituteofNewTechnologiesin

Lodz

•TheLodzregionalTechnologyand

sciencePark

representativesfromtheseinstitu-

tionsandfromtheLodzregionLocal

Governmenttookpartinfivestudy

visits.Theydefinedthebestpractices

toimplementintheregionusingthe

followingcriteria:

•supportforcreatingnewtechnology

companies

•improvementofinfrastructure

necessaryfortheneedsofmodern,

innovativebusinesses

•supportfordevelopingsmalland

medium-sizedcompanies

•breakingdowncommunicationbar-

riers:science-business,academic-

entrepreneur

•buildingacooperativenetworkfor

science-business

•developingclustersandbuildinga

cooperativenetworkforlocalbusi-

ness

•creatingnewworkplaces

•improvingtheregion’simage

•attractinginvestorstotheregion

•supportfortransferringnewtech-

nologiesfromscientificinstitutions

andcommercialisingthem

•developingspecificinnovationser-

vicesnotcurrentlyavailableinthe

region

•developingselectedindustriescon-

sideredtobestrategictotheregion

•developingthebasisofa‘learning

region’

•concentratingsupportservicesin

theregion

•obtainingfundsandthenecessary

amountoffinancingforimplement-

inggoodpractices.

Thegoodpracticeswhichbestmet

ourcriteriaweretheregionalCentre

forinnovationDevelopmentandinfor-

mationsociety(Torun),theCreative

ConversionFactory(eindhoven)and

theCompetenceCentreProgramme

(stuttgart).

2.0 Project 1 regionalCentreforinnovationDevelopmentandinformationsociety(Torun,Poland)

The‘regionalCentreforinnovation

Developmentandinformationsociety’

projectmirrorsKujawsko-Pomorskie’s

regionalstrategyforinnovation

(rsi).itstaskistobuildaplatformfor

cooperationbetweensocial,economic,

scienceandresearchbodiesby

creatingspaceforinnovationinthe

regionandstrengtheningtheregional

systemofinnovation.

TheKujawsko-PomorskieandLodz

regionsareverysimilarwhenit

comestothedevelopmentofbusiness

environmentinstitutions.activities

inKujawsko-Pomorskie’sscienceand

technologyparkarewelldeveloped,

butnewinvestmentsintheLodz

regionalParkofscienceandTech-

nologywillbringatleastmatching


standardsofperformance.establish-

ingaregionaldevelopmentcentrein

theLodzregionispossiblebecause

aplatformforknowledgeintegration

projecthasbeenintroduced.

The‘LodzPlatformforKnowledge

Transfer’projectwasimplementedin

2009,ontheinitiativeofthemarshal’s

officeinLodz.Theaimoftheproject

istobringsectorswhicharekeyfor

developmentclosertogether,namely

smesandr&Dinstitutions.Theidea

istocreatepermanentandfruitful

connectionsbetweenthebusiness

environmentandscience,withsupport

fromthepublicadministration.

Theprojectisdividedintotwostages.

Thefirststagecomprisestheprepara-

tionofaformalandlegalmodel,

togetherwiththeLodzPlatformfor

KnowledgeTransfer’sregulationsand

privacypolicy,andthepreparation

oftheinternetplatformincluding

theinternetportal,theautomating

businessprocessesapplicationand

databases.Completionofthisphase

dateisplannedfortheendof

November2011.Thesecondstage,

accelerationofinnovation,willthen

start.Theprojecthasbeenexecuted

usingfundsfromtheeuropeansocial

FundwithinthehumanCapitalopera-

tionalProgramme.TheesFsubsidyis

PLN1,245,180.30(approx.€311,000).

3.0 Project 2 CompetenceCentreProgramme(stuttgart,Germany)

TheideaoftheCompetenceCentre

Programmeistoconcentratere-

sources,mainlytheexpertknowledge

neededtobringinnovationintothe

marketinspecialisedtechnological

centres.Theaimisalsotoachievethe

synergywhichwouldacceleratecom-

mercialisation.allaroundtheworld,

consolidatingspecialisedtechnical

andeconomicknowledgeandmaking

itavailabletolocalentrepreneurs

isconsideredtobeahighlyeffec-

tivemethodofpromotingmodern

technologies.

TheCompetenceCentresinitiative

continuestheideaofinitiatingand

supportingeffectivecooperationand

networkingthrougha‘triplehelix’ap-

proachbetweengovernment,educa-

tionandcompanies.

intheLodzregion,thisgoodpractice

cannotbeimplementedinitsfull

form.Thisismainlybecausethereis

alotofvariationbetweenBusiness

environmentinstitutions(Beis).The

Lodzregion’sBeisarealsounlike

thoseofthestuttgartareawhenit

comestostructure.Competencecen-

tresarecompanieswhichemploythe

cluster’smanager,andoftenotherfull

orpart-timepersonnel,ontemporary

contracts.Theirtaskistoorganise

cooperationandsupportthemembers

ofagivencentre.itshouldbenoted

thattheideaofcompetencecentres

inthestuttgartregionbeganas

longagoas1990.itshouldtherefore

beassumedthatBusinessenviron-

mentinstitutionswillevolveinLodz,

eliminatingtheexistingbarriersto

theiractivity.Thefollowingcompe-

tencecentres,tonamebutafew,can

beconsideredtobespecifictothe

Lodzregion:theLodzregionalPark

ofscienceandTechnology(Tech-

nopark),theBelchatowandKleszczow

TechnologyandindustryPark,andthe

region’sBioenergyCluster.

TheLodzregionhasalreadyinvested

indevelopingtheorganisationsfor

creatingknowledgeandtechnolo-

gies.Technoparkisplanningfurther,

farlargerinvestments,withsubsi-

diesfromtheeuropeanCommunity

budget.Thesewillcompriseextending

theLodzTechnologyincubator

andtheBioNanoParkcomplexof

laboratories.Thesubsidyfromthe

erDF’sinnovativeeconomyopera-

tionalProgrammeisPLN45,417,000

(€11,354,000).TheTechnicaluniver-

sityofLodzwillbuildtheeuropean

CentreofBioandNanotechnology.

ThesubsidyfromerDFwithinthe

regionaloperationalProgrammefor

theLodzregionisPLN74,593,570

(about€18,648,000).From2003to

2007,Lodzuniversitycreatedtwo

centres,theCentreforinnovation

andtheTechnologyaccelerator,ata

costofoverPLN12million.

>


Thecentresarebasedontheknow-

howoftheuniversityofTexasat

austin.TheNewinterdepartmental

CentreofNanotechnologyatLodz

universityisfinancedfromgrants,

departmentalstatutoryfundsand

resourcesobtainedfromexternal

sources.Themedicaluniversityof

LodzobtainedasubsidyofPLN

310,000(€77,800).

investingeuresourcesofabout€1

millioninthe2014-2020program-

mingperiodtointegrateallthe

new‘competencecentres’intothe

network,wouldmakeitpossibleto

actuallyimplementthisprogramme.

4.0 Project 3 CreativeConversionFactory(eindhoven,TheNetherlands)

TheCreativeConversionFactory

(CCF)isanopeninnovationinitiative,

theaimofwhichistocreateop-

portunitiesforgatheringcompanies,

designers,technologyinstitutesand

othermarketpartnersinoneplacein

ordertoconvertpromisingideasinto

effectiveproducts,mainlyinthearea

ofnon-standard‘ambientexperience’

solutions.

The‘FashionPromotionCentre–the

TextilesandClothingCluster’andthe

‘art_incubator’projectsarerelatedto

theCreativeConversionFactory.Both

projectswerestartedusingresources

fromtheerDFwithintheregional

operationalProgrammefortheLodz

regionfortheyears2007-2013.

FashIoN promoTIoN ceNTre – The TexTIles aNd cloThINg clusTerThisprojectisdesignedtocreatea

regionalculturalcentreconnected

withthescienceandbusinessenvi-

ronments.Theproject’send-product

willbeanorganisationalunitcalled

the‘FashionPromotionCentre’,

operatingwithinthestructureofthe

academyofart.Theproject’sconcept

iscomplex,combiningactivitiesfrom

theareasofculture,education,entre-

preneurshipandscientificresearch.

Theaimofthisundertakingwillbe

achievedbysettingupthreebasic

sub-projects:

Infrastructureamulti-functionhallwillbebuilt,

incorporatingaprofessionalshow

room.

researchTheaimwillbetostrengthenthere-

searchanddevelopmentpotentialof

innovativesolutionsfortextileswhich

correspondtocurrentfashionand

designtrends,whilebeingsaferfor

wearers.Theproject’sobjectivewillbe

topurchasefixedassetsintheformof

researchanddevelopmentequipment.

developmentThepurposeofthedevelopmentsub-

projectistostimulatethebusiness

environmenttocreatecooperative

connectionsbetweenstudentsand

graduatesoftheacademyofartin

LodzwiththeLodzregion’stextiles

andclothingindustry.Duringthe

project’simplementation,weexpect

ClothingDepartmentstudentsand

graduatestobeprovidedwithkey

informationtoimprovetheirfuture

operationsinthefashionmarket,and

raisetheirawarenessofnewtechnolo-

gies,techniquesandworldtrendsin

fashion.withintheframeworkofthe

project,theacademyofartinLodz

willcarryoutadvisory,informative

andpromotionalactivity,andmount

exhibitions.Theareaalsocomprises

cooperationwithdesigners,stylists,

seminarsaboutnewtechnologies

andtripstoworldfashionandtextile

technologiesfairs,foreducational

purposes.TheerDFsubsidyisPLN

19,619,263(approx.€4,905,000).

Theart_incubatorwillcomprisetwo

taskswhichformone,content-related

whole.Thefirsttaskisarevitalisation

activitywhichwillresultincreatinga

majorpartoftheincubator-offices,

artstudiosandamulti-profileartistic

areaforthebenefitoffutureusers

oftheincubator.Thesecondtask

istorunandmanagetheincubator,

inotherwordstobethesupport

institutionforhelpingfutureentre-

preneurs,thirdsectororganisations


andartiststoenterthemarket.

Theart_incubatorwillbeaone-of-

a-kindplatformwhichwillmakeit

possibletoputbusinessandartistic

ideasintopractice.itwillalsobethe

firstincubatorinPolandaimedat

supportingandpromotingtheactivi-

tiesofthecreativesector.inaddition

toprovidingsupport,itwillbeaimed

atinstitutionsandcompaniesinthe

culturalandartisticfields.Thesecould

beinstitutionsorganisingartistic

events,companiessupportingthem

withtheirproductsorservices(such

astechnicalequipment,advisory

services),orentrepreneursfromthe

cultureindustries.Theart_incubator

willprovidealloftheseentitieswith

space,aswellaspremisesandan

administrationinfrastructure.

Theart_incubatorwillalsoplayan

integratingroleforpeoplefromthe

cultureandartcommunities,aswell

asentrepreneurs.itwillpromotethe

peopleandcompanieswhichcooper-

ate,inordertomaketheLodzregion

onewhichsupportscultureandart,

aplacewhichencouragesentrepre-

neurshipinartisticcommunities.The

projectcanthereforebeconsideredto

makeasignificantcontributiontocul-

turalandsocialsupportforLodzand

itsregion.Thiscanresultininnova-

tionsinbusiness,creatingpermanent

workplacesinthefieldsofcultureand

culturaltourism.Finally,theproject

canserveasanexampleofagood

practiceimplementedintheLodzre-

gion,whichcouldbeadoptedinother

regionsofthecountryoreurope.

TheerDFsubsidyisPLN13,486,285

(approx.€3,371,000).

coNclusIoNsTheanalysisofthegoodpracticeswe

haveselectedshowsthattheirimple-

mentationwillincreasetheknowledge

andcompetenceofinstitutionsinthe

regionwithinthescopeofinnovation,

transferandcommercialisationof

knowledge,aswellasfosteringtech-

nologicalentrepreneurship.Toalarge

extent,theLodzregionisalready

carryingoutsomeactivityrelatedto

theimplementationofgoodpractices.

sothisstrengthensthesignificanceof

theprojectswehaveselectedfor

theregion.

Theimplementationofselected

practiceswill:

• increasetheroleofcentresgen-

eratingknowledgeandinnovative

technologies(goodpractice-Compe-

tenceCentreProgramme,stuttgart)

•facilitatethetransferandcommer-

cialisationofknowledgeandtech-

nologies(goodpractices-Compe-

tenceCentreProgramme,stuttgart;

regionalCentreforinnovationDe-

velopmentandinformationsociety,

Torun;CreativeConversionFactory,

eindhoven)

•buildaregionalcooperationmodel

(asattheregionalCentreforinno-

vationDevelopmentandinformation

society,Torun)

•strengthensupportforpersonnel

andexperts(asattheCompetence

CentreProgramme,stuttgart)

•selectideaswhichcanbeputinto

practice(asattheCreativeConver-

sionFactory,eindhoven)

•buildthebasisfortrust,cooperation

andpartnershipbetweenscience

andindustry(asattheCreative

ConversionFactory,eindhoven),and

betweenscience,businessandpublic

administration(asattheregional

CentreforinnovationDevelopment

andinformationsociety,Torun)

• intensifyandcreateacomprehen-

siverangeofinnovationsupport

programmesforenterprises(asat

theCompetenceCentreProgramme,

stuttgart)

• increasethecontributionofscience

tothesystemoftechnologytransfer

andthecommercialisationofknow-

ledge(asattheCreativeConversion

Factory,eindhoven,andtheCompe-

tenceCentreProgramme,stuttgart)

72 regional action plan 07 lomBardy regIoN, ITaly

01

030201 skyline of Milan, from the rooftop of duomo

02 the duomo, Milan’s gothic cathedral

03 the teatro alla scala, world-famous opera house in Milan, by night

04 skyline of Milan, from the rooftop of duomo

05 pinacoteca di Brera - the monumental courtyard


04

05

07 regional action PlanLombardyregion,italy


Giventhenatureofourproject,a

transnationalcooperationinitiative

whichfocusesonthetransferofbest

practicesthroughregionaloperative

programmesfinancedbystructural

funds,theparticipationofthemilan

ChamberofCommerceinthemKw

projectwasseenascrucial.moreover,

theclearlinktothecommercialisation

ofknowledgeandpublic/privatere-

searchresultswasseenasimportant

addedvalue,sinceitisanassetwhich

iscarefullytakenintoconsideration

bytheregionalgovernmentitself.af-

tertheknowledgesharingphase,the

milanChamberofCommercecould

thenidentifysomebestpractices

whichwouldbesuitableforthelocal

environment.Thisarticlewillshow

howtocombinelessonslearntand

localobjectives,toachieveastrategy

fordevelopmentandforenhancing

thelocaleconomy’scompetitiveness.


TrIple helIx cooperaTIoN IN The lomBardy regIoNasastartingpoint,analysisoflocal

regionalcontexthighlightsthepres-

enceofacriticalmassoftriplehelix

playersinseveralfieldslikedesign,

fashion,agrofood,biotech,iCTand

newmaterials.however,whatis

lackingisamethodologythataims

atcommercialisingthesesectors

asnetworkswitha360degree

approach.

regionaleconomicdevelopmentcan

besupportedeffectivelywithcooper-

ativemethodologybetweennetworks

ofcompaniesandresearchcentresin

thesestrategicthematicareas.The

finalaimbeingtoshareabilitiesand

competencesinordertoinnovate

effectivelyandtocreateoperative

synergiesthatcouldgeneratean

effectivecriticalmassthatwillcreate

marketleadingpositions.

TheLombardyregionhas,since

2003,alreadyconsideredsomething

ofthiskind,bylaunchingoperative

programmesaimedatimprovingclus-

terpolicies.Previousthematicareas

werealreadybeingcommercialised

inanon-standardisedway(mainly

financialsupportforr&Dprojects),so

astructuredmethodologywasnever

implementedonaregionallevel.

however,financialtoolshaveevolved

since2003,rangingfromafirstinitia-

tivecalled‘Distretti’andthen‘meta-

distretti’whichofferedawiderange

offinancialsupportinitiativestowards

clusterscharacterisedbycommon

technologiesandknow-how,through

tothe‘Driade’initiative,aimedat

enhancingnetworksofcompaniesby

spotfinancingforcommoninitiatives.

