"INNOVATION IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

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"INNOVATION IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES
European Commission

• A (short) plea for considering culture, history
  and socio-oeconomic conditions as important
  factors (for innovation) in regional development
  processes (!)

Mag. Christian Husak, gfa Ltd - L NNU Austria
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Christian Husak

• Austrian LEADER NNU
• Regional development consultant
• Projectmanagement and Projectdevelopment
• Lecturer in National Economics,
  Projectmanagement, Marketing and International
  Marketing at
• University of applied sciences Graz
• Karl Franzens University Graz

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Christian Husak
What roles do natural and cultural resources play
in the context of innovation in regional
development ?
Natural cultural Resources
Content- (short) theoretical background-
(positive) examples - summary- discussion
Innovation
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(theoretical) Background ...

• common agreement that
• development and innovation takes place in
  the context of regional behaviour (see LEADER,
  see UN commission for culture and development
  )
• different regions face different (basic)
  conditions for regional development and
  innovation mostly depending on
• geographical place (situation) e. g.
  mountainous areas, flatlands, (cross)border
  areas
• regions history and culture
• regions society (societal structure)

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(theoretical) Background ...

• Kockel (2002)
• Adam Smith, credited as founder of modern
  economics, still maintained a strong sense of
  the cultural matrix of economic phenomena.
  Unfortunately successive generations of
  economists have progressively lost interest in
  this matrix. If we study the relationship
  between culture and economy, we need to go beyond
  the one-dimensional view of society and think of
  economics as a societal science, with values,
  history, institutions and socio-cultural
  realities forming an integral part of its
  explanatory framework
• (Ullrich Kockel Regional Culture and Economic
  Development Hampshire 2002)

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RRC (as theoretic background) ...
Resource Reliance Continuum (RRC)
Natural resources
Cultural resources
continuum
Creation essentially independent of human agency
(e. g. plants, animals, minerals, wind )
Creation essentially dependent of human agency
(e. g. industrial products, finance,
infrastructure )
The use of regional resources is a function of
the purpose and methods of their use which are in
turn a function of institutional structures and
ageny motivation.
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In this context ...

• Attempt to find an answer
• what kind of conditions encourage regional
  development processes (to be successful) ...
• what kind of conditions perhaps may act as
  hindering factors for regional development
  processes (and therefore for innovation ...)

positive examples ...
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POSITIVE EXAMPLES ...

• Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...

• Woad in the Lauragais-area ...

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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
regional situation

• Regions horizon is west and north (Vienna and
  the iron border was far away )
• limited space of the area forced people to work
  abroad
• Bregenzerwald is seen as an area of energy
  (Landscape, fresh air, social structure,
  commitment to tradition ) ? homeland
• Todays enterpreneurs are yesterdays children
  (as children they built their own toys fathers
  working-room )

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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
economic situation

• Industrial mass production was the expression of
  a new lifestyle (todays entrepreneurs inherited
  their companies in the 80s and 90s )
• Customers faced new styles (e. g. IKEA )
• The only one chance to be able to compete was to
  focus on own strengths (knowledge was inherited
  from generation to generation, new technology
  supported in applying this knowledge how to
  deal with new customer demands (style-plurality)
  was a so far totally unknown challenge )

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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
what happened

• 1991 establishing design competition handcraft
  form
• 1999 formation of the associationWerkraum
  Bregenzerwald
• in a Lernwerkstatt apprentices are being
  trained in old handicraft-technics and how to use
  nowadays
• Internet-Homepage www.werkraum.at

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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
some impressions
washing dish
Quick port
cylindric stove (plate made)
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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
lessons learned

• Strong commitment to their homeland (last but not
  least) because of strong socio-cultural
  structures ( ? people came back and adopted
  abroad learned technics )
• These strong socio-cultural structures
  establishes a strong feeling of togetherness
  (although SMEs are in competition )
• Nevertheless people remained open-minded ( last
  but not least because of the force to earn abroad
  )
• Open-mindness resulted in the conviction that
  cooperation is of mutual benefit

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Werkraum Bregenzerwald ...
Conclusion

