The IRE Knowledge Transfer Working Group

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Regional strategies and policies to support
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER South East England
Development Agency SEEDA
The IRE Knowledge Transfer Working Group
Tiziana Boyland 19th - 20th February 2007,
Madrid
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Presentation of the IRE member region- South East
England

• Main Geographical and economic data
• 8.5 million inhabitants, No capital - 9 counties
  (HQ Guildford)
• Key industrial sectors
• Large corporate companies eg healthcare/ bio
  tech, Pharma aerospace etc (UK and International)
• 400,000 SMEs constitute 80 of business
• Lead RDA for Innovation and Enterprise
• main university centres
• 25 Universities - 9 Public Sector Research
  establishments /laboratories (e.g. Rutherford
  Appelton Laboratories etc)
• Regional research eg
• Main university and education facilities (Oxford,
  Kent, Southampton Outer London area Thames
  Valley)
• 3.5 of GDP investment in RD (60 private sector)

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SEEDA region
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SEEDA Region
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SEEDA Region
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(No Transcript)
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Regional innovation policy

• Regional innovation policy eg
• Context
• New Regional economic Strategy
• Innovation Action Plan
• Priorities and objectives
• scientific and technical skills
• nurture creativity and increase industrys
  capacity to innovate
• Design and implementation of Innovation Action
  Plan
• 1. Skills (Leadership, Entrepreneurship,
  Management and STEM)
• Leadership for Global Competitiveness
• Regional STEM Support Centre
• Higher Education Entrepreneurship Group
• Make a Difference Ideas competition
• 2. Innovation
• Innovation Advisory Service
• Designing Demand - Innovate
• 3. Knowledge Transfer

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Innovation Support
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Main Actors and Outcomes

• Actors
• Businesses of all sizes
• Confederation of British Industry
• Trade associations
• Government departments (DTI, DCMS, DEFRA, DfES)
• Technology Strategy Board
• Universities
• Research Councils
• Higher Education Funding Council
• Learning and Skills Council
• Sector Skills Councils
• Duration 3 year plan, 10year strategy
• Expected results (outcomes and outputs)
• Use of SEEDA funds to significantly speed up the
  delivery of new products) into the marketplace
• Enhanced capability to lean sector
• SME awareness of universities as knowledge
  powerhouses
• Increased collaborative working in SMEs
• Significant strengthening of the sectors
  development

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• Knowledge Transfer aspect /maturity
• Main initiatives/programme/activities
• Research Excellence Directory www.redirectory.org.
  uk
• Knowledge Networks Programme (6/8 within sector
  consortia)
• University Business Fellows scheme
• PoCKeT (Proof of Concept for Knowledge Transfer)
  funds
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) and Mini
  KTPs
• Collaborative R D Projects in key areas nano /
  transport/ medical devices/ space
• FP7 regional support and service

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Key knowledge transfer issues

• Overview of the regional KT strategy (1)
• Policy tools
• Science and Industry Council - SESETAC
• UK 10 year science and Innovation framework/
  Lambert report
• Ambitious targets
• Measuring success and Regionalism - Business see
  no regional barriers
• Supply driven mentality (directional vs exchange/
  cyclical model)

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Key knowledge transfer issues

• Overview of the regional KT strategy (2)
• Coordination of the activities
• Confused offer to business (overlap / lack of
  coherence of services)
• Business Support Simplification agenda
• Communication
• Accessing a critical mass
• Finding the interested and relevant businesses
• SME responsiveness
• Management and results evaluation
• Lack of agency capacity and credibility with
  business (walking the talk)
• Evaluation ( reserved mainly for gt1Million
  projects)

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Key knowledge transfer issues

• Overview of the regional KT strategy (3)
• Resources
• Human ( Public Sector)
• RDA 10 people working on KT 2 FTE
• Universities 350 people in Business development
  and tech transfer
• Other 200 ( networks and other organizations)
• - Issues
• Skills issue
• Right level advisors
• Financial figures (next slide)
• Private Sector investment (55)
• Finance South East set up
• - Issues
• High demand for direct finance / low resource

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Spend on business support for Innovation
Amount Invested in Millions Sterling
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Recommendations

• Summary of lessons learnt
• Long term investment
• Speaking directly to the businesses
• Open Innovation (business to business)
• High Strategic added value projects - Low cost
  high impact
• The importance of a. Skills/ mindsets b.
  Networks c. People
• Issues for the future
• Large number of businesses
• Which are the emerging markets and sectors?
• STEM subjects ( Science Technology Engineering
  and Mathematics)
• Graduate training and retention
• Management and entrepreneurship skills