Thelaststageofthisevolutionis

representedbytheerGoNinitiative,

whichcanbeconsideredasthefoun-

dationforthepracticalimplications

oftheimplementationofCentresof

excellence.

FouNdaTIoN: The ergoN INITIaTIveTheergoninitiativeisapilotexercise,

whichputsthecommercialisation

ofstableclustersofcompaniesinto

practiceonaregionalbasisthrough2

differentactions:

• Thecreationofcompanyclusters/

networks

• Thepromotionandencouragement

ofcompanyclusters/networks

Thefirstcourseofactionaimsaten-

hancingandconsolidatingthedevel-

opmentofalegallyrecognisedstable

networkandclustersofcompanies.in

particular,theobjectiveisfostering

theprocessofspecialisation,regard-

“Free movement of people, goods, services and capital. With the Making Knowledge Work project European policy makers have the possibility to cross the borders of their own country and experience several best practices to support innovation, promoting the fifth freedom: free movement of knowledge!”

Luca Sassi, Project Officer, Milan Chamber of Commerce


ingproductionprocessesand/orser-

vices,toenhancethemarketposition

ofsmesintheregion.Companiesin

theclusterswillsharecommoncompe-

tencesandresources.Theclusterswill

alsoeaseknowledgeexchangeinthe

fieldsofprocess,product,serviceand

organisationalinnovation.

Thecreationofcompanyclusters

involves4mainactivities:

•Developingandenhancingshared

functions(e.g.planning,logistics)in

theclusterinordertoimproveef-

ficiencyandproductivity

•Creatingcommonactivitiesaimed

attheinnovativesmeswhichare

involvedinclusteractions

•Commercialisingqualitymanage-

mentsystemsatclusterlevel

•Creatingandpromotingacommon

networktrademark,toenhance

thevisibilityandeffectivenessof

networkactivities.

Thesecondcourseofactionisfocused

onpromotingthecultureandtheneed

fornetworking,andspreadingthe

networkingcultureamongsmesby

supportingthecreationofnewforms

ofcompanyclustering.Thisaction

willhaveaspecialfocusoneasingthe

processofdevelopingnewkindsof

networks,aggregationsandplatforms.

Thedevelopmentofthesenewbusi-

nesslinksandagreementsstimulates

thelocaleconomybylinkingcom-

paniestogether.Therewillbespe-

cificsupportfortheveryprocessof

aggregationbetweencompanies.This

supportconsistsofenhancingskills

andcorecompetencesinthefieldof

aggregationdevelopment.

Theactionsplannedforachievingthis

importantobjectiveare:

•supportingcontactandcooperation

betweencompaniestocreatelong-

termrelationships

•supportingthecreationofnetwork

systemsbyintensifyingcooperation

andknowledgeexchangebetween

regionalandinternationalcompanies

•Definingstrategiesandactionsfor

thepromotionofregionalnetworks

andregionalterritory

•sharingknow-howaboutmethods

andtechniquesforthesupportof

companyclustersandcooperation

•Creatingandpromotinglocaltrade-

marks.

Giventhecharacteristicsofthe

erGoNpilotinitiative,itisclearhow

anintegratedmethodologyofcluster

commercialisationcanbeconsidered

asaperfectlynaturalevolutionof

networkpoliciesinLombardy,and

thisiswhythemainstakeholder,the

Lombardyregionalgovernment,has

shownsomuchinterest.

NorTherN ITalyTheinnovationlandscapeshouldalso

belookedatfromabroader,northern

italianperspective.ThePiedmontre-

gion,closetotheLombardyregion,

hasalreadyimplementedaninterest-

ingmethodologycalledinnovation

Poles.Companiesandr&Dcentresin

Piedmontaresuccessfullyorganised

intonetworks.Theregionalgovern-

menthasstructured,andiscoordi-

nating,thistriplehelixcooperation

persectorintheseinnovationPoles,

usingamanagementbody.

Thissuggeststhattheimplementa-

tionofasimilarmethodologyis

feasibleinnorthernitaly.

2.0 Project Centresofexcellence

WhaTasalreadystated,thedevelopment

andcommercialisationofstableand

formalcompanyclustersisakeyfac-

torforenhancingthecompetitiveness

andattractivenessoftheregional

economicsystem.soitisinteresting

toanalysetheCompetenceCentres

methodologydevelopedbythestutt-

gartregion.CompetenceCentresare

legallyrecognisedbodies,managed

bypermanentstaff,aimedatcommer-

cialisinglocalpointsofstrengthwith

networkswhichintegratecompanies,

universitiesandresearchinstitutes

inthesamefieldofactivity.Themain

taskistobuildaneffectivebasefor

knowledgeexchange,cooperationand

projectbuildingamongpartnerinsti-

tutions.Thisisinordertoincrease

thelevelofcoordinationandeffec-

tivenessoflocalactivitiesaimed

>


atsupportingtechnologytransferand

thecommercialisationofresearch

results.

Theintegrationofthismethodology

intotheerGoNinitiativewillallow

somebreakthroughimprovements,

themainonesofwhicharesumma-

risedbelow:

•regionalavailabilityofastructured

toolforcommercialisingtheinnova-

tionprocess

•Developmentofaninnovation

strategyinlinewithlocaltrends

(r&Droadmap,existingtechnology

portfolio,longandmid-termr&D

objectives)

•accesstospecialisedresearchinfra-

structurestobegiventosmes

•effectivecommercialisationofthe

technologytransferprocess

WhoTheinitiativewillbeintegratedinthe

nextregionalprogrammingperiod,

andwillbemainlycoordinatedby

theregionalgovernment.other

stakeholderswhichwillbeinvolved

intheprocessarethemilanChamber

ofCommerceandthenetworkof

LombardyChambersofCommerce

(unioncamereLombardia).

TheroleoftheLombardyregionin

particularwillbetocoordinatethe

newsystem,asitisthelocalbody

responsiblefordesigningandimple-

mentingpoliciesthataimtoenhance

thecompetitivenessofthewhole

entrepreneurialecosystem.inother

words,thismeansperformingcrucial

taskssuchasstartingandpromoting

innovativeprojectsintheregional

context,supportingallnetworks’mar-

ketingandcommunicationactivities,

organisingeventsonbehalfofoneor

moreclusters,linkinglocalclustersto

othernational/internationalnetworks

andofferinginformationaboutexist-

ingfundingopportunities.

hoWTheinitiativewillbeintegratedin

nextperiod’sregionaloperative

programmes,eitherasacompletely

separateinitiativeor,morelikely,

partsofitasanevolutionofexisting

implementedmethodology.

WheNThenewprogramme,whichiscur-

rentlybeingfinalised,shouldbe

readybymid2012.itsimplementa-

tionwillrequirefine-tuningbyallthe

interestedpartners,i.e.theregional

government,themilanChamberof

CommerceandtheregionalCham-

ber’snetwork.

Throughadedicatedtaskforce,the

playersinvolvedwilldefinethepro-

gramme’sactions,thetimingofeach

call’spublicationandtheallocationof

moneyforeachcall.

inlinewiththeaboveelements,itis

likelythatergon2,basedonthemKw

actionplan,willbetotallyoperative

bytheendofnextyear.

FINaNcINgFundingwillbeonaregionalbasis,

andwillbegrantedthroughthe

Frameworkagreementfortheeco-

nomicdevelopmentandcompetitive-

nessoftheLombardyeconomy.This

isafinancialtoolbasedoninter-insti-

tutionalcooperationbetweenregional

government,ChambersofCommerce

andProvinces,anditisstructured

asagovernancetoolforterritorialco-

operationtostimulateandcoordinate

supportmeasuresforentrepreneurial

developmentonaregionalbasis.

Themainpriorityoftheagreementis

focusedonpromoting,supportingand

developingcompanies’competitive-

ness,aswellassupportingcompany

clusteringanddevelopingnetwork

andsectorpolicies.Forthisreasonit

istheperfectfundingtoolonwhich

torely.



07BestPracticeLombardyregion,italy

parTNerinnovhub-stazionisperimentaliper

l'industria,specialagencyofmilan

ChamberofCommerce

coNTacTilariaBonetti

viaCamperio,1

20123milan,italy

+390285155230

[email protected]

andreavallan

viaCamperio,1

20123milan,italy

+390285155236

Framework agreement enhancing the competitiveness of Lombardy

Bringingregionalauthoritiesandchambersofcommercetogethertopromoteinnovation


since2006,theLombardyre-

gionalGovernmentandtheregion’s

networkof12ChambersofCom-

mercehaveworkedhand-in-handto

supportinnovationthroughaunique

cooperationagreement.Byworking

togethertomanagepublicfund-

ing,theregionandthenetworkof

Chambershavecreatedaninnova-

tivemodelthatalsoaddressespublic

policyissuessuchasrationalisation,

buildingtrustinpublicinstitutions

andcoordinatingtheeffectivealloca-

tionofpublicmoney.

Theyhavefocusedonfivemain

areas:

•innovation

•internationalisation

•Promotionoftheregionalenviron-

ment

•administrativemodernisation

•supportinginnovationfor

handicraftsandmicro-companies

Companiesseekingfundingcan

accessasinglepointofcontact

usingstandardisediTmethods.This

approachhasledtosignificantre-

ductionsinredtape,addressingreal

localneeds.

For2010,€66millionwasmadeavail-

ableundertheFrameworkagree-

ment,including€35.1million

fromtheLombardyregionalGovern-

ment,€30.7millionfromtheCham-

bersNetworkand€220,000from

externalpartners.

Theframeworkagreementhas

improvedthecompetitivenessof

localcompaniesparticipatingincalls

fortender.ithasdevelopedeffective

measurestosupportcompanies’r&D

projects,notablybyputtingthemin

touchwithskilledpartners,andhas

developedsimplifiedrulesforcalls.

Byreducingoverlaps,theagree-

menthasledtoamoreefficientuse

ofpublicfunding.Thecreationofa

technicalsecretariatwhichmeets

stakeholdersregularly,hasledto

improvedlong-termplanningof

tenders.Particularattentionhas

beenpaidtothegreeneconomy,the

developmentofnewskills,accessto

creditandinternationalisation.one

oftheprincipleaimsistostrengthen

connectionsbetweenthe‘inventors

ofinnovations’andpeoplewhocan

puttheirinnovationsonthemarket.

in2010theframeworkfundingwas

sharedbetweenfourmainareas:

•companycompetitiveness:

€41million

•promotingtheregion’scompetitive-

nessanditsappealtoinvestors:

€10million

•supportformicro-companiesand

handicrafts:€14.5million

•communication,promotion,evalua-

tionoftheagreement:€500,000

inthecompanycompetitivenessseg-

ment,thecentralthemeisinnovation

forsustainability,placingemphasis

onenergysaving,theincreaseduse

ofrenewableresources,reducing

emissionsandwaste,andrecycling.

TheTechnoscoutingproject,

financedthroughacallfortender

basedontheframeworkagreement,

seekstoidentifytheresultsofscien-

tificandtechnicalresearchininstitu-

tionsacrossLombardyinthebiotech,

iCTandnewmaterialsfields,andact

asalinkbetweenbusinessandthe

publicsectorforpossiblecommer-

cialuse.anotherongoingproject

involvesexchangingskillsbetween

researchinstitutes,centres

ofexcellence,energycompanies

andtheirmajorclients,throughan

energyclusterdesignedtofunction

asanextendedlaboratorytofind

newideas.Lombardyisoneofthe

leadingeuropeanregionsinthisfield

andover100companiesareinvolved

intheproject,halfofthemsmall

companies.

Particularemphasisisbeingplaced

onsupportformicro-companies

andhandicrafts.withsupportfor

start-ups,craftfairsandschools

encouragingandtrainingqualified

artisans.

80 regional action plan 08 Navarra, spaIN


08 regional action PlanNavarra,spain


“At the Aalto Design Factory, final year students’ projects look for real life applications, so they get involved in real business

projects which really improves their motivation.”


Navarra’sregionalactionplanrefers

totwonewregionalpolicieswhich

weredesignedandagreedwhenthis

planwas.

• Navarra’s New Economic develop-

ment Model,moDerNaNavarra

(regionaleconomicstrategy),envis-

agesavisionfortheregionby2030,

whenNavarrahascompletedashift

fromamanufacturingeconomytoa

knowledge-basedeconomy,following

asmartspecialisationprocessin

12prioritysectorsorclusters.

•The Navarra 4th Technology Plan

2012-2015(regionalinnovation

strategy),asashorttomediumterm

deploymentofmoDerNaNavarra,

focusesonthesmartspecialisation

oftheregionalinnovationecosys-

tem,theinternationalisationand

socialisationofresearch&innovation

andembracinganopeninnovation

Culture.

withintheframeworkofmKw,five

fact-findingmissionsandfollow-ups

conductedby14representatives

fromtheNavarraregionalgovern-

ment,publicagencies,research

andTechnologyorganisationsand

universitieshaveallowedustoreflect

uponandbringnewapproachesand

ideastoNavarra.Thesehaveinspired

newprogrammesandtoolsforthe4th

TechnologyPlanofNavarra.These

newprogrammeswillbeimplemented

in2012,followingtheofficialapproval

andlaunchoftheNavarra4thTechnol-

ogyPlan,andmightbeco-financed

bytheerDF’s2007-2013regional

operationalProgrammeforNavarra.

maríajosésánchezdemiguel,scientificandTechnologicalinstitute,universityofNavarra(iCT)


2.0 Projects & initiatives

2.1 Project 1 strategicplanningbyreTeCNa(thenetworkofresearchandTechnologyorganisationsofNavarra)and‘jointresearchagenda’throughclusterinitiatives

WhaTmoDerNaNavarrahasagreed12

separatepriorityclustersorsectors.

aligningtheresearchandTechnology

organisations(rTos)andclusterinitia-

tivestotheregionaleconomystrategy

isplannedintwoways:

•strategicplanningbyreTeCNa(the

networkofresearchandTechnol-

ogyorganisationsofNavarra),

comprising11rTos.Thiswilltakethe

rTos’systemicroleintheregional

ecosystemintoconsiderationandwill

trytoaddressthechallengesposed

bymoDerNaandthe4thTechnology

Plan,intermsofrelationalcapital,

networking,mobility,multidiscipli-

naryapproachesandhybridisation,

knowledgeandtechnologytransfer

mechanisms,etc.

•Developmentof‘jointresearch

agendas’inmoDerNaNavarra

prioritysectorsinajointeffort

byregionalclusterinitiativesand

reTeCNa,leadingtothedevelop-

mentoftechnologyroadmapsin

selectedfields,therebycontributing

tothefurthersmartspecialisationof

theregion.

Who•TheNavarraregionalgovernment’s

DepartmentofruralDevelopment,

industry,employmentand

environmentwillpromoteandfund

thedevelopmentofthestrategic

planningandjointresearch

agendas.

•reTeCNawillconductthestrate-

gicplanningandtakepartinjoint

researchagendas.

•Navarra’sclusterinitiativesmight

takepartinjointresearchagendas.

•Navarra’seuropeanBusinessand

innovationcentre(CeiNs.L.),

apublicagencydeliveringcluster

supportservicesaswellas

facilitatingthecoordinationof

reTeCNa,mightco-ordinatethe

wholeinitiative.

hoWCeiNs.L.willsupportreTeCNain

developingastrategicplanning

exercise,aswellashelpingcluster

initiativestodevelopjointresearch

agendas

WheNreTeCNa’sjointstrategicPlanning

willbecarriedoutin2012.apilot

jointresearchagendaforaselected

targetsectorwillbeconductedthen,

andthechancesofreplicatingthe

approachtootherclustersassessed

bytheendoftheyear.

