Regional Innovation PolicyMaking: Impact Assessment Methodology Development

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Regional Innovation Policy-Making Impact
Assessment Methodology Development

• Annuradha Tandon
• Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research
  in the Social Sciences (ICCR), Vienna/Austria
• Co-ordinators meeting, Brussels, 19th June 2006

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Objective

• The main objective of EURO-COOP is to develop a
  research and innovation policy impact assessment
  system at the regional level in order to improve
  the measurement of the various impacts of
  regional research and innovation policies.

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Euro-Coop Method Systemic policy analysis

• EURO-COOP Method is a policy-analysis and
  attempts to go beyond quantitative indicators.
• Innovation objectives and its policy-making
• Multi-level governance (politics and economy)
• Assessment and evaluation of innovation policy

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3 Approaches in developing the Model
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Regional Profile brought out the differences in
terms of.

• What is a region?
• Polit-admin. Unit? NUTS 2 (cities/rural areas)?
  Functional region? Clusters? Trans-regional
  cooperation?
• What is innovation?
• Focused on research and technology only?
• What about social, cultural and environmental
  innovations?
• Innovation system context-dependency
• Political system, multi-level governance
• Socio-economic framework conditions, historical
  development
• Networks between stakeholders

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Themes and questions for Regional Evaluation
Demonstration.

• Information systems
• indicators, performance benchmarks.
• Q - What does the Scoreboard or other indicators
  tell us / not tell us, about the region and RIS?
• Regional policy
• economic development, firms / sectors / clusters,
  infrastructure factors etc.
• Q how far can we evaluate the impacts
  outcomes, against objectives inputs?
• Actors stakeholders
• organizations, government structures etc.
• Q who are the main actors, what are their
  functions?

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Themes and questions for Regional Evaluation
Demonstration.

• Processes interactions
• networks, foresight, social dialogue,
  communicative actions etc.
• Q how far can we evaluate the success of such
  processes?
• Role of evaluation
• The interaction of these themes on different
  levels (formal / informal top-down / bottom-up
  short term / long term).
• Q - what kind of evaluation, for who?

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Impact Assessment Model

• Work-in-progress in EURO-COOP
• University of Manchester, Slovak Academy of
  Sciences, ICCR
• Final version at workshop in September 2006
• Approach
• Regional development is uncertain complex.
• Will not explain and predict everything, but
  should help to reflect upon causes effects.
• From quantitative (indicators/scoreboard) to
  qualitative (processes/experiences).
• From analytical (taken into pieces) to synthetic
  (finding solutions).

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Impact Assessment Model (cont)
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Impact Assessment Model (cont)

• Scoreboard evaluation
• Looks critically at the application of scoreboard
  indicators and other indicator systems
• What important factors are not covered?
• How can the indicators be mis-used?
• What is different/unique about a region?
• (2) Component level benchmarking
• Understand analyse whats going on behind the
  indicators
• What components lie behind the indicators?
• What are potential trends and conflicts of
  components?
• What evidence do we have on these?

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Impact Assessment Model (cont)

• 3) Extended logical framework
• Analysis of regional innovation system great
  diversity and uncertainty in causes and effects,
  context-dependency
• What are the main characteristics of the
  innovation system?
• What are the inter-dependencies of these
  characteristics?
• How do these effects compare to the scope and
  objectives of policies/programmes
• Template of extended logical framework for
  discussion in each region

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Impact Assessment Model (cont)
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Impact Assessment Model (cont)

• (4) Logical framework evaluation
• Bringing in different views and experiences of
  stakeholders in a process of debate and enquiry
• Which of the possible factors are the most
  relevant to the scope of regional innovation
  policy?
• Which lines of cause effect are clearer, with
  indicators to measure them?
• What networks are in place and how do they
  structure innovation?
• What are the effects of governance patterns?
  Capacities, responsibilities, accountability?

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Impact Assessment Model (cont)

• (5) Policy opportunity evaluation
• Looks for opportunities, visions, best practices
  and creative developments in policies
  programmes
• What is the efficiency of policies programmes
  (how do they achieve their outputs with available
  resources)?
• What is the effectiveness of policies
  programmes (how far are the outputs serving
  longer-term objectives)?
• What is the efficacy of the policies programmes
  (how far are objectives relevant to the nature of
  the problem)?

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Impact Assessment Model (cont)

• (6) Scoreboard feedback
• Feeds back to the starting point with new
  insights on qualitative issues, policy
  opportunities and benchmarks which are related to
  the regional system
• Is the indicators relevant significant to its
  purpose?
• How to enhance indicators to reflect the policy
  opportunity?
• What other indicators are needed to reflect the
  regional situation.
• Next steps
• Further development of model until September 2006
• Practical testing October 2006 June 2007

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Information

• EURO-COOP homepage
• www.iccr-international.org/euro-coop
• Contact
• Annuradha Tandon, ICCR
• a.tandon_at_iccr-international.org
• Thank you!