Download pdf - Title: BRIDGING COMPETENCE INFRASTRUCTURE GAPS … · Title: BRIDGING COMPETENCE INFRASTRUCTURE GAPS AND SPEEDING UP REGIONAL GROWTH T. Bartzanas & E. Katsaros N. Chaniotou

Title: BRIDGING COMPETENCE INFRASTRUCTURE

GAPS AND SPEEDING UP REGIONAL GROWTH

T. Bartzanas & E. Katsaros

N. Chaniotou

Partner: CERTH, PP9 ADVISORY PARTNER

MAKING INNOVATION HAPPEN https://www.interregeurope.eu/bridges/

Bridging competence BRIDGING

COMPETENCE INFRASTRUCTURE GAPS

AND SPEEDING UP REGIONAL GROWTH

gaps

https://www.interregeurope.eu/bridges/

https://www.interregeurope.eu/bridges/

Purpose and structure of the presentation

1. To refresh the concept of RIS3 Strategies and the need for

effective implementation

2.To present methods applied within the BRIDGES project

3.To introduce the concept of technological connectivity

4. To present intermediate results and preliminary conclusions

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31.8.2017

RIS3 / Concept and Definition

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ESIF / Thematic Objectives 2014-2020

1. Research and innovation

2. Information and Communication Technologies

3. Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME)

4. Shift to a low-carbon economy

5. Climate change adaptation and risk management and prevention

6. Environmental protection and resource efficiency

7. Sustainable transport and disposal of congestion on major network infrastructure

8. Employment and support for labour mobility

9. Social inclusion and poverty reduction

10. Education, skills and lifelong learning

11. Increased institutional capacity and effectiveness of public administration inclu

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susta

inable

sm

art

State of play. The ex-ante conditionalities for IP 1, 2 and 3

Cohesion Policy

RIS3

Next Generation Access / Network

Plan

Small Business Act

Late payment Directive

All 3 smart growth elements are inter-linked:

► No socially & environmentally

sustainable competitiveness without

innovation ► Hardly any innovation & new business models

without ICT ► SMEs are 99% of firms

and offer 2/3 private sector jobs: they need to

innovate!


1. Research and innovation

2. ICT use and quality

ICT access

3. Competitiveness of SMEs

(1) strengthening research, technological development and innovation:

(a) enhancing research and innovation (R&I) infrastructure […] and capacities to develop R&I excellence and promoting centres of competence, in particular those of European interest;

(b) promoting business […] investment in innovation and research, and developing links and synergies between enterprises, R&D centres and higher education, in particular product and service development, technology transfer, social innovation and public service applications, demand stimulation, networking, clusters and open innovation through smart specialisation […] supporting technological and applied research, pilot lines, early product validation actions, advanced manufacturing capabilities and first production in Key Enabling Technologies and diffusion of general purpose technologies;*

*) ICT, photonics, nano-electonics, nano- and bio-technologies, advanced materials, etc..

Investment Priority 1 Council proposal for modifications



RIS3 / Who does what

RIS3 Effectiveness Challenge

\

Regions across Europe face challenges deriving from the effectiveness of

their RIS3 implementation. In some cases, challenges relate to the process of valorizing research results, while in other cases to the transformation and

renewal of regional economies

Need is for better RIS3 implementation governance,

(a) relatively weak impact of RIS3 on growth, jobs & regional economy renewal, linked to

low upscale investments, research excellence absorptiveness, and exploitation

of related variety potential, (b) mismatches between RIS3 productive and

RDI bases distance from and better exploitation of research excellence as a path to further

specialization, and (d) restricted resources towards RIS3 impact

BRIDGES Contribution

BRIDGES project, which is funded under

the Interreg Europe Programme, aims

assist regions to benefit from policy

learning and enhance industry-led Centers

of Competence as RIS3 implementation

units

Within the project, the industry-led focus is

on bio-economy

BRIDGES RIS3 & SMART GROWTH

BRIDGES (contribution to sustainable growth and industrial development): (i) Addresses needed improvements in reference to RIS3 opportunities

and related investments, leading to ‘RIS3 paths’, which ‘bridge’ research-to-industry and accesses bio-economy’s huge potential for regional economy renewal;