FINaNcINgTheNavarra4thTechnologyPlan2012-

2015providesforatoolforsupporting

rTosandclusterinitiativesonnon-r&i

relatedactivities,through‘Collabora-

tionagreements’.

lINkBirminghamCityCouncilissupporting

thedeliveryofBirminghamscience

City’svisionthroughBirmingham

scienceParkaston(BsPa,west

midlands,unitedKingdom).Thisalign-

menthasinspiredNavarratoreplicate

asimilarapproach.

2.2 Project 2 integratedr&iprojects

WhaTTheNavarraregionalgovernmenthas

beensuccessfullypromotingtheimple-

mentationofcollaborativer&iprojects

forthelast5years.>


asanevolutionandadaptationof

suchanapproachtothecurrentsmart

specialisationandr&isocialisation

processes,itwillpromoteanewkind

ofcollaborativer&iproject,knownas

‘integratedProjects’,withthefollowing

characteristics:

•Collaborativeresearchprojects,

withthecompulsoryparticipation

ofcompanies(smesandlarge

companies),rTosanduniversity

departments

•researchprojects,seekingmedium-

termresults,whosepotentialimpact

onresearchwillbeassessedwhen

theyareselected

•Projectsaddressingbothkeyregional

orsocietalchallengesandsmart

specialisationprocesses,inline

withmoDerNaNavarra.Public

administrationandend-userassocia-

tionsmighttakepartinselectingkey

targetareassuchashealthandsocial

servicesprovision,renewableenergies

challenges,etc.

•Projectsmustshowtheregional

populationandtheworldatlarge,the

region’sr&icapabilitiesinkeyand

relevantsocietalormarketchallenges

• ‘integratedProjects’willbesubmitted

totheexistingr&iGrantsCallpro-

grammeandwillbenefitfromhigher

grantsratesandswifterprocedures

Who•TheNavarraregionalgovernment’s

DepartmentofruralDevelopment,in-

dustry,employmentandenvironment

willhelptoidentify‘integratedPro-

jects’byconveningmulti-stakeholder

workshopsandwillfundtheresulting

proposalsthroughthecurrentr&i

projectsgrantsprogramme

•CeiNs.L.,aswellasreTeCNa,might

conveneandcoordinatemulti-

stakeholderworkshops,aswellas

supportingthedraftingof‘integrated

Projects’

hoWByholdingmulti-stakeholderwork-

shopsaboutkeysectorsorclusters

agreedbymoDerNaNavarra

whereregionalgovernmentdepart-

ments,reTeCNa,clusterinitiatives

andend-userassociationswillworkto

identifyregionalorsocietalchallenges.

Thedraftingofsuchproposalsmight

alsobesupportedbytheregional

governmentthroughCollaboration

agreementswithclusterinitiativesor

reTeCNa.

WheNafirstroundofmulti-stakeholder

workshopswillbeconvenedin2012,

leadingtothefundingsubmissionsfor

afirstwaveof‘integratedProjects’by

theendof2012.

FINaNcINgTheNavarra4thTechnologyPlan

2012-2015hasabudgetfor‘integrated

Projects’,aswellasforholdingmulti-

stakeholderworkshops.

lINkDemonstrationprojectspromoted

byBirminghamscienceCityCouncil

(unitedKingdom).

2.3 Project 3 BusinessaccelerationProgramme

WhaTTheNavarraregionalgovernment

currentlysupportsthreedifferent

schemesleadingtothecreationof

newtechnology-basedcompanies:

“The innovation hub at Birmingham Science Park Aston integrates universities, research centres and a business incubator. It represents a perfect example of how to commercialise knowledge by optimising resources and through the potential of synergies betweendifferent stakeholders.”

ignaciomartiPerez,NationalrenewablesenergyCentre(CeNer).


theinnovativeCompaniesNetwork

(eiBTNetwork),theincubation

programmeandthemoDerNa

entrepreneurshipGrantsProgramme.

however,wethinkthatthereisstill

greatuntappedpotentialintransfer-

ringtechnologyandresearchresults

intomarketableproductsandcom-

panies.Tothisend,anewBusiness

accelerationProgrammewillbeestab-

lishedbyCeiNs.L.,totrytofollowand

benefitfromthefollowingideas:

•ashort-termprogrammewithclear

milestones:generatingbusiness

ideas,marketscreeningbusiness

ideas,businessplandevelopment,

contactwithventurecapitalists,

companycreation.

•selectingparticipants’entrepre-

neurialskills.alimitednumberof

participantswillbeselectedaccord-

ingtotheirentrepreneurialskills

andtheirskillsforworkinginopen

innovationenvironments.

•usingopeninnovationtoolsto

sharepotentialbusinessideasand

thecollaborativethinkingbetween

programmeparticipants,suchas

databasesofunexploitedpatentsof

participatingcompanies,companies

sharingtechnologychallengesor

requiredsolutions,andCrashLab

methodsfordesigningbusiness

plans.

WhoCeiNs.L.whichiscurrentlymanaging

thethreeprogrammeswillalsode-

sign,manageandcoordinatethenew

BusinessaccelerationProgramme.

hoWCeiNs.L.willconductanevaluationof

thethreeprogrammesanddesignthe

contentsandrequirementsforapilot

BusinessaccelerationProgramme

tobelaunchedin2012:designinga

trainingpath,theappointmentand

trainingofbusinessadvisersand

mentorsinCrashLabandotheropen

innovationtools,outreachandinvolv-

ingcompanies,etc.

WheNin2012,thethreeprogrammeswill

beevaluated,leadingtothedesign

ofanewpilotBusinessacceleration

Programme,whichwillbetestedby

theendof2012.


2012-2015hasabudgetforthetech-

nology-basedcompaniesnetwork

andprogramme.Pilottestingwitha

firstgroupmighttakeplacein2012.

lINkmobileheightsBusinessCentre

(mhBC,Øresund)isa6-month

‘businessaccelerationprogramme’,

whichhasdirectlyinspiredCeiNs.L.

2.4 Project 4 BusinessClassrooms

WhaTTheBusinessClassroomsprogramme

seekscompanies’involvementinuni-

versities’educationalandresearch

activities.Thisyear-longuniver-

sityprogrammewillbringtogether

finalyearstudentstakingdifferent

degrees,post-graduatestudents,

researchersandcompaniesinan

interdisciplinaryprogrammewhere,

usingproblemandchallenge-based

learningtechniques,aswellasopen

innovationtools,studentswillbe

abletoworkonprojectideaswhich

willnecessarilybeofacollaborative

nature.Thesewillinvolvegroupsof

studentsandresearchersworking

togethertoprovideasolutiontoa

realcompanyproblem.

Thescopeoftheprojectscreated

bythisopeninnovationapproach

betweenstudents,researchersand

companiesmightbewide-ranging:spe-

cificresearchstudies,appliedresearch

solutions,newproductprototypes,

long-termbasicresearchstudies,etc.

WhoTheNavarraregionalgovernment’s

DepartmentofruralDevelopment,

industry,employmentandenviron-

mentwilldirecttheprogrammein

>


coordinationwiththeregional

government’sDepartmentof

education,thePublicuniversityof

Navarra(uPNa)andCeiNs.L.,which

canactasanintermediarybetween

theuniversityandcompanies

involvedintheprogramme.

hoWaspecificworkinggroupwillbe

createdbynominatedstakehold-

erswhowillworkondesigningthe

contentsofapilotBusinessClass-

roomprogramme,tobeimplemented

byuPNa:studentstakingdegrees,

mastersandDoctorateprogrammes,

outreachtoolstoinvolvesponsor

companies,outreachtoolsto

involvestudents,methodsfor

translatingaproblemorchallenge-

basedapproach,teacher/tutor

coachingmethods,etc.

WheNwepredictthatthedesignofthe

BusinessClassroomsprogramme

andtheoutreachandinvolvementof

companieswilltakeplaceduringthe

firstsemesterof2012.asaresult,

apilotBusinessClassrooms

programmemightbelaunchedby

thebeginningofthe2012/2013

academicyear.


2012-2015hasabudgetforthe

designofthepilotexperiencein

2012.afterthat,asolidbasisfor

theprogrammeforthe2012-2015

periodwillbeagreed

lINkaaltoDesignFactory,otaniemi

(Finland)initiative.specifically,the

ProductDevelopmentProject(PDP)

coursehasinspiredtheBusiness

Classroomsprogramme.

2.5 Project 5 innovativePublicProcurement

WhaTTheNavarra4thTechnologyPlan

2012-2015explicitlyrecognisesthe

rolethatthepublicadministration

canplayasaninnovationdriver

inbridgingthegapbetween

technology-drivenr&ianduser-

driveninnovation.Thiscantherefore

haveanimpactontheprovisionof

moreappropriatepublicservicesin

responsetosocietalchallenges.at

thesametime,itcanalsoacceler-

atetheprovisionofnewmarketable

productsandservices.Tothatend,

theplanhascreatedanewinnova-

tivePublicProcurementprogramme

designedtoformulateastrategyin

thisfield,followingdiagnosis,bench-

markingandpilottestingstages.

WhoTheDepartmentofruralDevelop-

ment,industry,employmentand

environmentwillleadaninterdepart-

mentalworkinggrouponinnovative

PublicProcurementcomprising

representativesfromtheDepartment

ofeconomyandFinancesandother

regionalgovernmentdepartments

withpotentialareaswhichcouldbe

affectedbyinnovativepublicpro-

curement(health,education,

e-Government,etc.).

hoW•Theinterdepartmentalworking

grouponPublicProcurementwill

leadthethinkingintheregional

governmentaboutdeliveringa

regionalpolicyframeworkonthis

field.

•adiagnosisofcurrentregional

innovativePublicProcurement

practiceswillbecarriedout.

•abenchmarkingstudyoffurther

casestudiesaboutinnovativepub-

licprocurementineuropewillbe

conductedandsharedwithtarget

groups,takingintoconsideration

theexperiencesbroughtupby

Finland,theuK,TheNetherlands


asthemostadvancedcountries

inthisfield.

•The4thTechnologyPlanhas

earmarkedabudgetforpilotcases

inthisfield,eitherbysupporting

theprocurementdesignprocess

byotherdepartments,orby

developingpilotprojectsthrough

theDepartmentofruralDevelop-


environment.

WheNThediagnosisandeucasestudies

reportwillbedeliveredin2012.The

implementationofpilotprojectsby

theDepartmentofruralDevelop-


environmentmightalsotakeplace

in2012.

FINaNcINgThedeliveryofthediagnosisandeu

casestudiesreportsin2012already

hasabudget.afterthat,asolidbasis

fortheprogrammeforthe2012-2015

periodwillbeagreed.

lINkinnovativePublicProcurement

policiesinthehelsinkiregionand

Finland.asinnovativePublicPro-

curementpoliciesandprogrammes

arecloselylinkedtoregionalcontext

andlegalframework,theseexperi-

encesandoverallapproacheshave

beenveryusefulindesigningthe

currentinnovationPublicProcure-

mentstrategy.

“On examination of Innovative Public Procurement in Finland, I would like to highlight the close collaboration between theprivate and public sectors from the start of such processes.

This allows to build a trustworthy and solid partnership,based on shared social goals.”

Itziar Zabalza San Martín, International Affairs Service, Navarra Government.

“The population’s health and well-being are among Helsinki’s strategic priorities. We were surprised by how this strategic choice is boosting innovation in the ICT sector. Public sector

demands can play a key role in promoting regional innovation. We must adapt, and make public procurement processes more

flexible in order to fully tap this potential.”

javierBaztarrika,iniciativasinnovadoras,memberoftheConsultancyCompaniesassociationofNavarra(aNeC).

88 Best practice 08 Navarra, spaIN

MEUPoLE

Leadingthewaywithbiotech,renewableenergiesandnanotechnology

08BestPracticeNavarra,spainMEUPoLE

parTNerNavarra Government,

dG Enterprise and Innovation

coNTacTrafaelmuguerzaerasoinnovationandKnowledgeTransferserviceDirector,DepartmentofruralDevelopment,industry,employmentandenvironment

NavarraGovernment

ParqueTomásCaballero,

n°1,6°planta

31005Pamplona(spain)

+34848427663

[email protected]


TheregionalauthoritiesinNavarra

havedesignatedbiotech,renewable

energiesandnanotechnology

astheprioritysectorsfor

meuPoLe,asystemforidentifying

anddesigningcollaborativeresearch,

technologicaldevelopmentandin-

novationprojects.

setupin2006,meuPoLehasmobi-

lisedstakeholdersfrom

science,technologyandbusiness

tosupportintegratedcollaborative

projectsinthesethreesectors.

meuPoLemethodologyuseda

swoT(strengths,weaknesses,

opportunitiesandThreats)analysis

ineachofthesesectorstoidentify

companies,universitiesandresearch

centresintheregionwiththepoten-

tialforparticipatingincollaborative

r&Dprojects.

sector-basedcommitteeswere

setuptochoosepossibleprojects,

definethemethodologyandplanning

needed,selectlikelyparticipants,

applicabletechnologies,funding

sourcesanddefinetimetables.

Navarra’sinnovationagency,aNaiN,

coordinatedtheprojectwithfive

technologycentresplayingakeyrole

asdrivingagents.

Theinitiativewasopentoall

publicandprivatescienceand

technologycompanies,and57

businesses,universitiesandresearch

centresparticipated.inall,76ideas

forprojectsweresuggestedand

thesewereeventuallywhittleddown

tonineprojectsthatwereapproved

andtakenforward.

ThemeuPoLepilotwaskick-started

byabudgetof€429,240,co-financed

bytheerDFandtheregionalauthor-

ities.however,strategicresearch&

innovationprojectsgeneratedwillbe

implementedupto2011.

Theleverageeffectofthatinitial

fundingwashighandthenine

chosenprojectsweresupported

byatotalof€17.1millionofwhich

65%camefromregionalfunds,30%

fromprivatefinanceand4.5%from

theerDF.

meuPoLehasnowbeensuccessfully

mainstreamedintotheregionalin-

novationstrategy.

“Some of the methods and tools used by Mobile Heights Business Centre in Øresund for speeding up the creation

of new companies, such as the rapid screening of new products or services for the market, confirm the

effectiveness of the dynamic and swift entrepreneurship strategies that we are starting to implement in CEIN.”

BeatrizBlasco,Navarra’seuropeanBusinessandinnovationcentre(CeiN).

“After visiting the Aalto Design Factory, all I can say is, ‘prototyping, prototyping, prototyping!!!’ We need

to foster a prototyping culture, which is essential for learning from mistakes and for innovating.

We must look for the tools to achieve this in Navarra.”

BegoñavicenteYenes,Navarra’seuropeanBusinessandinnovationcentre(CeiN).

90 regional action plan 09 Nord-pas de calaIs, FraNce

0101 creators

02 working group of stakeholders in nord-pas de calais region

03 j’innove en nord-pas de calais - network of regional innovation operators


02

03

09 regional action PlanNord-PasdeCalais,France



TheobjectivesofthemakingKnowl-

edgeworkprojectanditsrelated

activitiesaretotallyinlinewiththe

regionalinnovationstrategy.This

strategyistheresultofaeuropean

Commissionrequestforabetter

overviewoftheinnovationinitiatives

thattheregionalcouncilisfunding

withstructuralfunds.Followinglong

consultationsbetweentheregional

councilandtheregionalinnovation

stakeholders,theNord-PasdeCalais

region’sinnovationstrategywasof-

ficiallylaunchedin2010.

regIoNal INNovaTIoN sTraTegyinbrief,theNord-PasdeCalais’re-

gionalinnovationstrategyconsistsof

threethematicstrategiesandsixtypes

oftransversalinvolvement.

