Regional Innovation Policy

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Regional Innovation Policy Impact Assessment and
Benchmarking Launch conference Ljubljana,
Slovenia 6 June 2005
Agnieszka Turynska, call coordinator Support for
innovation, Unit D2 Directorate-General
Enterprise and Industry
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Objectives of the launch conference

• To give you the overview of all 8 innovation
  impact assessment and benchmarking projects
• To launch the networking and trust-building
  process among the projects participants and
  encourage you to share problems and possible
  solutions
• To provide information about the services of the
  IRE network, and explaining the support available
  from the network
• To provide inspiration and ideas for the
  projects implementation
• To introduce you to the MLP initiative (Regional
  Innovation Benchmarking priority topic)

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Importance of regional innovation benchmarking

• European countries are recently experiencing the
  revival of regionalization
• Regions are the most efficient framework to
  address issues like innovation performance,
  application of new technologies and
  competitiveness
• More than 120 regions have used RIS/RITTS
  methodology to introduce / further develop their
  regional innovation policies

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Importance of regional innovation benchmarking

• Regions have not yet introduced systems which
  would allow the systematic review of their
  regional research and innovation policies and
  the assessment of the efficiency and
  responsiveness of the measures on the business
  community
• The comprehensive benchmarking of the impact the
  research and innovation policy might have at
  the regional level - not possible until now
• Regionalisation triggers the need for assessing
  the impact of innovation policies within
  regional dimension

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Interest in the regions

• The interest exists in the regions and countries
• Workshop organised by DG ENTR (May 2003)
  gathered many regional innovation players
• Some activities are undertaken in certain
  European regions (Prague, British regions,
  Italian regions and others)
• Some activities are undertaken in regions
  outside Europe (United States, Canada, Asia and
  Pacific countries)
• High participation in the 2nd strand of last
  years DG ENTR IRE call for proposals

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Regional innovation policies impact assessment
and benchmarking pilot action

• Strand 2 of the call for proposals Regional
  Innovation Policies,
• including new tools and approaches
  FP6-2004-INNOV-4
• Call closed on 16 June 2004
• 27 proposals submitted for this strand
• 8 proposals retained after the evaluation
  process
• Negotiation with all 8 consortia concluded and
  projects started on 1st June 2005.
• Total EC contribution 7.200.000 EUR

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Objective of the pilot action

• to stimulate the dynamic processes of innovation
  policy making in the regions
• Involving regions actively in the elaboration of
  an Innovation Scoreboard for European
  regions (bottom-up approach)
• Using existing methodologies developed for
  assessing the impact of innovation policies
  at regional level, and for creating a
  framework for benchmarking

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Objective of the pilot action

• to stimulate the dynamic processes of innovation
  policy making in the regions
• Aiming at developing methodologies and tools to
  further influence the policy-making and
  decision-taking processes in the regions
• On the basis of the benchmark findings the
  regions should be able to analyse the reasons
  for the differing performances and to
  identify successful policy measures and good
  practices

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Key characteristics of the exercise

• Demand-led initiative
• Bottom-up approach
• Partners should work on consensus basis
• Action-oriented exercise
• European dimension
• Expected outcome comprehensive and coherent
  European methodology for the impact assessment of
  regional innovation policies enabling the
  benchmarking between regions

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Implementation Mechanism

• 4 stages / duration of 32 months
• Stage 0 - Definition (6 months)
• Stage 1 - Methodology (10 months)
• Stage 2 -Implementation and analysis (10 months)
• Stage 3 - Conclusion and policy building (6
  months)

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STAGE 0

• Establishment of management structure (in
  individual regions and on trans national level)
• Consensus building (back-up from the regional
  actors, specifically from the regional political
  environment)
• Dissemination and awareness rising (regional
  stakeholders should be made aware of the project
  and actively participate in its implementation)

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STAGE 1

• Establishment of the assessment methdology /
  creation of tools
• Analysing solutions already applied in other
  regions to measure ex-ante and ex-post effects of
  innovation policy
• Elaboration of the indicators (decisions on the
  nature of the indicators quantitative and
  qualitative indicators, studying the sources of
  the indicators and availability of data)
• Assessment of the impact of the RIS/RITTS
  processes in the relevant regions
• Close cooperation and discussion with other
  projects
• Participation in the MLP workshops

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STAGE 2

• Collection of all the necessary data (desk and
  field research)
• Data processing
• Drawing first conclusions for each region
  involved
• Dissemination of findings
• Results of RIS / RITTS analysis conclusions and
  dissemination of results
• Close cooperation and discussion with other
  projects

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STAGE 3

• Drawing conclusions on the regional situation and
  performances in the innovation domain
• Feedback from the regional innovation actors has
  to be seek for (multi-actors working groups)
• Formulation of the recommendations for the
  regions
• Active benchmarking of the data and findings
  within the partnership and with the regions
  participating in the remaining projects
• Analysing the reasons for differing performance
  in the regions and identification of successful
  policy measures and good practices
• Providing feedback to policy-makers to measure
  the impact of their decisions and influence their
  decisions

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Overall coordination

• Close cooperation within the consortium
• Close cooperation between all 8 pilot projects
  within all 4 stages
• Active participation in the MLP workshops and
  Panel Group Please confirm your participation to
• MLP-conference_at_inno-group.com
• MLP Benchmarking Panel Group (informing the
  organisers about the needs, interesting topics to
  discuss, etc.) mlpbenchmarking_at_filas.it

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Projects overview

• ARISE Accelerating Regional Innovation Strategy
  Exchanges
• coordinator - Mediterrane Technologies, France
• PACA (France)
• Kent (UK)
• Stockholm (Sweden)
• Lithuania
• Lower Austria
• Toscana (Italy)
• Project officer Michael Busch