(ii) Examines the bio-economy industries and focuses on businesses that are truly showing growth dynamics;

(iii) Adopts an excellence-led approach in policy learning, integrating state-of-the-art contributions,

(iv) Invests in the European dimension of the Centers of Competence (highly promoted within Horizon 2020) as RIS3 implementation units, by sharing of experience and joint initiatives

RESULTS (Preliminary)

Good Practices Identification, categorized into three themes:

(i) industry-led Centers of Competence that facilitate RIS3 implementation,

(ii) cooperation between industry and research institutes, and

(iii) multilevel synergies to support innovation

Those practices vary from strategical initiatives, such as the common use of large research infrastructure from universities,

innovation agencies and SMEs within a region, to very specific/innovative services which are developed by research organizations and could be used/exploited by local/regional

business companies

What do we mean by technological connectivity in the knowledge economy

literature?

✓ Shift from traditional economies to ones where the production and use of

knowledge in different disciplines are dominant

✓ Intra and inter regional knowledge relatedness between technological domains,

with many variations existing

How does technological connectivity or knowledge transfer, or interactions

between university/research and industry differ, or not differ?

✓ Research institutes capacities to coordinate industrial collaboration

✓ Enhancement of both ways knowledge flows through long term commitments

✓ Funding analogous to long term collaboration (future) perspectives

✓ Creation of total business environment favoring exploitation of innovation

potential (in industry and research institutes)

How does the notion of connectivity relate to RIS3?

❑ RIS3 may focus on knowledge-based development, BUT do not take into

consideration connectivity concept during planning, neither at regional nor at

national level, though indirect considerations are present

❑ Lack of existing methodologies on how to make connectivity core element of

RIS3. Need for methodology to incorporate during RIS3 revision

❑ Intra-regional connectivity is important within the region to activate and

optimize functioning of regional innovation system around an innovative and

promising economic sector

❑ In cases of less developed regional innovation system, inter-regional

connectivity can trigger the procedure (point 3)

✓ At regional level, RIS3 does not coordinate connectivity actions planned and/or

implemented by several actors

✓ Lack of operational capabilities by regional authorities personnel to coordinate

efforts that will create a knowledge-based business environment that will support

technological excellence and connectivity, diffusion of innovation and technologies,

creation of spin-offs and key investments attraction

✓ Overestimation of businesses’ capacity to absorb external (imported) technology

and incorporate it in a well planned, coherent strategy and action plan for

innovation and growth

✓ Focus on regional promising businesses need for connectivity with centers of

excellence at interregional level underestimating the positive effect at regional

level of the reverse procedure: Connectivity of center of excellence of the region

with businesses abroad

✓ No clear link between the concept of technological connectivity and the

physical connectivity between regions (e.g. transport and logistics hubs,

transport networks)

✓ No clear role of “Mega Regions” in technological connectivity, meaning regions

bordering or in proximity to work closely together even if they belong to other

countries

✓ Lack of reliable KPIs, long term success indicators etc., to measure technological

connectivity

✓ There is no alignment between national RIS3 and regional RIS3

✓ National technological clusters have no clear influence on RIS3 at regional level

Table 3 Project resources, activity, and funding suggestions

Connectivity type Types of actions Project resources (good

practices)

Possible funding

Type 1 Programme

based

Centre of competence &

associated business

application projects; 3

regions have indicated

committed interest in this

Industry –led centres of

competence in Germany,

Netherlands, Swtizerland;

Helsinki university

innovation services;

Kantola cluster.

This activity belongs, to ESIF

Thematic Objective 1

(innovation and research, and

infrastructures) and Thematic

Objective 3 (improvement of the

competitiveness of SMEs).

The required action is to allow

eligibility of non-programme

area actors to be part of

regional multi actor projects.