Thethreethematicstrategiesinclude:

1. Becomingareference,ateuropean

level,inalimitednumberofinnova-

tivesectorschosenonthebasis

oftheirscientificexcellenceand

theireconomicimportanceforthe

Nord-PasdeCalaisregion(‘smart

specialisation’):

•railways(includingaspects

ofintermodality,logisticsand

intelligenttransportsystems)

•Commerceofthefuture(including

aspectsoflogisticsandtech-

nology)

•health–Nutrition–Food(includ-

ingaquaticproducts,foodsafety

andsecurity)

2.Lookingaftersectorsintherestruc-

turingprocessthroughinnovation:

•automotive

•advancedmaterials(greenchem-

istry,textiles,composites)

•Buildingsandeco-construction

•mechanicalengineering

3.Focusingoninnovationtoenable

thecreationofnewsectors:

•energyandpowerelectronics

•wastemanagement,sediments,

pollutedsitesandsoils

• imagesanddigitalcreation

•e-health

Thesixtypesoftransversalinvolve-

mentinclude:

1. Fosteringthecreationofinnovative

companies

2.Betterfundingforinnovation

3.enhancingthepotentialofpublic

andprivateresearchaswellasthe

habitsoftechnologytransferand

researchvalorisation

4.Changingthehabitsofregional

smesbyfocusingontheanalysis

ofbusinessstrategiesandhuman

capital

5.attractingforeigndirectinvestment

with‘hightechnologicalintensity’,

andchangingtheregion’sreputa-

tion

6.innovatingthroughandforservices

sTakeholdersTheNord-PasdeCalais’regional

councilhasnominatedrelevant

‘pilots’,i.e.regionalstakeholders,

toimplementtheobjectivesofthe

threethematicstrategiesandofthe

sixtypesoftransversalinvolvement.

These‘pilots’areleadingdifferent

workinggroups,whichbringtogether

thestakeholdersconcernedtowrite,

developandimplementregional

actionPlans.ThesePlansareintegral

partsoftheregionalinnovation

strategy.so,forexample,NFiD(Nord

FranceinnovationDéveloppement),

theNord-PasdeCalais’regionalinno-

vationagency,isleadingtheworking

groupdealingwith‘thecreationof

innovativeenterprises’and,working

withotherstakeholders,wrotethe

regionalactionPlanfortheregional

innovationstrategy.

“It is essential that the Nord-Pas de Calais region becomes recognised amongst Europe’s regions. The MKW project allowed us to create the relevant conditions to discuss and exchange common problems and collective interests with our European partners.”

Yannick Giry, Regional Innovation Strategy Director, Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council


evoluTIoNTheregionalinnovationstrategyand

therelatedregionalactionPlansare

notsupposedtobestaticinstruments.

instead,weexpecttheregionalstake-

holderstointroducenewaspects,

ideasandproposals,helpingthe

regionalactionPlanstoevolveand

develop.andthisisexactlywhathap-

penedwithinthemKwproject.The

projectgaveNFiDtheopportunityto

discovergoodpracticeinenterprise

creationinothereuropeanregions.

vIsITs To regIoNal good pracTIcesNFiDhasexpressedspecificinterestin

theregionalgoodpracticesfromthe

followingmKwpartnerregions:

•eindhoven:CreativeConversion

Factory

•Flanders:strategicCompetence

Centres

•helsinki:DesignFactory

•Øresund:mobileheightsBusiness

Centre

•stuttgart:CompetenceCentre

Programme

Bilateralmeetingswereorganised

tolearnmoreaboutthesegood

practicesindetail.inbrief,thefollow-

ingconclusionsweredrawnfromthe

bilateralmeetings.

2.0 Project 1 CreativeConversionFactory(Brainport,eindhoven)

WheNjuneandjuly2010,june2011

Who1. Léaauboiroux(universityof

Dunkerque)

2. hélèneCannard(iNovam–innova-

tionfunding)

3. ChristopheChaillou(mediacluster)

4. PascalLaurent(universityof

valenciennes)

5. jean-PierreLéac(NFiD)

6. CarlosPereira(NFiD)

7. BénédictePetit(GreaterLille

municipality)

8. ChantalPierrache(regionalcoun-

cil–managingauthority)

9. jean-mariePruvot(NFiD)

10.isamshahrour(universityofLille)

WhaTThetripstoeindhovenincluded

sitevisitstotheinnovationLabof

theTu/e(Technicaluniversityof

eindhoven),totheeindhovenhigh

TechCampusandtothe‘Klokgebouw’

reconversionarea.meetingswith

hansrobertus(CreativeConversion

Factory),Popke-reinmunniksma(aBN

amroDialoguesincubator),Bart

vanGogh(NYoYN),edgarvanLeest

(Brainport),Bartdejong(Tu/e),

Bert-janwoertman(highTech

Campuseindhoven),ruudvan

iwaarden(incubator3+),etc.gave

usgreatinsightintotheeindhoven

Brainportregion’sinnovation

ecosystem.

coNclusIoNTheeindhovengoodpracticeraised

alotofinterest.however,itbecame

clearthatitcannotbeimplemented

inNord-PasdeCalais,becausethere

isnobigindustrypartner(likePhilips)

inourregion,andbecausewedonot

haveenoughpatentsthatcouldbe

exploitedbyinterestedentrepreneurs.

2.1

Project 2 strategicresearchCentres(Flanders)

WheNseptember/october2010

Who1. julienBoudani(euraTechnologies–

iCTcluster)

2. FrédéricBlin(miTiincubator)

3. marcBurden(réseauentreprendre

Nord–entrepreneurshipnetwork)

4. YannickGiry(regionalcouncil-

managingauthority)

5. PatrickKennis(iemNresearchlab)

6. LoïcLaroche(GreaterLille

municipality)

>


7. PascalLaurent(universityof

valenciennes)



10.BénédictePetit(GreaterLille

municipality)

WhaTThestudytriptoFlandersincludedsite

visitstotheinformation&Communica-

tionTechnologyCompetenceCentre

(iBBT),totheFlemishinteruniversity

instituteforBiotechnology(viB)and

totheinteruniversityCentreforNano

electronics(imeC).meetingswith

olivierDeCock(iBBT),joris

Gansemans(viB),ChrisDejonghe

(viB),LudoDeferm,PhilipPieters,

annouckvanrompayandothers(all

imeC)gaveaninterestinginsight

intotheFlandersregion’sinnovation

ecosystem.

coNclusIoNThemainlessonlearntinFlanders

(e.g.attheiBBT,theviBandtheimeC)

isrelatedtotheconsistentfinancing

andaccompanymentofstart-ups.

Followingthisexperience,agroup

ofexpertsinNord-PasdeCalaisis

discussingifandhowstart-upscan

beprovidedwithbetterfunding

andaccompanyment.

2.2 Project 3 aaltoDesignFactory(helsinki) WheNapril2011

Who1. valérieBachelet(ecoledesmines,

Douai)

2. marie-ClaireBilbault(regional

council-managingauthority)

3. marcBurden(réseauentrepren-

dreNord–entrepreneurship

network)

4.jean-PierreLéac(NFiD)

5. BlandineLebourg(iCTcluster)

6.annickLozac’k(réseaudes

ruches–regionalincubator

Network)


8.samuelTapin(euraTechnologies–

iCTcluster)

WhaTThestudytriptohelsinkiincluded

sitevisitstotheotaniemiscience

andtechnologypark,totheaalto

DesignFactoryandtotheDesign

Districthelsinki.meetingswithPekka

Front(otaniemi),rodrigoCervantes

mendesandwyclifferaduma(Design

Factory),andwithLailaalanen

(DesignDistricthelsinki)gaveus

astimulatinginsightintotheimpor-

tanceofdesigntotheinnovation

ecosysteminhelsinki.

coNclusIoNTheDesignFactoryinhelsinkiis,

infact,auniquelocation.however,

duringthestudytrip,ourexperts

realisedthatsomeoftheelements

thatmaketheDesignFactorya

success(e.g.cooperationbetween

students,applieddevelopment

projects,creativeweekends,etc.)

alsoexistinNord-PasdeCalais.

Buttheyalsoconfirmedthatour

regionalinitiativesneedtobebetter

coordinated.

“In Lund, we were impressed by the number of patents made available for commercialisation and by the ability of the local operators to identify efficient developers and managers for innovative projects.”

Chantal Pierrache and Mr Laurent Matuszczak, Project Managers, Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council


2.3 Project 4 mobileheightsBusinessCentre(Øresund)

WheNoctober2010

Who1. Franckarnold(sKemabusiness

school)

2. valérieBachelet(ecoledesmines,

Douai)

3. stéphaneBeaussart(iemN

researchlab)

4. FrédéricBlin(miTiincubator)

5. julienBoudani(euraTechnologies

–iCTcluster)

6. FrançoiseDepoorter(réseau

desruches–regionalincubator

Network)


8. Karlmartin(hauteBorne

Développement)

9. Laurentmatuszczak(regional


10.CarlosPereira(NFiD)

11. ChantalPierrache(regional


12.jean-mariePruvot(NFiD)

13.Dominiquerybicki(Lillemétro-

poleinitiative)

14.marcryckebusch(ecoledes

mines,Douai)

WhaTThestudytriptoLundincludedsite

visitstotheLunduniversitycampus,

totheiDeoNscienceandtechnology

park,andtothemobileheightsBusi-

nessCentre(mhBC).meetingswith

marianneLarsson(mhBC),joakim

Nelson(sonyericsson),johan

wickman(Teliasonera),marie-Louise

eriksson(skaneregion)andwith

antsmaran(Qubulus)providedreal

insightintotheØresundregion’s

innovationecosystem.

coNclusIoNTheLundprocedureofchoosing

high-potentialentrepreneursandthe

supportschemeforthemarouseda

lotofinterestinNord-PasdeCalais.

expertsarediscussinghowthis

kindofprocedurecanbedeveloped

furtherfortheincubatorsin

Nord-PasdeCalais.

2.4 Project 5 regionalCompetenceCentres(stuttgart)

WheNDecember2010andmay2011

Who1. DominiqueBoudin(LilleChamber

ofCommerce)

2. CatherineDupas(universityofLille)

3. jean-PierreLeac(NFiD)

4. Najimamaiz(NFiD)


6. jean-mariePruvot(NFiD)

7. Christineuseille(university

ofLille)

WhaTThestudytriptostuttgartincluded

sitevisitstothevirtualDimension

Centre(vDC),toBoschPackaging,

totheelectricmobilityCentre,tothe

stuttgartuniversitycampus,tothe

NationalhighPerformanceComputing

Centre(hLrs),andtotheFraunhofer

iao.meetingswithChristophrunde

(vDC),eberhardweissandChristiane

Ballreich(BoschPackaging),michael

>

Hélène Cannard Guillon, Director of INOVAM regional innovation fund

“I was impressed by the fact that a large company such as Philips makes part of its know-how

available to interested parties so that they canstart new companies.”


resch(hLrs)andGüntherwenzel

(Fraunhoferiao)gaveusavery

interestinginsightintothestuttgart

region’sinnovationecosystem.

coNclusIoNThestuttgartgoodpracticeraised

interestbecausewehaveasimilar

scheme,namelyclustersofexcellence,

inNord-PasdeCalais.Themaindiffer-

enceisthatthecompetencecentres

instuttgartfollowabottom-up

approach,whereasourclustersof

excellencearetheresultofatop-

downinitiative.Thegoodpractice

wasveryinteresting,butnofurther

conclusionscouldbedrawnfrom

thisexperience.

regIoNal acTIoN plaNThemakingKnowledgework

fact-findingmissionsandbilateral

meetingshavehad(andarestill

having)arealimpactonenterprise

creationinNord-PasdeCalaisin

general,andontheregional

innovationstrategyinparticular.

manymembersofthe‘creationof

innovativeenterprises’workinggroup

hadtheopportunityoftakingpartin

thesevisits.Theyarenowdiscussing

andsharingtheirexperiences,impres-

sionsandideaswiththeirworking

groupcolleagues.Thisgroup’saction

planisinfactbeingrewritten.many

ofthelessonslearntfromthemKw

projectwillthereforefindtheirway

intothenewregionalactionPlan.we

expectthatthisplanwillbefinished

bytheendof2011.itwillthenbeof-

ficiallyincorporatedintotheregional

innovationstrategy.Finally,allthe

stakeholdersdealingwith‘creation

ofinnovativeenterprises’inthe

Nord-PasdeCalaisregionwilldirect

theiractivitiestowardstheobjectives

ofthisregionalactionPlan.

Theseactivitieswillbefinancedusing

partofthe€98.2millionthatthe

erDFhasallocatedtotheNord-Pas

deCalaisregionalcouncil’s2007-2013

operationalProgramme(Competitive-

nessandemployment)Line1

(researchanddevelopment,innova-

tion,enterprisepolicy).


INNoSCoPE

anonlinemappingtooltoidentifyinnovativecompanies

09BestPracticeNord-PasdeCalais,France


parTNerNordFranceinnovation

Développement(NFiD)

coNTacTjean-ChristopheGodest

323boulevardduPrésidenthoover

59000Lille,France

+33320177228

[email protected]


Bydefiningsuitabletargetgroups,it

enableseconomicdevelopersinthe

regiontooffertailor-madebusiness

supportandenhancetheuptakeof

innovativeideas.

Theinitiativewaslaunchedin2002,

whentheregionalinnovationagency,

NordFranceinnovationDéveloppe-

ment(NFiD),founditselfwithagrow-

ingneedtoidentifysmesthatcould

benefitfrompublicsupportforinno-

vativeprojects.NFiDteamedupwith

theeconometricsdepartmentofthe

ecolesupérieuredesaffaires(esa)

oftheuniversitédeLille2,agradu-

atebusinessschoolwithexperience

infinancialdataanalysis,tosetupan

analyticaltoolbasedonfinancialdata

thatwouldhelptopinpointinnovative

companies.

Together,theydevelopediNNosCoPe

tousefinancialdataforanalys-

ingalargenumberofcompanies

andidentifythoseinnovativeones

amongstthemwithoutneedingto

knowthemindepth.itisalsopossible

tomatchiNNosCoPeresultswith

company-relatedinformationsuchas

keytechnologyuse,theexistenceof

patentsandparticipationininnova-

tion-relatedinformationevents.

inpracticalterms,iNNosCoPepro-

videsreliableandfunctionaldecision-

makingsupport.itmakesiteasyto

pickoutsmeswhicharepotentially

interestedinbeinghelpedwiththe

developmentofinnovativeprojects

andwhichshouldthereforebevisited

asapriority.

sinceitsinception,theiNNosCoPe

toolhasimprovedtheefficiency

ofpublicspending,increasedthe

motivationofoperatorsproviding

innovationsupportandenhancedthe

performanceofinnovationprojects.

oneinthreesmesidentifiedasbeing

potentiallyinnovativeisinterestedin

developinganinnovationproject.

TheiNNosCoPeprojectwas100%

publiclyfundedfromtheministryof

researchatacostof€60,000and

employedonefull-timestatistician.

Today,theiNNosCoPetoolisclosely

linkedwiththe‘j’innoveenNord-Pas

deCalais’platform.itismadeavail-

ableforthemembersof‘j’innove’

whichbringstogetherexpertsfrom

universities,chambersofcommerce,

researchcentres,competitive-

nessclustersandotherinnovation

operators.Theyprovideadvicefor

companieslaunchinginnovativepro-

jectsandsupporttoseetheprojects

through.

Thenetworkalsocontributesto

promotingresearchinover300labo-

ratoriesintheregion.itaimstohelp

transformideasintonewproducts

andservicesthatcanincreasethe

competitivenessoflocalcompanies

bothinFranceandininternational

markets.

Thenetwork’sexpertsareindirect

contactwiththecompaniesandvisit

themregularly,feedingbackinforma-

tionabouttheirinnovationpotential

totheiNNosCoPedatabase.

iNNosCoPehashelpedbuildadeep

insightintotheinnovationpotential

ofcompaniesintheNord-Pasde

Calaisregion.workiscurrentlyun-

derwaytowidenitsscopetoinclude

humanresourcesandexports,andto

furtherimprovethetool’sreliability

andefficiency.

“It’s a pleasure to think back to the MKW fact-finding missions (the interesting meetings, high quality exchanges, etc.).

They were a real source of inspiration for the furtherdevelopment of our processes of working with innovative

projects, such as funding, coaching, events, networking, etc.”

