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
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
3
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
siv
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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!
RIS3 / Concept and Definition
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 / Concept and Definition
RIS3 / Concept and Definition
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
Technological connectivity within the BRIDGES project State of play today (findings from the innovation maps):
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
innovation funds, ESIF
2014-2020; interegional
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
innovation funds, ESIF
2014-2020; interegional
connectivity not required
Technological connectivity within the BRIDGES project State of play today (findings from the innovation maps):
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.
Technological connectivity within the BRIDGES project State of play today (findings from the innovation maps):
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