Special Workshop The role of innovation in Meeting the new market demands Trondheim, Norway Tuesday,

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Special Workshop(The role of innovation
in)Meeting the new market demandsTrondheim,
NorwayTuesday, August 9, 2005

• Innovation as a learning process

Laszlo Varadi AKVAPARK-HAKI, Hungary
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Innovation
The main role of innovation policy, which aims
to increase the capacity of a region and the
capabilities of its SMEs to innovate, is to
foster interactive learning within the firms and
within the region. Nauwelaers, and Wintjes

• Expects embraces change
• Enables change
• Is a key driver for economic growth and
  development

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Anticipating change

• UK 1980, approximately 130 million tonnes of
  coal produced, 220,000 employees
• UK 2004, approximately 35 million tonnes of
  coal, 8,000 employees

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Anticipating change

• UK 1980, 598 tonnes of salmon produced, 183
  employees
• UK 2003, 173,373 tonnes of salmon produced,
  1,590 employees

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What will happen in the next 20 years?

• Which industrial and agricultural sectors will
  prosper?
• Which industrial and agricultural sectors will
  collapse?
• What changes will occur through technological
  advancement?
• What changes will take place through political
  processes?
• How will our social and moral views evolve?

If you can look into the seeds of time, and say
which grain will grow and which will not, speak
then unto me. --William Shakespeare
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What are behind the changes?How to evaluate
assets?
Conventional accounts are concerned with tangible
assets and transactions that can be assigned a
monetary value (fruits of the tree)
Intangible assets are increasingly significant,
but rarely measured (roots?)
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What if accountancy and audit rules change to
include measures of potential, capacity and
impact as well as output?
What gets measured gets managed
Which companies and organisations will become
star performers and which will appear weak?
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Different measures give different perspectives
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Approach to interventions
Working with SMEs and other partners to solve
real problems through the application of
innovation
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Key elements of innovation support
Innovation is systemic.. it requires the
development of adequate networking and knowledge
transfer mechanisms, which are crucial to exploit
the potential of science industry links. (EC)

• Opening minds, inspiring, motivating, enthusing
• Informing, educating
• Building competences
• Active networking to match needs and competences
• Encouraging collaboration whilst protecting
  organisations intellectual property rights

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Role of learning
Innovation means change and the capacity to
change comes through better understanding and the
ability to apply knowledge to problem solving
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Role of research
Better integrating research into the full
innovation cycle
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Role of technology transfer
..technology is part of human culture, and
different cultures may treat the same
technology in very different ways (UN)

• Benefiting from other peoples research and
  innovations
• Increases the overall rate of technological
  progress
• Helps build collaborative relationships
• Encourages further innovation
• Local adaptation may be very important

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The network

• A process, method, activity,
• Not a structure, but needs structures to support
  it
• Must be pro-active in bringing people together
• Building personal relationships is an essential
  component
• Encourages and facilitates other aims such as
  learning and competence development

The promotion of networking has been central to
many government initiatives to foster innovation
and regional development
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Central and Eastern Europe
Diverse region, which constitutes 63 of the
territory and 36 of the population of Europe
Great opportunities in aquaculture development
Low level of innovation
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Aquaculture production in the European Union
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Specific aquaculture production in the European
Union
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DG Research Towards a European Research Area
Science, Technology and Innovation Key Figures
2003-2004
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DG Research Towards a European Research Area
Science, Technology and Innovation Key Figures
2003-2004
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DG Research Towards a European Research Area
Science, Technology and Innovation Key Figures
2003-2004
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E-readiness ranking by regions
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Innovation SWOT overview of Central and Eastern
European Countries
SWOT
TrendChart Innovation Policy in
Europe http//trendchart.cordis.lu/index.cfm
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Strengths
SWOT

• Traditional RD capacities
• Human resources
• Developing international activities
• Increasing macroeconomic stability
• Favourable expansion of the banking sector

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Weaknesses
SWOT

• Low innovation spending (low GERD)
• Lack of cooperation among stakeholders
  (scientific institutions, industry, government,
  NGO)
• Lack of coordination of main policies (investment
  promotion, education, regional deveopment etc.)
• Dual economy successful export-oriented large
  companies and fragile SMEs
• Limited number of innovation specialists
• Low inno-awareness of managers and owners of
  the enterprises
• RD institutions focus on basic rather than
  applied research/no interest in the
  commer-cialization of RD results

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Opportunities
SWOT

• Implementing a catching-up strategy based on the
  Lisbon-Barcelona strategy
• Identifying relevant RTDI priorities and policy
  tools (to tackle socio-economic problems,
  improving the quality of life and enhance
  competitiveness)
• Efficient use of EU (cohesion) funds
• Deeper integration into the international
  production and innovation systems
• Further integration into the ERA

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Threats
SWOT

• Mechanic pursuit of the Barcelona target
  focussing on RD spending (instead of a
  implementing a comprehensive innovation strategy,
  tackling country-specific socio-economic issues,
  using RD results)
• Low-cost production site of MNCs (low-value added
  activities, increasingly obsolete technologies
• Recession in Western and global economy (rising
  prices and state budget deficit)
• Brain drain

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Some experiences from the aquaculture industry in
Hungary
There are significant disparities between
regions.
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Two critical issues

• Attitude (innovation culture)
• Structure of the aquaculture sector

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Common farmer attitude

• We are busy with the everyday work
• We can solve most of the problems by ourselves,
  the main problem is the lack of money
• Research is too academic
• Most of the research programs are not relevant to
  our problems
• Situation is not critical, we make the necessary
  steps in time

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Common scientist attitude

• To solve practical problems is not a real
  challenge
• The scientists are evaluated mainly by their
  publications and not by their relatioship with
  the farmers
• The transfer of new results to the practice is
  not the job of a scientist

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There is a need to develop partnership for
innovation

• Knowing each other better
• Recognising interdependence
• Recognising the opportunities in collaboration
• Openess and confidence

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Structure of the sector
Large number of small farms
RD institutions and organisations
Research network
Producers Association
Regional Innovation Agency
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Learning from where?
- own experiences - science (papers, conferences,
projects, internet etc.) - other farmers -
government agencies (e.g. Regional Innovation
Agencies)
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Thank you!