Marc Burden, Project Manager at the entrepreneurship network “Entreprendre Nord”

100 regional action plan 10 NorTh WesT, uNITed kINgdom

01

01 IDEAS workshop © ImaginationLancaster




02

03

10 regional action PlanNorthwest,unitedKingdom



Therehasrecentlybeenincreasing

emphasisondevelopingtheuK’sexist-

ingstrengths,“smartspecialisation”,

asseenbytheemergenceofTechnol-

ogyinnovationCentres.Thesecentres

markashiftinpolicyawayfrom

buildingtheknowledgebaseacross

alltechnologyfrontiers,towards

increasedspecialisationandexploit-

ingexistingworldclassexpertisein

researchanddevelopment.

recentchangesinuKgovernment

policyregardingregionaleconomic

developmenthaveledtotheclosure

oftheregionaldevelopmentagencies

inengland.Previously,theseagencies

wereresponsibleforsettingregional

developmentstrategies,managingde-

velopmentactivitiesthroughregional

stakeholders,andforcoordinating

nationalandeufundstoachievethis.

withthedemiseoftheregionalagen-

cies,noregionalbodieshaveemerged

toreplacethem.instead,localsub-re-

gionshaveappointedtheirownLocal

economicPartnerships(LePs).LePs

areprivatesectorledandreceivevery

littleoperatingbudgetfromnational

government.

Cumbriaisasub-regionoftheNorth

westanditsLePwasoneofthefirst

inenglandtobegivenofficialap-

proval.Thisisoneofthereasonswhy

Cumbriawasselectedasthefocus

forthisactionplan.The2007-2013

regionaloperationalplanfortheNorth

westuKiscurrentlymanagedbythe

DepartmentforCommunitiesand

LocalGovernment.however,thereis

currentlylittlefinanceavailabletoput

theactionplanintooperation,since

thecurrentprogrammeisgenerally

oversubscribed,withfewnewcalls

beingannounced.Thepartofthe

programmemostrelevanttotheBuild-

ingourinnovationassets(Bia)project

is‘TheregionalCompetitivenessand

employmentProgramme’.

employmentinCumbriaisfairlydi-

verse,themaincategoriesbeingpublic

administration,healthandeducation,

wholesalingandretailing,manufactur-

ing,andhotelsandrestaurants.Com-

paredwithotherregions,Cumbriahas

proportionallyfewerpeopleemployed

infinanceandbusinessservices.

sectorswhichareimportantbecause

theyprovideservicesthatsupport

innovationandentrepreneurship.

Therearedifferencesinthedensity

ofmanufacturingemployment,which

accountsfor23%ofemploymentin

Barrow(whereBaehasasubmarine

productionfacility),andforathird

ofallemploymentinwestCumbria,

hometoBritain’senergyCoast.em-

ploymentinthemanufacturingsector

inCumbriafellby10%between2003

and2008butthiswaslesssevere

thanthe16%rateofdeclinenationally.

(CumbriaLocaleconomicassessment,

November2010).

ratesofnewcompanycreationare

generallylowerthanthenationalaver-

age,at47.7per10,000ofthepopula-

tion.Thenationalaverageis57.2,and

theaveragefortheNorthwestregion

is49.6.Despitethepresenceofa

healthyspecialistmanufacturingsec-

torandthetalentthatBritain’senergy

Coastattractsbothincompaniesand

researchinstitutes,thereisalowlevel

ofcompanycreation.

sTakeholdersLancasteruniversityworksclosely

witharangeofstakeholdersinthe

Northwestregion,coveringthethree

componentsofthetriplehelixmodel:

government,educationandcompa-

nies.someofthesestakeholdersat-

tendedthefact-findingmissions.Due

topoliticalchanges,localareashave

theopportunitytotakecontroloftheir

futureeconomicdevelopment.Thus

stakeholdersfromtheCumbriaregion

haveplayedamajorroleinthecourse

ofthemKwproject.

cumBrIa local ecoNomIc parTNershIpLePsarelocally-ownedpartner-

shipsbetweenlocalauthoritiesand

businesses,andplayacentralrolein

determininglocaleconomicpriorities

andundertakingactivitiestodrive

economicgrowthandcreatelocal

jobs.Theyarealsokeyvehiclesin

deliveringGovernmentobjectivesfor


economicgrowthanddecentralisa-

tion,whilealsoprovidingameans

forlocalauthoritiestoworktogether

withbusinessinordertospeedup

theeconomicrecovery.

CumbriaLePprovidesastrategic

leadinallactivitieswhichcontribute

tothegrowthandvibrancyofCum-

bria’seconomyand,whereappropri-

ate,takespositiveactionusingthe

skills,capabilitiesandnetworksof

theLeP’spartners.

cumBrIa chamBer oF commerceTheCumbriaChamberofCommerce

offerssignificantbenefitsforany

businessintheregionwhichislook-

ingtodevelopandexpand.TheCham-

berisCumbria’spremierbusiness

supportandnetworkingorganisation

andisthevoiceofCumbrianbusiness,

representingbothsmesandlarger

corporateorganisations.TheChamber

isalobbyorganisationforCumbrian

businesses,andwillpetitiongovern-

mentandlocalauthoritiesontheis-

sueswhichmostaffectorimpedethe

developmentofbusiness.inaddition,

theChamberbuildsandmaintains

businessesacrossthesub-region,by

organisingstrategicemployergroups,

eventsandseminarstoencourage

communicationbetweenthekeystrat-

egistsandinfluencersintheregion

andthebusinesscommunity.

laNcasTer uNIversITyLancasteruniversityisoneofthe

uK’stop10universities.Throughthe

instituteforentrepreneurshipand

enterpriseDevelopment,ithasdevel-

opedastrongtrackrecordofbusiness

engagementwithintheNorthwest

regiontocomplementournational

andglobalcorporatelinks.Partner-

shipssuchastheiDeasandtheLeaD

providernetworkareexamplesofthe

widerimpacttheuniversityhashad.

Lancasteruniversity’sworkFounda-

tion(ahighlyregardedpolicythink

tank)hassignificantstrengthsofits

ownininnovationresearchandknowl-

edgeexchangeprogrammes.The

workFoundationhasexcellentlinks

withtheuKgovernment’sDepartment

forBusinessinnovationandskills.

TheworkFoundation’sBiginnovation

Centre(BiC)combinesadialoguewith

policymakers,largeorganisations

withdeliverytosmegazellesand

hightechcompanies.TheBiCbrings

togetherarangeofcompanies,trusts,

universitiesandpublicbodiestocre-

ateapracticalanddynamichubwith

thevisionandambitionofbuildinga

world-classinnovationandinvestment

ecosystemby2025.

TheBiCwillfurtherestablishLancas-

teruniversity’spositioninknowledge

exchangeexpertise,byextendingits

partnershipwithinnovationpolicy

researchersanddemonstratingeco-

nomicimpactthroughthedeliveryof

knowledgeexchangeprogrammes.

ByworkingcloselywiththeBiC,

theBuildingourinnovationassets

(Bia)projectwillhelptoidentify

ideas,encourageinnovationwithin

andbetweenanchorcompaniesand

theirsupplychains,andhopefullybe

abletoidentifypotentialgazellesby

developingin-depthknowledgeof

players,limitationsandconditions

affectinglowcarbonenergyand

specialistmanufacturingsectors.

2.0 Building our Innovation assets (BIa) project

TheaimoftheBiaprojectisto

developandsupporttheinnovation

ecosystemofCumbria,specifically

byfocusingonsmartspecialisation;

buildingourinnovationstrengths

inlowcarbonenergy,specialist

manufacturingandrenewableenergy

throughanapproachthatdrawsupon

aneffectivepartnershipbetweenthe

region’suniversities,industryand

localauthorities.

smartspecialisationdoesnotcallfor

atopdownapproachtothedevelop-

mentofinnovationsystemsanden-

vironments.TheBiaprojectaimsto

createeffectivesmartspecialisation

throughanentrepreneurialprocess

ofdiscovery.Thisislikely

>


tocomefromtheprivatesector,

fromsmallcompaniesandthrough

effectiveinvolvementwithhigher

education.however,smallcompanies

andbuddingentrepreneursneed

businessandmanagementsupportto

commercialisescientificideasandto

usegeneralpurposetechnologies.

TheBiaprojectwillsupportentre-

preneurshipandinnovationinavery

practicalway,aswellasthroughthe

adoptionofthegoodpracticesofthe

mobileheightsBusinessCentreand

theCreativeConversionFactory.

WhaTTheBiaprojectwillbegintobuild

avibrantandinvolvednetworkof

highereducation,businessesand

publicsectorbodiesinCumbriato

supportinnovationandentrepreneur-

shipinareaswherewehaveexisting

strengths,namelylowcarbonenergy

andspecialistmanufacturing.itwill:

1. Buildunderstandingofthefactors

thatconstraininnovationandentre-

preneurshipinlowcarbonenergy

andspecialistmanufacturing.

2.Developrelationshipsandac-

tivitiesbetweenstakeholdersto

supportinnovationandentrepre-

neurshipfurtherinlowcarbonand

specialistmanufacturingfields.

3.Buildabilitiesforentrepreneurship

andinnovationatanindividual,

companyandcountylevelinthe

fieldsofspecialistmanufacturing

andlowcarbon.

WhoDetailedplansforthecreationand

applicationofBiawillbedeveloped

aspartofanybiddingprocessfor

externalfunds.Biawillneedtobe

activelysupportedbyallthefollow-

ingstakeholdersandbyinnovation

anchors:TheuniversityofCumbria;

TheuniversityofCentralLancashire;

Carlisle,Furness,LakesColleges;

Furnessenterprise;energyCoast

BusinessCluster;Britain’senergy

Coast;energyCoastCampusProject;

NationalNuclearLaboratories;

TheDaltoninstitute,manchester

university.

hoWBiawillfirstcreateastrategicframe-

workfromwhichdetailed,meaning-

fulanalysisofinnovationactivity

inthelowcarbonandspecialist

manufacturingsectorscantake

place.Fromtheseprocesses,innova-

tionroadmapswillbeproducedthat

willfunctionasausefullydetailed

descriptionofthefieldofinnovation,

outliningtheroleoftheinnovators

withinthisanddescribingcourses

forfurtheraction.Thesemapswill

provideinsightsintotheactions

requiredforthestrategicdevelop-

mentofthetwosectors;identifying

strengths,encouragingcohesionand

understandingbybuildingacommon

languagebetweenstakeholders.

Theinnovationroadmapswillhelp

toformaworkingmodelofinnova-

tionandentrepreneurshipwithin

specialistmanufacturingandlow

carbonsectors,andwillfullyexplain

therelationshipbetween,‘innova-

tionanchors’,associatedsmesand

thetriplehelix.Thiswillprovide

stakeholderswithinformationfrom

whichtobuildconsensus,inform

strategyandinfluencethecontinued

developmentofthesetwosectorsat

sub-regional,regionalandeulevels.

secondly,wewillfocusonrelation-

shipsandpartnerinvolvement.

entrepreneurswhoarewell-placed

toexploreandidentifynewac-

tivitieswilloftennothavesufficient

contactswithsourcesofmarketing

andfinance.Thiswillplacethemin

aweakpositionwhennegotiating

withtheseexternalpartiesforthe

resourcestheyneedtoexpandtheir

youngenterprises,thusreducing

theirincentivestoundertakenew

activitiesinthefirstplace.Biawill

thereforeworkwithexistingbusi-

nesssupportorganisationstohelp

localentrepreneurstocoordinate

themselvesinformingmutually

reinforcingnetworks,topoolgeneric

knowledge,andprovideinputsfrom

organisationsandindividualsoutside

theareatosharenewthinking,con-

nectionsandideas.Thisthemewill

drawheavilyonlessonsfromthe

mobileheightsBusinessCentreand

theCreativeConversionFactory.

Thirdly,wewilldevelopandtest


approachestoemployeeinvolvement

andparticipationininnovationand

entrepreneurship.initiallyweaimto

workwithatleasttwoinnovationan-

chorsineachsector.oncerecruited

toworkwiththeinnovationanchors,

theChamber,theLePandLancaster

universitywilldevelopideasfora

pilotprogrammetotestpossibilities

foraCumbriaCreativeConversion

Factory.apilotprogrammewillbe

developedtoestablish‘mini’Creative

ConversionFactorieswithinthetwo

innovationanchors.

3.0 Integration of MKw best practices

TheBiaprojectdrawsmainlyontwo

mKwbestpractices;theCreative

ConversionFactoryandØresund

mobileheightsBusinessCentre.

however,ifwecanattracttheright

levelsoffunding,wewouldwelcome

moreinteractionwithNavarra,to

learnfromtheirapproachtosup-

portingtriplehelixrelationshipsand

tolinkwiththeirlowcarbonenergy

stakeholders.

openandmulti-party,theCreative

ConversionFactoryisparticularly

usefultoBiaasitsaimistoincrease

cross-sectoralworkingbyinvolving

multiplepartnersThiswillfoster

serendipityandthepotentialforthe

speedingupinnovativeideas.

mobileheightsBusinessCentrehasa

proventrackrecordinmobilisingide-

as,peopleandresourcesforexploit-

ingiPforthemobilecommunication

industry.specifically,andinaddition

totheCreativeConversionFactory

model,thereisanemphasisinthe

mobileheightsmodeltowardslinking

greatideaswithaspiring/budding

entrepreneurs.itisthereforeamodel

ledbyentrepreneurialcapabilities

ratherthanideas.Thisisdifferent

fromthenorm,whichisusuallyled

bytechnology.Thisapproachhas

particularrelevancetoCumbria

wheretherearerelativelylowlevels

ofentrepreneurshipand,inthe

currenteconomicclimate,somecon-

siderableinstancesofredundancies

frommajorpublicandprivatesector

bodies.wearethereforeparticularly

interestedin‘matching’entrepreneur

toiP,aswellasconnectingbudding

entrepreneurswithunexploited

ideas.Thismakesitinterestingfor

stakeholdersinCumbria.

Britain’senergyCoast,whichsym-

bolisestheambitionofCumbria’slow

carbonenergysector,maybeableto

takeideasfromtheapproachunder-

takenbyØresund.Thebreadthand

depthofØresundisparticularly

interesting,crossingnationalborders

andinvolving12researchinstitutes.

ifCumbriadoeswanttoleadinlow

carbonenergy,thisisthescaleof

approachthatwillbenecessary.

WheNBiaisscheduledforimplementation

inaccordancewiththecurrentre-

gionaloperationalPlan,2007-2013,

iffundingisavailable.ifnofundingis

found,wewilllaythegroundworkfor

biddinginthenextroundoftheerDF

operationalProgramme,2014-2020.

FINaNcINgCurrently,thereisnoclearwaywe

canaccessfunding.Therearenosub-

regional,regionalornationalfunding

sourcesavailable.ourintentionisto

developrelationships,laytheground-

workfortheprojectandapplyforeu

structuralfundswhenanopportunity

arises.Lancasteruniversitycancom-

mittosomefundingfordeveloping

thisinitiative,intheformofstaff

time,specificallyfromstaffinvolved

intheBiginnovationCentre.

106 Best practices 10 NorTh WesT, uNITed kINgdom

IdEaS: Innovation, design, Entrepreneurship and Science

Promotinginnovationthrougheffectiveknowledgeexchange

10BestPracticeNorthwest,unitedKingdom

parTNerLancasteruniversity

coNTacT helenFogg

Bailrigg,LancasterLa14YX

unitedKingdom

+441524510706

[email protected]


iDeasisacollaborationbetween

threeleadinguniversitiesinNorth

westenglandtopromoteinnovation

whensmes,largecorporations,uni-

versitiesandstrategicgovernment-

fundedsciencemeetoneanother.

Theprojectwaslaunchedin2008

bythebusinessandmanagement

schoolsoftheuniversitiesofLancas-

ter,Liverpoolandmanchesterand

imaginationLancasteracreative

designresearchhubwithinLancaster

university.

iDeashasinitiallybeenfocussed

upontheDaresburyscienceand

innovationCampus(DsiC),midway

betweenmanchesterandLiverpool,

whichishometoover100high-tech

companiesandcuttingedgescien-

tificfacilities.