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Projects overview

• EMERIPA European Methodology for Regional
  Innovation Policy Impact
  Assessment and Benchmarking
• coordinator Fundation LABEIN, Spain
• Basque Country (Spain)
• West Midnlands (UK)
• Central Macedonia (Greece)
• Toscana (Italy)
• Stuttgart (Germany)
• Valais (Switzerland)
• Lithuania
• South Bohemia (Czech Republic)
• Project officer Agnieszka Turynska

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Projects overview

• EURO-COOP Regional Innovation Policy Impact
  Assessment and Benchmarking
  Process European Cooperation for Sustainable
  Regional Innovation
• coordinator ICCR Vienna, Austria
• Vienna (Austria)
• Bratislava (Slovakia)
• Berlin (Germany)
• Paris (France)
• Greater Manchester (UK)
• West Transdanubia (Hungary)
• Gyoer (Hungary)
• Lublin (Poland)
• Tartu (Estonia)
• Project officer Agnieszka Turynska

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Projects overview

• IASMINE Impact Assessment and Methodologies for
  
• Innovation Excellence
• coordinator Technopolis, Italy
• Puglia (Italy)
• Navarra (Spain)
• Tyrol (Austria)
• Weser-Ems (Germany)
• Warmia and Mazury (Poland)
• Lodz (Poland)
• Project officer Filippo Pasquet

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Projects overview

• INNOWATCH Application of Technology Watch
  Methodology
• for Assessment of
  Regional-Innovation Policy
  Impact on SMEs
• coordinator Confederacion Empresarial de
  Madrid, Spain
• Madrid (Spain)
• Ile de France (France)
• Sicilia (Italy)
• Podlaskie (Poland)
• Project officer Michael Busch

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Projects overview

• IMPACTSCAN4INNOPOL Innovation policy impact
  assessment at regional level benchmarking for
  dissemination of differing performances to raise
  awareness of policy-makers to stimulate
  successful measures and good practise
• coordinator Instituut voor de Aanmoediging van
  Innovatie door Wetenschap
  en Technologie in Vlaanderen, Belgium
• Flanders (Belgium)
• Limburg (Netherlands)
• Madrid (Spain)
• Brittany (France)
• Lower Austria (Austria)
• Lower Silesia (Poland)
• Slovenia
• Project officer Michael Busch

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Projects overview

• MERIPA Methodology for European Regional
  Innovation Policy Assessment
• coordinator Aalborg Municipality, Denmark,
  premises in Brussels
• North Jutland (Denmark)
• Blekinge (Sweden)
• Kouvola (Finland)
• Vilnius (Lithuania)
• Emila-Romagna (Italy)
• Project officer Agnieszka Turynska

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Projects overview

• OMEN Optimal practices, development policies
  and predictive Models for regions in
  an Enlarged EU
• coordinator Finanziaria Laziale di Siviluppo,
  Italy
• Lazio (Italy)
• Andalucia (Spain)
• Saxony Anhalt (Germany)
• Prague (Czech Republic)
• Podkarpackie (Poland)
• Cyprus
• Project officer Michael Busch

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Useful tools for the exercise

• I. MLP Regional Benchmarking priority topic
• Mutual Learning Platform on investing in research
  and innovation for European regions
• Launched on 18 April 2005
• 3 Priority topics Regional Foresight, Regional
  Innovation Benchmarking and Regional Profiles in
  Innovation and Research
• 2 workshops per priority topic
• First workshop for Regional Innovation
  Benchmarking on 16 September 2005

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Useful tools for the exercise

• MLP Regional Innovation Benchmarking workshops
  to contribute through
• Providing expertise and assisting regions in
  the following steps
• Establishment of the assessment methodology /
  creation of tools
• Establishment of indicators for the evaluation
  and benchmarking of the performance of the
  regional innovation strategies and policies
• Assessment of the impact of the RIS/RITTS
  processes in the relevant partner regions
• Sharing the experience and networking the
  regions
• Disseminating the information on the progress
  achieved

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Useful tools for the exercise

• II. European Innovation Scoreboard
• Annual assessment of innovation performance in
  the EU
• Elaborated as such for the first time in 2001
  and for regional data in 2002 and 2003
• In 2002 seven innovation indicators introduced
  mainly in Human Resources and Knowledge
  creation (coverage of human resources,
  employment in high technology sectors,
  creation of new knowledge through RD and
  patents) plus GDP per capita at regional
  level
• In 2003, more diffusion-based innovation,
  although still towards RD

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Useful tools for the exercise

• III. European Trend Chart on Innovation
• Provides a common framework for collecting and
  analysing of information on national
  innovation policies
• Innovation Trend Chart does not include the
  regional dimension
• This framework could be also used for collecting
  information at regional level, thus ensuring
  comparability of qualitative information on
  regional and national innovation polices

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Useful tools for the exercise

• IV. RINNO - Regional prosperity through
  innovation in Europe
• Joint DG ENTR DG REGIO initiative
• D/B containing around 400 validated innovation
  schemes in European regions
• central resource for regions to
• find information about work in the field of
  innovation promotion (how others are innovating)
• share lessons
• keep track of new ideas and experiments

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Possible actions in the future

• Some possible actions foreseen for the near
  future to develop a culture of impact assessment
  on innovation policy
• to map and benchmark research programmes at
  both national and international levels
• to reinforce monitoring of innovation policy in
  the Member States
• to further establish tools for impact
  assessment in the field of innovation
  policy

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Regional benchmarking

• Thank you for your attention
• and good luck with
• the implementation of the projects