Non programme area actors

are research institutions with

expertise missing at regional

and national levels from the

implementation regions.

Technological connectivity within the BRIDGES project State of play today (findings from the innovation maps):

Type 2 Access to

research services

2.1) Screening of needs &

awareness raising

2.2) actual access to

research services missing

locallly/nationally, through

innovation vouchers with

interregional eligibiltiy.

BRIDGES project

proposes such solutions in

some of the good practice

contributions in GP theme

3. Application of Article 70

of the CPR and / or

national innovation funds.

Methodology: Baltic TRAM

project (access of SMEs in

the periphery to analytical

research infrastrcutrs and

macro.-regional base of

funding).

Funding: ESIF provisions

in Poland; experience with

innovation vouchers and

cross border innovation

vouchers from Slovenia

and Hungary respectively.

2.1) Local structural funds,

local consultant; innovation

intermediary.

2.2) Through generalised

application of innovation

vouchers to seek research

services at national level,

including interegional eligibilty

where the naitonal level is not

sufficient.

Type 3

KET applications

3.1) screening of needs &

awareness raising:local

consultants; 3.2) actual

KET application projects

Funding: ESIF provisions

in Poland; experience with

innovation vouchers and

cross border innovation

vouchers from Slovenia

and Hungary respectively.

3.1 Local / national expertise

3.2 As above, any lacking

expertise could be accessed

add hoc through innovation

vouchers


Type 4 TRL

improvement /

certification

Systematic way to

address these issues

needed in five out of six

regions

Methodology & funding:

ESIF 2014-2020 Poland National funds, national

innovation funds, ESIF

2014-2020; interegional

connectivity not required.

Type 5 Innovation

management chain

5.1 R&D council, 5.2

Proof of concept, 5.3

Prototype, 5.4 Scaling

up, 5.5 Business plan,

5.6 Branded marketing

Helsinki University

Innovation Services;

TEKES programme for

proof of concept

National funds, national



connectivity, in principle, not

required, but good to not

exlcude it, allow for

innovation vouchers with

interregional eligibility

Type 6 Constant

renewal services

upstreaming and

downstreaming, Annex I

of the CPR):

No GPs National funds, national



connectivity not required


Type 7

Commercialisation of

research, cross border

7.1) Awareness raising

7.2) Cross border,

interregional

Methodology and funding:

ZIM programme

(considered as GP also by

the VINNOVA report)

7.1: National funds, national

innovation funds, ESIF 2014-

2020; interegional connectivity

not required.

7.2: Bilaterally earmarked

national and /or ESIF funds

Type 8 Direct research

to business

cooperations

8.1) regular awareness

raising within the partner

areas and

8.2) support project

preparation actions.

EEN certified intermediary

(CEEI Burgos, good

practice from Spain).

AIKO funding in Finland

(project preparation).

Reference outisde the

projec programme area:

Cross-border Collaboration

Vouchers –

IntertradeIreland.

8.1 Task of regional innovation

intermediary & linkages to EEN

is relevant.

8.2 Small, bilaterally earmarked

funds for setting up such

partnership –based options. Can

national and / or ESIF funds.


Future Challenges:

Create an applicable technological connectivity methodology for

pilot testing within BRIDGES that will optimize certain aspects of

RIS3 and promote a favoring innovative business operating

environment through well planned, effective, efficient and reliable

Action Plans

Technological connectivity within the BRIDGES project

CONCLUSIONS

The BRIDGES project addresses a relative gap in the RIS3, that of tactical level implementation. It

tackles, ultimately, a classical challenge of the knowledge-based economy, i.e. how research can provably and deliberately be a manageable change

agent for regional, non-core economies

During its 5-years duration, the project is expected to significantly improve the participating regions’ RIS3 implementation governance and the delivery

of the structural funds

www.interregeurope.eu/BRIDGES

T. Bartzanas, E. Katsaros, CERTH / N. Chaniotou Kainuun Etu

Thank you

http://www.interregeurope.eu/BRIDGES

http://www.interregeurope.eu/BRIDGES