TheaimofiDeasistouseresearch

andknowledgetransfertopromote

innovation,competitivenessandeco-

nomicdevelopment,whileenhancing

theperformanceofcompaniesand

organisationsbasedattheDsiC,and

inthewiderbusinesscommunity.

ToachievethisiDeasfocusesonen-

terprisedevelopment,openinnovation

andeconomicimpactanalysisusing

thedevelopmentofneweconomic

models,andinnovativeskillsand

originalapproachestometrics,map-

pingandentrepreneurship.having

theNorthwest’sleadinguniversities

representedon-sitegrantsseam-

lessaccesstothreeglobalnetworks

ofexpertise,andallowsworld-class

researchtobepassedontothesmall

andmediumsizedenterprises(smes)

inrealtime.

halfofNorthwest’sfundingcomes

fromtheerDF,13%fromregional

authoritiesand37%fromtheuni-

versities.oneofiDeas’objectives

istodevelopneweconomicmodels

thatcanbetestedina‘realworld

laboratory’situationinDaresbury

andatiDeas’othersiteatharwell,

nearoxford.Thepartnershipaims

toestablishtheDaresburymodel

asatestbedforsimilarinitiatives

inBritainandbeyond.onegoal

istoensurethatcommercialand

academicenvironmentsnurtureand

support‘skilledinnovators’withinthe

workforceandfacultybydeveloping

newrolesandworkingmethodsthat

supportinnovativepractice.Consid-

erablefocusisplacedondeveloping

enhancedmeasuringandmapping

techniquestomonitortheapplication

ofinnovationbothwithintheNorth

westandinotherregions.

Frommarch2009tojune2010,

iDeaswonfundingfromtheeuro-

peanregionalDevelopmentFund

(erDF)andtheNorthwestregional

Developmentagencytodelivera

programmeofin-depthknowledge

exchangethroughaseriesofinterac-

tiveworkshopsfor40regionalsmes,

mainlyhigh-techmicrobusinesses.

eachofthethreeworkshops

consistedoffourorfivehalf-dayses-

sionsthathighlightedcriticalissues

forsmallbusinesses:

•Customer-Focusedinnovation-to

enhancemarketingskillsandhelp

participants,whomostlycamefrom

theadvancedengineeringanddigi-

talsectors,todefineneeds,identify

valueandreassesscustomerrela-

tions.

•Competitiveadvantagethrough

PeopleandProcesses-which

aimedtohelpsmallbusinesses

improvetheirinternalmanagement

andorganisation.

•movingBeyondNetworking:

Creativity,Collaborationand

Growth-whichexplainedthevalue

ofcollaboratingeffectivelyand

networkingwithotherfirmsand

organisations.

senioracademicsfromthethree

partneruniversitiesdeliveredhighly

interactiveandpracticalsessions

whichwerefullyfundedtoeligible

high-techsmes.Follow-upsupport

forthecompaniesincludedinten-

siveone-daymasterclassesandthe

chancetohaveone-on-oneconsul-

tancysessionswithiDeas’experts.

iDeasiscurrentlyworkingwithother

regionstocreatealearningnetwork

ofinnovativepracticeinknowledge

exchangetosupportsmesacross

northwesteurope.

108 regional action plan1 11 ØresuNd, sWedeN

03


11 Øresund,sweden

110 regional action plan1 11 ØresuNd, sWedeN

1.0 Mobile Heights Business Centre

Lunduniversityhassubmittedthe

mobileheightsBusinessCentre

(mhBC)asabestpractice,torep-

resenttheØresundregioninthe

makingKnowledgeworkproject.

mhBClivesandbreathestheessence

ofthecurrentinitiativesintheregion,

tryingtoalignworkinpracticewith

theeuropeanunion’sstrategyofthe

innovationunion.itcarriesoutexten-

sivepolicyworkwiththeaimofac-

tivelypromotinguser-drivenaspects

ofinnovationandcreatingtriplehelix

linksbetweenacademia,industryand

thepublicsectorincross-sectoral

collaborationstocombatglobalchal-

lengesahead.

mhBCstartedasapilotprojectin

march2009,tostrengthengrowthin

thetelecomsindustryinthesouthof

swedenthroughdivestitures,inother

words,tobuildcompaniesbased

onpatentsandbusinessideasfrom

existingindustry.sofar,thetelecoms

industry(ericsson,Teliasonera,TaT)

hascontributedwithover400pat-

entsandideas.

ThefinancialframeworkformhBC

isbuiltonsponsorshipfrompublic

organisations,workingbyexpand-

inggrowthandopportunitiesin

theregion,skåneregion,theeu,

innovationsbron,Blekingeregion

andTeknopolaB.Theintrinsicambi-

tionisthatmhBC,asasuccessful

pilotproject,willprovidetheregion

withpositiveeffectsintermsofnew

businessandincreasedemployment

opportunities.

itsgoalsare10newviablecompa-

nieswithpositivecashflowwithin

twoyears.eachofthesecompanies

shouldhaveananticipatedincomeof

atleastseK3millioninthethirdyear,

withthepotentialofatleastseK100

million,employing100peopleinthe

skåne/Blekingeregions.

hardfactsshowthatbymarch2011,

mhBChascontributedto53newjobs

andinternshipswhichwillhopefully

leadtoemploymentinstart-ups.From

41entrepreneurs,26havebecome

membersand8haveachievedmarket

andsales(revenues)duringmember-

shipofmhBC.upuntilmarch2011,4

entrepreneurshavereachedprofit-

ability.

mhBCinvolvesahighly-structured

processthatiscontinuouslybeingad-

justedandfine-tunedateachstageto

matchpeopleintheproject,demand

fromcompaniesandpublicsectors,

andrealworldfactors.

anyonecanapplytobecomeanen-

trepreneurwithinthemhBCscheme.

aftersubmittinganotificationof

interest,thenextstepinvolvesaper-

sonalitytestwhichprovidesanoppor-

tunitytoevaluateifthepersonhas

thecapabilitiesnecessaryforthem

tomeetthescheme’srequirements.

Followingthisthereisaninterview,

toaskin-depthquestionsandassess

qualitieswhicharenotapparenton

paper,andwhereentrepreneurial

drivecanbetestedandproven.

if,afterthetestandinterview,an

individualisapprovedandwouldlike

tojointhescheme,heorshewillbe

presentedwiththebankofunex-

ploredpatents,businessideasandthe

solutionsrequestedbyindustry.

startingtheprocessisintense,witha

specifiedformulaandextensivefocus

onmarketability,salesandcustomers.

ina‘CrashLab’ledbyprofessional

Businessadvisers,businessideasare

discussedopenly.Thiswholeprocess

isbasedonopeninnovation,where

givingisreceiving.

onceaweek,representativesfromin-

dustrymeettheentrepreneurstolis-

tenandgivethemadviceabouttheir

ideas.Theyoffertheirknow-howand

insightsintheestablishedtelecoms

andLifesciencesindustries,inorder

tominimisetheriskofdevelopingan

ideawhichdoesn’thaveamarket.

havingchosenanidea,thenextstep

istodevelopabusinessplan.mhBC

canprovidesupportintermsofpro-

fessionallegal,hr,Pr,marketingand

Businessadviserstocreateasolid

foundationforthedevelopingbusi-

nesses.whentheentrepreneurhas

builtacase,thebusinessplanwillbe


presentedattheinvestmentDay,to

whichonlyactiveinvestorsareinvit-

ed.ifthoseinvestors,Businessangels

aswellasventureCapitalcompanies,

takeaninterestinthecase,mhBC

encouragesthemtolookatitover

thelongerterm.Therecommendation

istoinvestforuptotwoyears,with

setmilestonestokeepthemclosely

involvedwiththeentrepreneurand

monitordevelopment.Thisallowsthe

entrepreneurtofocusondevelop-

ingthebusinessduringthatperiod,

insteadofconstantlystrugglingto

findadditionalcapital.

mhBCisawaytoformaunique

collaborationofprivateandpublic

playersworkingtocreateashortcut

tothemarket.regularcustomer

feedbackabouttheidea,together

withasegment-specificnetworkand

businessadvice,helpstheentrepre-

neurtobuildamarketableproduct

orservice.Furthermore,assistance

throughtailoredinvestorevents

andhradvicewhenrecruitingthe

firstteammemberswillsupportthe

entrepreneurthroughoutthestart-up

phase.

2.0 organisations behind MHBC

TekNopol aBTeknopolaBspecialisesinthebusiness

developmentofinnovative,earlystage

ventureswithsubstantialbusinessand

growthpotential.Teknopol’smission

istofacilitatethecreationofmore

successfulgrowth-orientedcompanies,

primarilywithinLifesciences,Biotech,

Food,Cleantech,movingmediaand

Telecoms.

Teknopoloffersprofessionalbusiness

advice,aswellasdevelopingnew

methodsofcommercialisation,helping

industriesandregionstocreatespin-

offsandattractcompetence.

TeknopolaBisownedbyinnovations-

bronaB,skåneregionandaLmi

skåne.

moBIle heIghTsmobileheightsisamobilecommuni-

cationsclusterinitiativeinsouthern

sweden.itbringstogetherworld-class

organisationsfromindustryandaca-

demia,aswellasinstitutionsfromthe

publicsector,incross-collaborations.

mobileheightsexiststocreatea

foundationforinternationallycompeti-

tiveandgrowingcompaniesinmobile

communications.Thiswillbeachieved

throughworld-classresearch,educa-

tionandthepowertoattractinterest.

ThemobileheightsBusinessCentreis

fullyinlinewithmobileheights’ambi-

tiontoestablishsouthernswedenasa

world-leadingregioninresearch,inno-

vationandentrepreneurshipinmobile

communications,usingtheentirevalue

chainofmobiledevices,hardware,soft-

wareandservices.

allmembershaveestablishedopera-

tionsintheregion.Theinitiatorsand

foundingmembersofmobileheights

aresonyericsson,ericsson,sT-

ericsson,Teliasonera,LundsTekniska

högskola,LTh,malmöhögskolaand

skåneregion.

Tas 3.0TheTas3.0platform,Tillväxtarena

syd,consistsofvariousprivateand

publicplayersworkinginaunique

collaboration.Theseplayerscontribute

theirspecificresourcesatdifferent

stagesofthebusinessdevelopment

process,suchasshortcutstofinancing,

findingtherightskillsfortheteamand

offeringaccesstotheknowledgebank

whichindustryresearcherspossess.

ContributingplayersinTas3.0are

skåneregion,Blekingeregion,vin-

nova,innovationsbron,TeknopolaB,

Trygghetsrådet,arbetsförmedlingen.

europeanregionalDevelopmentFund

TheerDFisoneofmhBC’ssponsors.

112 Best practices 11 ØresuNd, sWedeN

Putting all the pieces together for start-ups in mobile innovation

11mobileheightsBusinessCentre

parTNersLunduniversity,Øresund

coNTacTulrikaCattermole

Box117,22100Lund,

sweden

+46709718952

[email protected]


Theinitialdrivetosetupmobile

heightscamefromindustry,when

thetelecommunicationsgianterics-

sonturnedtotheregionalauthorities

inskånelookingforgreaterinvest-

mentinmobilecommunication

research.Thevisionwastoestablish

mobileheightsastheworld’sfirst

ecosystembasedonopeninnovation

inmobilecommunications,linking

business,academiaandregional

government.

mobileheightsisaclusterorganisa-

tionthatwasinitiatedtoboosttriple

helixcooperationintheregion.

inordertoacceleratethetriplehelix

cooperationmobileheightsBusiness

Centre(mhBC)waslaunchedin2009

asapilotprojectinordertostrength-

engrowthwithinthetelecomsector

insouthernswedenbydivestitures/

spin-offsbasedonpatentsandbusi-

nessideasfromtheindustry.

mhBCisbackedbyfinancialsupport

fromskåneandtheneighbouring

regionofBlekinge,togetherwith

innovationsbronandTeknopol,two

state-fundedorganisationswhich

providefundingandsupporttoin-

novativebusinesses.

Thegoalistocreate10newviable

companies,withpositivecashflow

within2years,eachwithabudgeted

incomeofatleastseK3millionthe

thirdyearandthepotentialofat

leastseK100million-employing100

peopleintheskåne/Blekingeregion.

Bytheendof2010,therewere23

start-upmembers.anyentrepreneur

Planningtosetupintheregioncan

apply.aftertheirpersonalcapacities

asanentrepreneurhavebeenas-

sessed,theindividualsaregivenac-

cesstoabankofunexploredpatents,

ideasand,increasingly,requests

frommajorcompaniestosolvespe-

cifictelecomsproblems.

Techpartners,companiesthat

haveshowedinterestinsupporting

mhBCentrepreneursandstart-ups,

supplytechnicaladvice,labaccess,

prototypingandothersupport.after

‘CrashLab’discussionswithbusiness

advisersandindustryrepresenta-

tives,entrepreneurswhohavecho-

sentheirprojectaregivenprofes-

sionalhelpfromlegal,Pr,human

resources,Businessandmarketing

adviserstodrawupabusinessplan.

whentheprojectisreadytoroll,the

entrepreneurspitchtheirideasto

investorswhoareencouragedtolook

atatwo-yearinvestmentperspec-

tivewithsetmilestones,togivethe

start-uptimetofocusondeveloping

thebusinessratherthanhuntingfor

freshcapital.

uptooctober2010,thetelecoms

industryhadcontributedover400

patentsandtheprojecthadcreated

67newjobsintheregion.Thestart-

upsareworkinginareasranging

fromnocturnalvisiontechnologyand

automatictextextractiontodiscount

shoppingvoucherscarriedbymobile

phone.

114 regional action plan 12 sTuTTgarT regIoN, germaNy

02 01

01 the international centre at the University of stuttgart.

© Universität stuttgart

02 stuttgart television tower

© stuttgart-Marketing gmbH

03 the publishing sector is preparing for the digital future (for “newBook” innovation centre)

© wirtschaftsförderung region stuttgart gmbH

04 counselling interview (for entrepreneurship and Business incubation)

© rido/fotolia.com


03

04

12 regional action Planstuttgartregion,Germany



The sTuTTgarT regIoN Thestuttgartregioncomprises

179municipalities,whichformfive

countiesandtheCityofstuttgart.

hometoaround2.7millionpeople

from170countries,itisagreatplace

toliveandwork.inadditiontothe

excellentqualityoflife,thestuttgart

regionisoneoftheworld’sleading

centresforbusinessandtechnology.

itcurrentlyhasGermany’shighest

densityofscientific,academicand

researchorganisations,andtopsthe

nationalleagueforpatentapplica-

tions.majorglobalplayers,including

Daimler,Porsche,robertBosch,iBm,

hP,andhighlysuccessfulmedium-

sizedcompaniessuchasKärcher,

Dürr,schuler,eberspächerandBeru,

arelocatedinthestuttgartregion.

Theregionisoneofeurope’sleading

hightechnologyareas.Theexcellent

researchinfrastructure,including

manyuniversitiesandresearch

institutesworkingatthecutting

edgeofnewtechnology,createsa

fertileenvironmentforinnovation.its

directlyelectedparliament,uniquein

Germany,ensuresfastandeffective

decisionmakingonregionalissues.

asapoliticalentityonaregional

level,thestuttgartregionislegally

responsibleforeverythingrelatedto

regionalandinfrastructureplanning,

regionaltransportandeconomic

development.Foundedin1995as

theeconomicdevelopmentagency

fortheregion,thestuttgartregion

economicDevelopmentCorporation

(wrs)isasubsidiaryofthepublic

bodyverbandregionstuttgart.