• An innovative climate () is the result of
• strong socio-cultural structures ? feeling of
  togetherness even in the case of
  competition (common understanding of
  tradition, heritage, importance of quality )
• open-minded people (as a result of having the
  force to work abroad) resulting in a
  trans-sectoral cooperation
• existing ones own responsibility (not to wait
  until someone e. g. state government, EC
  might help )

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Lauragais Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) ...
Lauragais

• Woad
• 2years plant
• growing in Europe
• cultivated since ancient times
• used to fabricate indigo-blue colour

• the more you wash woad - coloured clothes the
  more intensive is the blue colour

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Lauragais Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) ...
regional situation

• In 16th century cultivation of Färberwaid
  founded the wealth of the Lauragais Region (?
  todays importance of Toulouse as well as its
  architectural heritage is based on trade and
  business with this plant)
• Because of chemical dyestuff and Indigo from the
  New World Färberwaid fall more and more into
  oblivion
• Today Färberwaid is being rediscovered because
  of its clear blue colour, its naturalness and its
  resistance

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Lauragais Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) ...
economic situation

• Toulouse is the regions main center (capital
  town of the region Midi-Pyrénées, 770 T
  inhabitants, airbus industry )
• In the surrounding area are a lot of SMEs in
  industry and trade as well as agricultural
  companies
• These SMEs partly are not able to do RTD-work
  therefore they are supported by CATAR
• So far there is no cooperation betweendifferent
  branches and companies

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Lauragais Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) ...
what happens

• Creation of an economic value-added-chain -
  starting with basic research activities (how to
  cultivate and best reaping the plant) till
  finding new markets for Woad as dyestuff (e. g.
  Waid as colour in the automotive or aircraft -
  industry)
• Establishing an intra-regional network amongst
  different branches and companies
• With that initiating different kinds of
  cooperation

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Lauragais Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) ...
economic vallue added chain
Plo dyeing factory producing woad coloured
yearn
Textile Montagne (tailoring) producing blue
coloured dresses, suits, working clothes ...
Basic research e. g. how to cultivate the plant
...
CAPA agriculturalcooperative society Grow the
plant, harvesting producingPigment
Bleu de LectoureCosmetics ...
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Lauragais Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) ...
lessons learned

• The Lauragais area has a long lasting tradition
  in cultivating woad (the area is also known as
  Pays de cocagne cockaigne
  Schlaraffenland)
• remembering former prosperity was a kind of a
  starting-signal for common cooperative activities
  (participants see woad as their natural heritage
  )
• a common perspective for success initiated by
  visionary people brought the process to work

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Lauragais Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) ...
Conclusion

• An innovative climate () is the result of
• awareness of ones own tradition (knowledge
  about old technics, about product advantages
  )
• visionary people who have not been hindered in
  implementing their ideas (support from different
  regional-thinking people )
• strong belief that the best support is by just
  doing it (this enabled the commitment to
  cooperation )

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SUMMARY ...
what we have seen so far
Of (prior) importance for innovation in regional
development processes are the combination of -
socio-cultural structures who establish a
feeling of togetherness as
well as the awareness
of ones tradition (-al heritage) - open minded
people (visionary people) not
be hindered from politicians -
diversified economic structure -
belief that best support is supporting
yourself
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HINDERING FACTORS ...
Turn this into an opposite side

• Factors most probably hindering innovative
  processes
• lack of incentives (or lack of boldness) to
  start traditional based projects (e. g.
  because of too much large scale companies
  employing huge portions of people )
• mentality we need support from (especially
  in areas with former state owned industries
  industrial museums, tourist events based on
  old industry-activities are hardly sustainable
  )
• hindering visionary people (visionary people are
  important for innovation they have to be
  supported and not be hindered )

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HINDERING FACTORS ...
Lack of incentives

• too much large scale companies employing huge
  portions of people (most of the regional
  workforce are employed )
• too much public founded money ()
• companies acting as extended workbench
  (verlängerte Werkbank main decisions are
  done outside the region)
• monoculture in the economic landscape (e. g.
  too less industry, too less handcraft )

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HINDERING FACTORS ...
wrong mentality

• too much public support (in most cases
  politically justified)
• projects mainly done by communities (innovation
  cannot be ordered the need of innovation
  has to emerge and recognized. This happens on
  a larger scale in companies )
• wrong understanding of innovation (especially
  in the tourism context innovation is the
  combination of different packages and not an
  isolated application)