The Role of Universities in Regional InnovationJohn Goddard

Emeritus Professor of Regional Development Studies

Universities, Innovation and Smart Specialisation

• Document accompanying the Commission communication on Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020 (SEC/2010/1183)– Key role of strategic intelligence in universities to “ identify the high value

added activities which offer best chances of strengthening a region’s competitiveness”

– “ Smart specialisation involves business, research centres and universities working together to identify a region’s most promising areas of specialisation but also weaknesses that hamper innovation”

• Building Smart Specialisation is a process• Universities need to actively participate in this process in partnership with

public, private and third sectors• In order to effectively do this requires an understanding of the principles

of innovation/smart specialisation and the specific regional context• Building capacity through peer to peer learning, creating a ‘community of

practice and building effective learning systems will be essential

University Drivers

• Declining national funding for HE• Search for local support to assist with global

aspirations in research and student recruitment• Increased local enrolments• Additional income for services to local businesses

through consultancy and CPD• Indirect benefits of local environment to attract and

retain creative academics and motivated students• Outward and visible manifestation of contribution to

civil society

City and Regional Interests in HE

• HE as a major business• Global gateways for marketing and attracting inward

investment• Generation of new business and sources of advise to

established businesses• Enhancing local human capital through graduate

retention and professional updating• Content and audience for cultural programmes• Contribution to health, well being, social inclusion and

environmental sustainability

The regionally engaged multi-modal and multi-scalar university

(after Arbo and Benneworth)

Skills

Culture

National policy

LM

TDP

IND HE

S&T

‘Global’

Academic kudos

‘National’

‘Regional’

‘Science park

HospitalCulture village

Inward investors

Innovation

Research & innovation

Graduate enterprise

s

Staff spin

outs

Innov

ation

vouch

ers

Consultancy

services

Technology transfer

Knowledge

transfer

partnershi

ps

Teaching &learning

Talent attraction

Widening

participati

on

Workforce developme

nt

Talent retention

Human capital

development

Stimulating

innovationInternation

allinks and

investment

Complexity of the activity

Intervention type

transactional transformational

high

low

MECHANISMS FOR UNIVERSITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INNOVATION/SMART SPECIALISATION ‘PROCESS’

Helping businesse

s articulate demand

Teaching

Facilitatin

g

networks

and

clusters

Social mission

&engagement

Student volunteeri

ng & communit

y work

Cultural development and ‘place

making’

Public lectures

Physical regenerati

on and capital

projects

Museums and

galleries

Helping the region to

articulate demand so

the resources of the

university can be

mobilised in an

holistic way to

promote innovation

Helping the region to

articulate demand so

the resources of the

university can be

mobilised in an

holistic way to

promote innovation

Academic Research

Barriers

Low/few

High/many

Experience and competence

Vast, tried and testedLimited,

novel

Effective mobilisation of human, intellectual,

social and physical capital

Nature of the Barriers/Enablers to success in the external environment•Institutional history and its sense of ‘self’•Policies and practices •Maturity of the wider region•Nature of relationships – collaboration/competition•Nature of the ‘place’ – complexity of the environment•Availability of ‘boundary spanners’•Leadership within and across institutions•Capacity to identify and articulate need•Ability to reach collective agreement on priorities•Existence of appropriate delivery structures•Local, regional and national policies and structures•Financial constraints on effective engagement

BUT HOW PRINCIPLES ARE TRANSLATED INTO PRACTICE REQUIRES A SOPHISTICATED ANALYSIS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOCAL CONTEXT

Case Study: Region Värmland and Karlstad University – SLIM II project

• SLIM II was launched in 2009 with total funding of €2.1 million, of which €1.05 million ERDF. It promoted existing co-operation and looked for ways to expand it. A total of 700 companies (with 60,000 employees) in 15 clusters participated in SLIM II. The project also linked the clusters and universities. SLIM II successfully brought the actors together face-to-face and built acquaintance and mutual trust.

• Learning Points– The fact that the University recognised that regional engagement can enhance the core

missions of teaching and research was a big ‘enabler’ of the project initiation and success

– Another enabler was that Region Värmland’s strategy has explicitly been to strengthen collaboration within and between key regional actor organisations and the University in the context of the region’s competitive strengths

– Understanding that co-operation processes cannot be directly transferred to other regions – while the principles remain fixed the practice must be adapted to suit the specific environment

– Having participated in a peer review and self evaluation process (OECD/IMHE review of the contribution of universities to regional development, 2006) was critical in understanding the nature of the role of the University in the innovation process

EU Guide: ‘Connecting Universities to Regional Growth’

• The guide will– provide an analysis how universities can impact upon regions and how they can be

mobilised for regional economic, social and cultural development– explore (illustrated by clear and compelling examples from around the EU) some of the

potential delivery mechanisms that can be used to maximize the contribution of universities to regional growth

– outline the key principles in building university /regional partnership, particularly the drivers and barriers on both sides behind such partnership working and how these barriers may be overcome.

– position potential programmes and interventions within the framework for ERDF support

• The guide will be illustrated with 15 examples of good practice describing existing regional partnerships for innovation involving universities. The sources used to inform the content of the Guide will include documentary evidence from workshops, self evaluations and peer reviews from the following programmes :

– Reviews of Higher Education in City and Regional Development (OECD)– European Drivers for a Regional Innovation Platform (EU Lifelong Learning Programme)– Sharing Innovative Practices in University Management - Collaborative Research (DG

Research)

Building the Bridge between HEIs and Regions