Structure and strategy for regional learning and innovation

Professor Jørgen Amdam

Volda University College

2012

1

Jørgen Amdam

• Professor of regional planning and development

• Volda University College +3000 students

• Education for the public sector and mass communication

• Volda – 8000 inh. – higher education for over 100 years.

2

- 4%-3 til +3+ 4%

Endring i folketal 2006 – 20115 km ruteLokal og regional konsentrasjon

InnflyttingUtflytting

WickenIndustrialisation:EnglishFrench

7

Structure and strategy for regional learning and innovation

CONTEXTSITUATION

John Friedmann, 1992:Empowerment

FRAGMENTATION

Storper 1997: The Regional World

TalkTrust

11

Industries

Research and Education Public activity

Trippel HelixScandinavian Model

12

Industry

PublicActivity

SivilSociety

Research and Education

13

The civil society and business and industrial development

• The successful regions have a rich organisational life, the inhabitants take responsibility, there is good and open communication between key social actors, the political organisations and institutions enjoy popular support and they work for their region locally, regionally, nationally and internationally and in relation to sectors and organisations Egalitarian "independence culture”

• Regions that function poorly are characterised by "hierarchy" and "power centralisation", i.e. elites and routines have been established that are more concerned with controlling and restricting initiatives. The "third sector" (the civil society) is poorly developed and there is poor communication and co-operation between political bodies, market institutions and the

"third sector”. A "wage earner culture" with class conflicts

14

Business Challenges

• Internationalisation• Market concentration • Changes in patterns -

from production to production-oriented services

• Market organisation of public activities

• Competition between regions

• The communicative society

• Recruitment of leaders and specialists

• New demands on regional communities as “total communities

15

LINEAR INNOVATION

Research

Engineering

Production

Research

Engineering Production

DYNAMIC INNOVATIONMarket

Market

17

18

Design – profit 50%

Equipment – profit 20%

Ship building – profit 2%

Ship building Møre and Romsdal

1= svært viktig, 2= viktig, 3=Ikkje viktig1= very important, 2= important 3= =

Institusjon Gjennomsnitt for bedriftene

Kundar 1,8Leverandørar 1,9INU-FSF 2,0Andre bedrifter i same bransje

2,1

Lokal bank 2,1S og F fylke 2,4Innovasjon Norge 2,4FoU-miljø andre stader i landet R

2,4

NHO 2,5Høgskulen i Sogn og Fjordane E

2,7

Kommunen bedrifta er lokalisert

2,7

Vestlandsforsking R 2,7

Konsulentar 2,8

Næringsutviklingsselskap i kommunen

2,8

Næringshagar 2,8

FoU-miljø i utlandet 2,8

Fjord Invest 2,9

Norges Forskningsråd

2,9

SIVA 2,9

Næringsparkar 3,0

Kunnskapsparken i Sogn og Fjordane

3,0

Partners in innovation(INU- bedriftene)

20

Regional business and industry and challenges of knowledge

• Regions with a positive development have high internal powers of change, a high degree of open flow of knowledge between actors and a long tradition of growth (Nilsson 1998), often such that growth in some industries compensates for decline in others.

• The growth of new know-ledge and competence comes in the form of self-development in existing businesses and environ-ments, the transfer of knowledge between industries and companies, a high rate of establishing new companies based on knowledge and through the recruitment of young, well-qualified people.

21

Public competence activity and its connection with significance for innovations in regional

business and industry • Do university and research environments result in the

establishment of companies and the development of

business and industry? • Is education and research activity important for regional

social and industrial development? • Is investment in special programmes the solution for

building innovative competence in business and industry? • Is the sector organisation in the public sector an obstacle

to regional innovation?

R&E and Industry Cooperation

• Education – 90 % of regional students work related BA-studies is at work in the region 3 year after exams.

• Practice in Industries

• Projects – 50 % Public founding – VRI– Marine – animation +++

• Networks

22

23

Ålesund Knowledge Park

OFFSHORE SIMULATOR CENTER

Norwegian Maritime Competence Center

Rolls-RoyceRegionalCompanies

24

Befolknings- og sysselsettingsutvikling med 2004 som referansepunkt, busette i Eiksundregionen.

Employment

Population

Eiksundregionen – folketalsendring, fødselsoverskot og nettoflytting.

International

National

Emigration

29

NGOR&E

Network Challenges

• Is it possible to have common networks, or

• Specific networks related to activities and responsibilities?

• Who can be major stakeholders and why?Agencies,

Public act.

Local Communities

INDUSTRY

30

Dialogue, trust and partnership ‑ strategies for

the development of regional competence

Knowledge

Relational

Mobilisation

31

Strategies:• Production of knowledge that is related to the

region itself, to the business and industrial situation in the area - increase knowledge capital

• The capture and sieving of external knowledge that can help to increase the capability to meet new challenges and to implement changes - increase relational capital

• The linking of internal knowledge production and the grasping of knowledge externally into joint learning processes which further the development of the region as a special area - mobilise

32

This requires of regional public and private actors:

Acceptance of long‑term development structures and strategies, and binding co-operation to achieve change and improve quality

Acceptance of an active involvement that aims to change the working methods of each individual actor, and the working methods of co-operating actors, in order to establish a total system that functions better.

Tilbaketrekking

Fragmentering

Lokalt valtutvikling ogomstilling

34

Challenges to be met in regional development

Integrated national strategy to co-ordinate among other things educational, industrial and labour market policy is necessary.

Domain defences have to be dismantled, and innovation is needed that leads to the release of resources.

The centralised building of institutions leads to systems failure, that can only be repaired through local institutions and initiatives, and active learning processes at all levels. This requires an active development programme led and initiated from the bottom upwards and a more integrated national allocation system.

35

What stimulates and prevents regionally initiated development

• Entrepreneurs - collective and private key individuals

• Networks and arenas

• External threats

• High local mobility of relevant knowledge and information

• Local identity

36

Proactive work involves systematic differential treatment in order to reach concrete goals

37

“Total” integration, is characterised by Cornett in Bengs (2002)

• The development of specific geographically defined systems of production such as industrial districts, clusters of industries, or systems of innovation.

• A system of urban networks defined according to specific functional links.

• The availability of a relevant regional infrastructure linking the analysed areas together.

• Last but not least, the intensity of intra-regional flows relative to outside flows can be considered the “conditio sine non quo” when we talk of a spatially integrated area.

38

Fig. 3. Types of urban and rural regions. Urban-Rural

Focus

URBAN CONCENTRATION

RURAL STRUCTURE

MANUFACTURING (Focus on economic capital)

Big scale manufacturing regions

“Traditional” rural areas - production based on land and nature – agriculture, fisheries, mining, mass tourism …

KNOWLEDGE (Focus on social capital)

Diversified metropolitan regions

“Flexible” rural areas – diversified, focus on life quality for inhabitants

39

Urbanconsentration

Spatial small scaleclusters

TransactionEfficiency andFlexibility

Knowledgeaccumulation

Big scaleIndustry regions

DiversifiedMetropoleanRegions

Small and flexibleIndustryregions

Urbanisedrural areas

Traditional rural areas