Thesearethetworelevantbodies

whichdevelopthepoliciesintheir

fieldsofresponsibility,andimple-

mentthemintheregion.

ecoNomIc developmeNT sTraTegy By 2020in2010,thewrsdrewupastrategy

papercontainingdifferentfieldsof

actiontoenabletheregiontomeet

itseconomicchallenges.Forinstance,

theregioniscurrentlyfacingfunda-

mentaltechnologicalandstructural

changesinregionalkeysectors,such

asautomotiveandpublishing.an

implementationconceptforthenext

fewyearscontainsspecificprojects

andmeasuresinthefieldsofinno-

vation,skilledpersonnel,investors

andmarketingfortheregion.itwill

helptoincreasetheregion’seco-

nomiccompetitivenessfurtherand

placeitinagoodpositiontomeet

thechallengesofthefuture,and

securelong-termemploymentand

wealthinthestuttgartregion.The

conceptwasadoptedbytheregional

parliamentin2011.implementation

isbasedonthestuttgartregion’s

visionasmappedoutinthestrategy

paper:thestuttgartregionisgoing

tobethemostcompetitiveeconomic

regionineurope,acreativeregion

withahighsocialandeducational

level,whereideasarequicklyturned

intoinnovativeprocesses,products

andservices.Forthewrs,itisvery

importanttoimplementtheprojects

incooperationwithmunicipalities

andcounties,chambersandlabour

unionsaswellaswithotherregional

stakeholders.Thiscooperationand

coordinationbetweenregional

stakeholdersisbecomingincreas-

inglyimportantforregions’com-

petitivenessandasacriterionfor

companies’investmentdecisions.

inadditiontoregionalcooperation,

networkingwithothereuropean

regionsisalsoofincreasingimpor-

tance.exchangingexperiencesand

informationaswellasthejointrepre-

sentationofinterestshaveapositive

impactonregionalcompetitiveness.

Thefollowingprojectsareembedded

intheregionaldevelopmentstrategy

andwillbeimplementedwiththeaim

ofachievingthestuttgartregion’s

economicobjectives.Theyaddress

specificfieldsofaction,mainlyinthe

areaofinnovation,andhavebeende-

velopedincooperationwithregional

stakeholders.variousfact-finding

missions,organisedduringthe

makingKnowledgeworkproject,

havebeenavitalsourceofinspira-

tionforthedesignoftheseprojects.

Forthestuttgartregion,itwillbe

atransferofspecialinstruments

oraspectstocomplementorto

enhancenewandexistingpro-

grammesorinitiativesinthe

region.


2.0 Project 1 stuttgartresearchCampus

WhaT withthedesignofthe‘stuttgart

researchCampus’andthestrength-

eningofitstechnologytransfer

system,theuniversityofstuttgart

isfosteringenhancedresearch

activitiesandthevalorisationof

researchfindingsandknowledge.

akeyelementofthenewstrategy

istheinvolvementofvariousgroups

ofpartnerstocooperatewiththe

university:non-universityresearch

institutions,companies,intermediar-

iesandsocietyingeneral.Bycombin-

ingregionalresourcesinan‘open

innovationculture’,theresearch

Campuswillcreateanenvironment

forcomprehensivelytacklingthema-

jorchallengesofthefuture,through

jointeffortsandtothebenefitof

society.oneofthemainfacilities

willbeatransferagencyactingas

acentralservicepointforscience

andbusiness,offeringascouting

functionbothforresearchersand

companies.moreservicesconsistof

organisingfurthertrainingmeasures,

adviceaboutinventions,patents

andquestionsrelatingtointellec-

tualproperty,aswellasstart-up

assistance.

WhoTheuniversityofstuttgartisdevel-

opingthisprojectwithseveralexter-

nalpartners.Thestuttgartregion

economicDevelopmentCorpora-

tionisoneofthemainpartnersfor

developingthetransferagency.ata

laterstage,otherstakeholderswill

bebroughtin,mainlyotherresearch

institutionsandindustrypartners,

butalsopublicauthorities.

hoWworkinggroupswithregionalstake-

holdersarenowdiscussingthecon-

ceptanddevelopingitfurther.ingen-

eralterms,theprojectaimsatbetter

andmoreopencooperationbetween

theuniversity,thebusinesscommu-

nityandsociety.agoodexampleis

theopenresearchPlatform,atool

forknowledgevalorisation,whichis

alreadyunderdevelopment.

WheNTheworkinggroupshavenearly

finishedtheirpreparatorywork.in

November2011,ahighleveldelega-

tionfromstuttgart,including

therectoroftheuniversityof

stuttgart,willbevisitingeindhoven

toinitiatecooperationandexperi-

enceexchange.Bytheendof2011or

early2012,theconceptandproposal

willbecompletedandsubmittedfor

funding.

FINaNcINgPartsoftheprojectareexpected

tobefundedinthecourseofthe

national‘researchCampus–Public-

privatePartnershipsforinnovation’

supportprogrammebytheFederal

ministryofeducationandresearch.

TheopenresearchPlatformis

financedthroughtheoPrproject,

whichisasub-projectwithinthe

frameworkoftheiNTerreGivC

eurisproject.

lINk To good pracTIces•highTechCampuseindhoven(eind-

hoven,TheNetherlands)

•Businessincubation(eindhoven,

TheNetherlands)

•CreativeConversionFactory(eind-

hoven,TheNetherlands)

•mobileheightsBusinessCentre

(Øresund,sweden)

3.0 Project 2 ‘NewBook’innovationCentre

WhaT Tomeetfuturechallengesintermsof

technologicalandstructuralchange

inthepublishingsector,aninnova-

tionNetworkandCompetenceCentre

attachedtothestuttgartmedia

universitywillbeestablished.

>


Theconceptcomprisesanetwork

andcommoninfrastructurefor

matchingbusinesscasesfrom

industrywithprojectandstudent

teams,bringinginnewideasand

approachestodevelopnewproducts,

technologiesandservices,aswellas

solvingcompanies’specificproblems.

TheconceptisbasedontheLiving

Labsapproachintermsoforganisa-

tionandmethodology.allinnovation-

relevantinstitutionsfromthemedia

clusterandtheregionwillcollabo-

rateintheCompetenceCentre,which

willbeorganisedasaregistered

association.

WhoTheprojectisajointstuttgartmedia

universityandstuttgartregion

economicDevelopmentCorporation

initiative.Currently,severalcom-

paniesfromthestuttgartregion

mediaclusterhavebeenaskedfor

theircooperation.otherrelevant

stakeholders(universities,r&D,

banks,publicauthorities,etc.)willbe

involvedthroughouttheimplementa-

tionphase.

hoWThe‘NewBook’innovationCentre

willprovidespaceandinfrastructure

fortheinnovationprocess,including

co-workingspace,premisesforwork-

shopsandaLivingLabshowroom,

andwillserveasanincubator.itis

meantasamoderatedplatformfor

nationalandinternationalcoopera-

tionprojects,developingnewbusi-

nessmodelsandpromotingopenin-

novationinthepublishingsector.The

broadrangeofservicesembraces

training,studyandanalysis,consult-

ing,partnerbrokerage,marketing

andcommunication.withitsCompe-

tenceCentreinitiative,thestuttgart

regioneconomicDevelopment

Corporationhasprofoundknowledge

ofimplementingsuchcentres.

WheNTheconceptwasfinalisedinsum-

mer2011andthefoundingprocess

forthe‘NewBook’associationwas

started.inautumn2011,anapplica-

tionforsupportwillbesubmittedfor

nationalfunding.Theimplementation

isprojectedforearly2012.

FINaNcINgToimplementtheproject,thepart-

nerswillapplyforfinancialsupport

fromtheFederalministryofeconom-

icsandTechnology’snationalZim-

Nemoprogramme.Thisprogramme

aimstoenhancetheinnovative

capacityofsmesbyestablishing

networks.

lINk To good pracTIces•aaltouniversityDesignFactory

(helsinki,Finland)


TheNetherlands)

4.0 Project 3 entrepreneurshipandBusinessincubation

WhaT Push!,thestuttgartregion’ssup-

portprogrammeforhigh-techstart-

ups,isgoingtoredesignitsstrategy.

Theprogrammewillhaveparticular

focusonhighlyinnovativehigh-tech

start-upswithlargegrowthpotential,

followingtheprinciple‘greaterqual-

ityinsteadofquantity’.suchstart-

upsneedspecialabilitiesforbuilding

andleadingafast-growingcompany,

aswellasaccesstoventurecapital.

inaddition,thereisgreatpotential

forbusinessdevelopmentnotonly

atuniversities,butalsointhefield

ofspin-offsfromexistingcompanies.

high-techcompaniesareveryoften

foundedbyskilledandhighlymoti-

vatedpeople,mainlywithacademic

backgrounds,afterseveralyearsof

professionalexperience.Takingthis

intoaccount,Push!wantstotapthe

fullpotentialofhigh-techstart-ups

inthestuttgartregionbyredesign-

ingitsorganisationalstructureand

broadeningitsfocus.

WhoThedevelopmentprocessofthenew

conceptwasledbythePush!branch

office,runbythestuttgartregion

economicDevelopmentCorporation.

Theexecutiveboardandmembers

Making knowledge work 119Making knowledge work 119

ofPush!andthestuttgartregion’s

Businessangelsnetworkwerealso

involved.Bothwillplayamajorrole,

especiallyfortheimplementation

process.

hoWBydevelopingandoperatinga

cooperationplatform,aswellasby

organisingmatchmakingevents,the

specificneedsforhighlyinnovative

high-techstart-upswillbeidentified

andserved.Thiswillbeachievedby

introducingthemostsuitablecon-

tactstoothercompanies,investors,

industryandtechnologyexperts,

andbycoordinatingandcultivatinga

correspondingnetworkofexperts.in

addition,thestuttgartregion’sBusi-

nessangelsnetworkwillbeenlarged

inlinewiththenewPush!approach.

Thequalificationofitsmembers

isalsobeingaddressed,asseveral

formermanagersorentrepreneurs

areinterestedinbecomingBusiness

angels,butlacktheadequateexperi-

ence.Bybringingtogetherexperi-

encedandnewBusinessangels,they

canlearnfromeachother.

WheNThenewstrategywasdeveloped

during2011,andwillbediscussedby

thePush!executiveboardinautumn

2011.Thenextstepscomprisethe

furtherimplementationofthecon-

ceptandtheassessmentoffunding

issues.

FINaNcINgPossiblesourcesforfundingthe

projectarecurrentlyunderinvestiga-

tion,suchasesFfunding,national

andregionalfunding,orgrantsfrom

thestateofBaden-württemberg.

lINk To good pracTIces•mobileheightsBusinessCentre

(Øresund,sweden)


TheNetherlands)

5.0 Project 4 Fabspace

WhaT The‘Fabspace’sociallabprojectis

aimedatcreatinganopenlabforde-

signandprototyping.Privatepeople,

smallcompanies(designagencies,

smes)andstudentsarethelab’s

targetgroups.Theconceptfollows

theapproachofso-called‘fablabs’

(fabricationlaboratory),which

originallycamefromtheunited

states.Thematically,itcanberelated

tothefieldofopenhardware.The

labprovidesanopencreativespace

andinfrastructureforcollaboration

andjointlearning.itincludessocial

aspects,asitgrantsaccessto

productiontechnologyandproduc-

tionknow-howwheneducation,

age,wealthorregionalbarriersare

ahandicap.italsoincludesavision

forthefuture,becauseitopensup

high-techproductionmethodstothe

generalpublic,justasthepersonal

computerdidinthe1970sintermsof

electronicinformationtechnologies.

Theproject’sobjectiveistobuildup

andoperatethiskindoffacilityinthe

stuttgartregion.

WhoTheconcepthasbeendeveloped

bythestuttgartregioneconomic

DevelopmentCorporation,involving

theshackassociationandtheCity

ofstuttgart.morestakeholderswill

beincludedfortheimplementation,

suchasthevirtualDimensionCenter

Fellbach,institutionsfromeducation

anddesign,severalinstitutionssup-

portingyouthprogrammes,aswell

asseveralcompanies.

hoWTheservicesofferedincludeanopen

factorywhichwillprovidemachines,

materialsandknow-how,aswellas

workshopsandeventsaboutdiffer-

enttopics,withexpertsorpeer-to-

peer.Therewillberoomsforworking

orforseminars,andanopenspace

formeetingsandexperience

>


exchange.aspecialbenefitis

seenthroughcooperationwith

schools,universitiesandtraining

companies,andtheinvolvementof

peopleengagedintheculturalor

creativesector.anassociationisthe

preferredorganisationalstructure,

asthefablabcouldbelocatedat

theshackspaceinstuttgart.Their

membersareopentothisprojectand

wouldsupporttheassociationwith

staffandspace.

WheNTheconceptfortheprojectwasfinal-

isedinaugust2011.inautumnand

winter2011,therewillbenegotiations

withsuppliersofhardwareandother

potentialpartnerswhoarewillingto

supporttheproject.Theimplementa-

tionisprojectedfor2012.

FINaNcINgexpensesforthepremisescouldbe

coveredbyassociationmembership

fees.machinesandmaterialswill

mainlybefinancedbydonationsin

kind(ormoney).Theavailabilityof

regionalfundsfromdifferentsources

isalsobeingexamined.

lINk To good pracTIces•aaltouniversityDesignFactory

(helsinki,Finland)


122 Best practices 12 sTuTTgarT regIoN, germaNy

12CompetenceCentreProgrammestuttgartregion

Translating the latest research into the language of business

parTNerstuttgartregioneconomic

DevelopmentCorporation

coNTacTDr.martinZagermannand

Dr.andreasFindeis

Friedrichstraße10

70174stuttgart

Germany

+4971122835-53

+4971122835-69

[email protected]

[email protected]


Thestuttgartregionbelievesthatthe

internationalcompetitivenessofcom-

paniesdependsonbringingpioneering

productstomarket,fast.Toachieve

this,collaborationwiththerightpart-

nersisessential,particularlyforsmall

andmedium-sizedtechnologycompa-

nies.Theregionisthereforepromot-

ingcooperationbetweenbusinesses

andresearchfacilities,focusingonthe

region’stechnologicalstrengths,such

asmechatronics,fuel-celltechnology

andrenewableenergy.

TheCompetenceandinnovation

Centresinitiativelaunchedin1999

bythestuttgartregioneconomic

DevelopmentCorporation(wrs)aims

topursuethisapproachsystematically

bybringingtogetherinnovativeplay-

ersfrombusiness,education,research

andlocalgovernmentincentresdedi-

catedtospecifictechnologies.Their

goalistopooltheexpertiserequired

forinnovationwithineachofthedes-

ignatedspecialistfieldsandtoidentify

andachievesynergiesthataccelerate

thetransformationofcutting-edge

researchintomarketableproducts.

overthepastdecade,13Competence

andinnovationCentreshavebeen

setuparoundtheregion,focusing

onareasrangingfromtechnical

textilestosoftwaredevelopmentand

eco-design.membersofthecentres

includeover500companies,mostly

smes,alongwith60universityorpri-

vateresearchestablishments,15local

governmentpartnersandseveral

chambersofcommerceandtrade

associations.examplesofprojects

developedinthecentresincludethe

3DFitnessCheckdevelopedatthe

virtualDimensionCentreinFellbach

andtheapplicationofultrasonic

weldinginpackagingtechnology.

Thestuttgartregionsupported

thecentreswitheur2millionin

structuralfundingupto2002.since

then,theCompetenceCentreshave

beensupportedfinanciallythrough

aproject-basedprogramme.Private

fundingcomesthroughannual

membershipfeesandcontributions

tocooperationprojectswithinthe

CompetenceCentres.Thewrs

providesarangeofpracticalsupport

forthecentres.examplesinclude

coordinationbetweenthemunici-

palities,companies,universitiesand

researchfacilities,lobbyingatstate,

federalandeulevels,recruitment

andmarketing,aswellasoffering

anexpertdatabasesupporting

know-ledgetransferbetweenthe

CompetenceCentres.

overtheyears,thecentreshave

becomeinternationallyrecognisedas

ahighlyeffectivemethodofpromoting

leading-edgetechnologiesbyidentify-

ingandconsolidatingtechnological

andbusinessexpertise,andmaking

itavailabletolocalfirms.Theyhave

beenofparticularbenefittosmeswith

limitedr&Dresourcesoftheirown.

mostCompetenceCentresare

organisedasregisteredassocia-

tionsandemployaprofessionalfull

orpart-timeclustermanager,often

withsomesupportstafftoorganise

collectiveactivitiesandtoprovide

supportservicesforthemembers.

