Introduction Chris Collinge, Laura James, Stewart MacNeill University of Birmingham

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Introduction Chris Collinge, Laura James,
Stewart MacNeillUniversity of Birmingham

• EURODITE
• Regional Trajectories to the Knowledge Economy

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Regional Trajectories to the Knowledge Economy

• EC Sixth Framework Programme
• Five years
• Budget of 4 millions
• 28 partners from 12 countries across Europe.
• Universities and RDAs
• Led by Centre for Urban and Regional Studies
  University of Birmingham

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The Lisbon Agenda

• Europe to become the most competitive and
  dynamic knowledge based economy in the world,
  capable of sustainable economic growth with more
  jobs and better social cohesion.
• Measures concerned with
• the information society,
• RD and innovation,
• internal market,
• improving the skills base
• modernising the European social model.

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Project Approach

• The spatial organisation of economic activity is
  fundamental to economic success
• Regions are open systems, and so we must
  understand trans-regional systems of innovation
• Knowledge is crucial to innovation, and knowledge
  concerns not only science and technology
• Quantitative data must be illuminated by
  qualitative research in order to understand
  knowledge dynamics, and guide policy advice
• A focus upon networks helps to explain the
  origins of both innovation and enterprise

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The Knowledge-based Economy

• Difficult to define all economic activity is
  based upon knowledge
• We can observe some changes that characterise
  knowledge-based economies
• Rapid technological change
• Knowledge that is traded as a product in its own
  right
• ICT offers a new means to store and transfer
  knowledge
• More knowledgeable workers, more knowledgeable
  consumers
• Knowledge management and governance

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Innovation

• Defined as the exploitation of new ideas
• The driving force of the economy
• Schumpeter (1942)
• Rohmer (1986)
• Not a linear process from RD to exploitation but
  depends on networks and exchanges amongst
  different actors
• firms, customers, suppliers, knowledge
  institutions, public regulation bodies

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Innovation and Knowledge

• In EURODITE we concentrate upon knowledge
• Knowledge is the feedstock of innovation
• Innovation networks transfer and share
  knowledge
• Firms produce knowledge, search for knowledge,
  absorb knowledge and combine knowledge
• Mix of internal and external processes
• Cumulative and combinatorial
• Mobile and anchored

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Empirical Research

• Chosen case studies starting in regions
• Identified significant changes or trends in
  economies in particular business sectors
• Chosen firms that illustrate these trends
• Identified significant business changes
• Used a biography approach to trace the knowledge
  networks involved in these business changes
• Identified the actors and their roles and
  locations regional to international

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Knowledge Dynamics

• Efficient knowledge flow in the system depends
  upon
• The structure and effectiveness of the networks
• Upstream and downstream relations
• Knowledge types not just science and technology
• The surrounding environment
• The firm base same specialism, diversity,
  competition
• Knowledge base RD, Skills
• Regulations
• Policy to create conditions, address market
  failure

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Summary

• Overall goal is to assist policy makers to create
  the conditions to enhance European economic
  performance
• Focus is on knowledge rather than innovation
  whilst addressing the relationship between them
• Today we present some initial outcomes and policy
  implications discussion