From2010on,selectedcentres

willreceiveerDFfinancingforthe

implementationofnewservices.

124 errIN

03


04

05

13 European regionsresearch and Innovation Network

126 regional action plan 13 errIN

1.0 what is ErrIN?

erriN,theeuropeanregionsre-

searchandinnovationNetwork,is

adynamicnetworkofmorethan

90euregionsandtheirBrussels

offices.erriNcelebratesitstenth

anniversaryin2011.

erriN’saimistostrengthenregional

researchandinnovationcapacities

byfacilitatingknowledgeexchange,

jointactivitiesandprojectpartner-

shipsbetweenitsmembers.

withitslargecriticalmass,erriN

hasstrongcontactswiththe

europeaninstitutionsandother

Brusselsnetworks,givingitsmember

regionsanopportunitytomaketheir

voicesheardinBrussels.

errIN aNd The makINg kNoWledge Work projecTerriNisdelightedtobeoneof

themKwproject’scommunication

partners,workingwiththeproject’s

12erriNmemberregionstoimprove

theirabilitiestoadoptinnovative

ideas.erriNhashelpedpublicise

theproject’sdiscussions,ideasand

activitiesthroughfourBrussels

Briefingsandwillhelptomain-

streamthelessonslearnedandthe

knowledgegeneratedintoitswider

network.itwillensurethecontinued

useoftwokeyoutputsfromthe

project,thegoodpracticedatabase

whichallowsaneasyexchange

ofinformation,andtheregional

profiledatabasewhichmakesonline

collaborationsimplerandprovides

regionswithaplatformtopromote

theirsuccessstoriesandraisetheir

profiles.Thisprofiledatabasewillbe-

comemoreimportantasdiscussions

aboutsmartspecialisationdevelop.

2.0How does ErrIN work?

ThemaTIc WorkINg groups — BuIldINg TrusT, parTNer-shIps aNd projecTsoneoferriN’smainactivitiesis

developingbottom-upworking

groupsintwelvethematicareasled

byregionalofficesinBrussels:

•Biotechnology

•DesignandCreativity

•energyandClimateChange

•Futurer&D

•health

•innovationFunding

•iCT

•internationalCooperation

•Nanotech

•scienceandsociety

•Tourism

•Transport

Theseworkinggroupsmeetregularly

inBrussels,buildingstrongteams

forexchanginginformationand

bestpracticesandfordevelopinga

knowledgebasethroughmeeting

europeanexpertsandnetworks.one

importantfeatureoftheworking

groupsishelpingregionalplayers

todevelopeuropeanprojectsand

accesseuropeanfunding.

erriNalsohastwohorizontal

workinggroups.ThePolicy

workingGrouptakespartinkey

policydebatesaffectingitsregions,

andresearchandinnovation,like

theeurope2020strategyandits

flagshipinitiativessuchasinnovation

union,smartspecialisation,future

Cohesionpolicy,horizon2020and

theeubudget.TheProjectsworking

GroupiserriN’slearningarm,

helpingregionalofficestodevelop

theirprofessionalskills.

overitstenyears,erriNhashelped

itsregionstoreceivetimelyintel-

ligenceabouteuprojectcallsand

opportunities,andtobenefitfrom

thematicknowledgeandnetwork-

ingthroughworkingGroups.This

in-depthknowledgeandwiderange

ofcontactsmeansthaterriNcan

helpitsregionstobuildstrong


partnershipswhichcanbenefitfrom

europeanprojectssuchasmaking

Knowledgework.

withmorethan90members,erriN

providesavoiceforitsmember

regionsinBrussels.erriNsupports

theregionaldimensionofresearch

andinnovationpolicy,justasthe

mKwprojecthasclearlyshown

thatregionsarekeycatalystsin

supportingresearchandinnovation.

For more INFormaTIoNryanTitley

avenuePalmerston23,

1000Brussels

+3222305641,

[email protected]

www.errin.eu

128 conclUsion


14 Conclusions

Making Knowledge work:

lookingback,movingahead

130 conclUsion

"MKW is one of the best Interreg

IVC projects we've been in."

1 ProJECTafter2yearsoffactfindingmissions,

exchangingbestpracticesandthink-

ingabouthowknowledgecanbe

turnedintoarealasset,we,thepart-

nersofmakingKnowledgeworkand

allourstakeholdersinourregions,

havelearnedalot.wedidevenmore

thanthat:wetranslatedallthese

lessonslearntintoactionplansfor

ourregionsimprovingthewayour

regionsmakeknowledgework.

wethanktheeuropeanunionfor

makingthiswonderfulprojectpos-

sible.

Thisprojecthaslearnedusalot.

Beingabletotaketimefromday-to-

dayoccupationsandstartthinking

aboutthebiggerpictureisaluxury

thatweenjoyedaspartnersofmKw.

Thefact-findingmissionsandall

projectmeetingsformedtheideal

momentsofdiscussionand

self-reflection.

“These fact-finding missions are

awesome. We should do our own

Making Knowledge Work within

Flanders next year!”

whatmakesthesuccessofthis

projectistheverydowntoearth

approach:allpartnersrealizethat

theydon’tneedtoreinventthe

wheel.Learningfromeachother

isindeedabestpracticeinitself.

aNd WhaT dId We learN TheN?

“We have learned new ways of

thinking and presenting from the

fact-finding missions, embedded

in regional cultures and skills.”

“Learning from other regions is

a best practice in itself; you don't

need to reinvent the wheel.”

“We learned about practices we had

never thought of.”

“It was useful to learn that all re-

gions in Europe face the same chal-

lenges. Supporting start-ups, the

lack of entrepreneurship, innovative

public procurement…”

erDFfundingisanadequatewayto

acceleratethecreationofnetworks

andtheexchangeofbestpractices.

howeverinsomeregionserDF-

fundingisalreadydepletedwhich

makesithardtoimplementthose

actionplansinshortnotice.itwould

beinterestingtoseewhatlessonswe

canlearnfromtherealtransferof

thebestpractices.

100’S oF CoNTaCTSwegottoknoweachother.wecre-

atedanetworkofpeople,institutions

andregionsthatleadtoothercol-

laborationopportunities.

“Making Knowledge Work gave us

the possibility of getting in touch

with other interesting regions/

people within those regions. These

contacts will lead to other projects

and initiatives for sure.”

“Being together on a MKW fact

finding mission, we formed addi-

tional contacts, even within our own

region. This project really opened

doors.”

weexperiencedthat,althoughthese

regionsareverydifferentintheirap-

proach,theyfacesimilarchallenges:

enterpriseeducation,livelonglearn-

ing,supportofinnovativestartups,

cross-oversbetweencreativeand

moreconventionalindustries,making

themostoutofcollaborationbe-

tweenuniversitiesandcompanies…

“Innovation is a complex mix of

people, process, product and place.”

“It was good to have regions with

different levels of innovation in the

project. It makes the project more

difficult but also much richer.”


itwassurprisingtoseehow,atfirst

sightschools,startersandexisting

companiesseemsodifferentbutin

theendformulateanswerstothe

samequestions.

1000 IdEaSwegottoknowhowsimpleideas

andsmallinvestmentscanalready

bringgreatchanges.Thatmightbe

themostprominentlessonwehave

learned:peoplearethekeydriversto

bridgethegapbetweenknowledge

andinnovation.Policiesandaction

plansarejustaframeworkandare

notagoalinitself.andthekeyto

turningtheseintosuccessisthe

peoplebehindthem.

“Simple ideas and small invest-

ments can bring big difference.”

“We have harvested a lot of ideas.”

welearnedthatvisitingother

partnersisagoodwaytobench-

mark.Comparingandassessingyour

region,yourinstitutionandyourin-

novationapproachtothoseofother

regionsandpartnersvalorisesyour

ownstrengthsandweaknesses.

“MKW was an eye opener. It brings

new ideas into our region inspired

by best practices in other regions.

The fact finding missions also

confirmed what we do in our region,

because we’ve seen similar solu-

tions abroad.”

weexperiencedthattransferring

thosebestpracticesishowever

harderthanwethought.eachregion

builtanactionplan,basedonreal

collaborationopportunitiesand

validatedbypartnersinthefield.

Thekeytobringingthesepractices

fromoneregiontotheotheristo

stepawayfromthecaseitself,distil

themainideasfromitandtranslate

thosetoyourownreality.

rEGIoNS BENEFIT-TING…ThemakingKnowledgeworkproject

raisedawarenessaboutthecommon

challengesthateuropeanregionsare

facing.italsohelpedustoidentify

creativeandinnovativesolutionsin

otherregions.inspiredbythebest

practicesinotherregionsandcol-

laboratingtogetherwithusefulnew

contactintheseregions,europacan

overcomethechallenges.Together,

wecan!

“We’ve discovered effective innova-

tion methodologies that we have

been able to quickly implement in

our region, e.g. workflow processes

and brainstorming tools.”

“People are the key drivers to

bridge the innovation gap. Not

regional policies. Policies and plans

are just the framework, not a goal

in itself.”

eachregionnowhasaregionalac-

tionplantomakeknowledgework,

betterthaneverbefore.Buildingon

andinspiredbytheideasinother

regions,andwithstrongsupportof

erDFandourlocalgovernments,our

regionalactionplanswillmakemil-

lionsofeuropeansbenefitting.

andthatisexactlywhatmaking

knowledgeworkisabout.Peoplefor

people.inventingnewideasinunver-

sitiesorknowledgecentres,making

theseideasworkbyvalorisingthem,

creatingeconomicvalueforeurope

andourpeople.

wealsohopethatYou,thereader

ofthisconcludingreportof2years

ofmakingKnowledgeworkwillbe

inspired.ifyouareinspiredbyone

ofthebestpracticesorifyouare

curiousabouttheimplicationsofthe

regionalactionplansinthe12making

Knowledgeworkregions?

>

132 conclUsion

Contactus!Let’sdiscusshowyou

andyourregioncouldbeinvolved.

Forallpartnersof

makingKnowledgework

Laurens Meijering,

Project Manager,

Making Knowledge Work,

Brainport Development N.V.,

Brainport Eindhoven Region,

The Netherlands

richard Tuffs,

Project Leader,

MKW Communication, Director

of European Regions Research

and Innovation Network (ERRIN),

Brussels, Belgium

Peter Bertels,

Project Leader,

MKW Transfer of Knowledge,

Flanders District of Creativity,

Leuven, Belgium

Colophon

BIrMINGHaM CITy CoUNCIL

Suresh Patel

Businessinnovationmanager,

BirminghamCityCouncil

BraINPorT dEVELoPMENT N.V.

Laurens Meijering

Projectmanager

Ton van Lier

FormerProjectmanager,

helmondmunicipality

Anne Verhaag – van Nuland

managerinternationalProjects

Wim De Kinderen

internationalProjectmanager

Edgar van Leest

sectormanagerstrategy&Publicaffairs

Bart Jansen

Financialmanager

Marieke van Lieshout

Projectmanager

Linco Nieuwenhuyzen

Projectmanager

Anthony van de Ven

eindhovenmunicipality

FLaNdErS rEGIoN

Peter Bertels

FlandersDistrictofCreativity

Filip Burgelman,

LessiusuniversityCollege

Natascha Rommens,


Carlo Vuijlsteke


Hilde Vermeulen

FlemishGovernment

HELSINKI

Riikka Hietanen

CulminatuminnovationoyLtd

Kauko Huhtinen

CulminatuminnovationoyLtd

Ilona Lundström

Tekes-FinnishFundingagency

forTechnologyandinnovation

Kalevi Ekman

aaltoDesignFactory

KUJawSKo-PoMorSKIE

Piotr Całbecki

marshaloftheKujawsko-Pomorskie

region

Grzegorz Borek

marshal'sPlenipotentiaryforinternational

Cooperation

Maciej Krużewski

DirectoroftheinternationalCooperation

Department

Rafał Modrzewski

headoftheeuropeanTerritorialCoopera-

tionDivision

Joanna Zieliżska

Projectmanager,internationalCoopera-

tionDepartment

Marta Dolecka

DepartmentofeconomicDevelopment


NorTH wEST, UNITEd KINGdoM

Helen Fogg

Projectmanager,Lancasteruniversity

managementschool

Magnus George

headofstrategicPartnershipsandPolicy,

Lancasteruniversitymanagementschool

Al Mather

aLmaLtd

LodzKIE rEGIoN

Witold Stepien

marshalofLodzkieregion

Marcin Bugajski

memberoftheBoardofLodzkieregion

Michal Mackiewicz

DirectorofregionalPolicyDepartment,

marshal'sofficeinLodz

Artur Stelmach

formerDirectorofregionalPolicyDepart-

ment,marshal'sofficeinLodz

Malgorzata Drozdzal

Projectofficer-regionalPolicyDepart-


Monika Urbaniak



Monika Zielinska



Bartosz Krawczyk


ment,marshal'soffceinLodz

LoMBardIa

Attilio Martinetti

GeneralDirector-innovhub,stazionisper-

imentaliperl'industria,specialagencyof

milanChamberofCommerce

Ilaria Bonetti

Projectmanager-innovhub,stazionisper-

imentaliperl'industria,specialagencyof


Andrea Vallan

Projectofficer-innovhub,stazionisperi-

mentaliperl'industria,specialagencyof


Luca Sassi

Projectofficer-milanChamber

ofCommerce

NaVarra

Alfonso Carlosena

researchvice-Chancellor,Publicuniver-

sityofNavarra(uPNa).

Begoña Sesma

euProgrammesofficer,andtheeuPro-

grammesTeam,innovationandKnowledge

Transferservice,NavarraGovernment.

Carlos Gonzalez Navarro

r&iunitDirector,NationalCentrefor

FoodTechnologyandsafety(CNTa),as

appointedrepresentativeofNetworkof

researchandTechnologyorganisationsof

Navarra(reTeCNa).

Carmen Leza

managingDirector,europeanBusinessand

innovationCenterofNavarra(CeiN).

Cristina Blanco Vaca,Controlunit,

internationalaffairsservice,Navarra

Government.

Guillermo García del Barrio

Director,scientificandTechnologyinsti-

tute(iCT)ofuniversityofNavarra.

Itziar Zabalza

Programmeofficer,internationalaffairs

service,NavarraGovernment.

Jorge San Miguel

Director,DGenterpriseandinnovation,

NavarraGovernment.

Juan Ramón de la Torre

researchandDevelopmentunitDirector,

Navarraindustryassociation(aiN),as

appointedrepresentativeofNetworkof

researchandTechnologyorganisationsof

Navarra(reTeCNa).

María Jesús Valdemoros

Director,DGinternationalandeconomic

Policy,NavarraGovernment.

Rafael Muguerza

Director,innovationandKnowledge

Transferservice,NavarraGovernment.

Nord FraNCE INNoVaTIoN

déVELoPPEMENT

Jean-Marie Pruvot

director

Jean-Pierre Léac

projectmanager

Jean-Christophe Godest

projectmanager

Carlos Pereira

projectmanager

STUTTGarT rEGIoN

Stephanie Fleischmann

stuttgartregioneconomic


Veit Haug



Florian Krebs



Bertram Gaiser



Sylvia Schreiber

stuttgartregioneuropean

officeinBrussels

ØrESUNd

Ulrika Cattermole

Lunduniversity

Daniel Kronmann

Lunduniversity

Marianne Larsson

Teknopol(mobileheightsBusinessCentre)

Jonas Klevhag

Teknopol(mobileheightsBusinessCentre)

ErrIN

Richard Tuffs

Director

Anett Ruszanov

Projectsmanager

Ryan Titley

Communication&Projectmanager

dESIGN By

www.makingknowledgework.eu



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