From Lisbon to Barcelona - linking R

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From Lisbon to Barcelona - linking RD to
innovation and competitiveness
Sopron, 31.10.03
ERA, its future and beyond

• The Regional Path
• Mr Richard ESCRITT, Director
• ERA Coordination of Community Activities
• European Commission DG Research

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The Knowledge-based economy is here - with a price

• Todays advanced economies are
  knowledge-based. This stresses even more the
  relevance of RD for their development
• increasingly higher ST content embedded in
  products and services
• need for more and better qualified human
  resources
• ICT Global Networks
• Increasing pace of trade liberalisation and flows
  of goods and services, pushing world economies to
  focus on more knowledge-intensive activities
• Under such pressures whole areas risk to become
  redundant - globalisation tends to increase
  regional disparities

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Globalisation challenges

• Location choices for higher value economic
  investment are increasingly determined by market
  considerations (accessibility and economic
  framework conditions) rather than by public
  inducements and subsidies
• Regional policies need to understand the process
  by which international business functions spill
  over to lever up competitiveness in the
  indigenous business base

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Bridging the Technology and Innovation Gap
(Building RTDI Capacity)

• Unique experience makes the EU a world leader in
  the field combined efforts by the Structural
  Funds and the RTD Framework Programme
• EUR 17,5 Billion earmarked for collaborative
  research in Europe by FP6 (2002-2006) on a
  competitive basis, geared to ST excellence,
  without geographic restrictions
• EUR 135 Billion earmarked for Objective 1 regions
  from the STRF (2000-2006). Out of the 218 BEUR
  allocated for all regions under the STRF, 9 BEUR
  are effectively allocated to RTDI actions
  (2000-2006). For 2004-2006, EUR 24 Billion
  earmarked for the New Member States
• Despite successful cases, significant delivery
  problems remain at regional and local level, as
  the operational routes to the knowledge economy
  are unclear or not sufficiently understood

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Regional per capita GDP
Source Eur.Innovation Scoreboard 2002
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Business RD expenditure
Source Eur.Innovation Scoreboard 2002
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RTD regional expenditure in the EU

• Source EUROSTAT 13/03/02

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High-tech patent applications per million of
active population (y 2000)

• Source EUROSTAT 13/03/02

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The road from Lisbon to Barcelona goes through
the regional path

• Central government efforts alone are not enough
  to guarantee a successful take-up of the ERA
  process
• Regions need to play an active role in creating
  and using knowledge they need to be supportive,
  pro-active cultivate public-private
  partnerships, strengthen actors, provide
  infrastructure and means, and more generally,
  find ways to bridge the gap between knowledge
  creators and knowledge users

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The concept of the Regional Dimension of the ERA

• Concept identified in all ERA related
  Communications as important / Special
  Communication on the Regional Dimension adopted
  03/10/01 (COM(2001)549)
• Need to paying more attention to local and
  regional factors and operators, when thinking
  about research policy - a message primarily
  addressed to the Member States
• Involve more the Member States and the regions in
  a European Policy context

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What can be done to enhance regional capacity in
the knowledge economy

• Transform the economy into a learning one
• Establish coherent development strategies based
  on local comparative advantage / regional
  foresight
• Set up the appropriate framework conditions for
  RD and innovation
• Stimulate the take-up of new technologies
• Local partnerships emerge as leaders in this
  process. Universities may play there an important
  role

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A strategy for integrating regions in the ERA

• Integrating research policy and regional policy
• building research capacity in the regions.
• Implementation of this strategy is based on a
  wide range of Community instruments
• The Sixth Framework Programme for RTD
  (2002-2006), providing trans-regional
  co-operation opportunities
• Innovation activities undertaken at regional
  level under the Framework Programme, in
  conjunction with the Mainstream Activities as
  well as the Innovative Actions of the Structural
  Funds
• Longer-term structuring activities
• Use of New Initiatives (ex. The Regions of
  Knowledge pilot action, introduced in 2003 by the
  European Parliament)

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The Regions of Knowledge Pilot Action (KnowREG)

• introduced in the 2003 Community Budget by the
  European Parliament (heading B5-513)
• implemented outside of the 6th FP, it has a
  budget of EUR 2,5 million and aspires to develop
  experimental activities involving networks of
  European regions (with the active involvement of
  universities, research centres, and the business
  community) to create "Knowledge regions", able to
  provide model regional implementations of the
  Lisbon strategy, that is, demonstrate the central
  role of knowledge in driving regional
  development.

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Regions of Knowledge (ii)

• launched formally with a Call for Proposals
• Covered two (2) basic strands (1) Integrated
  Regional Technology Initiatives (IRTI) and (2)
  Supporting activities (workshops and
  conferences).
• IRTI sub-divided in three (3) parts
• (a) Technology audits and Regional Foresight
• (b) University Driven Actions for Regional
  Development
• (c) Mentoring Initiatives, where technologically
  advanced regions would co-operate with less
  advanced regions (Objective 1) in a kind of
  "mentoring" partnership, for a more efficient
  innovation and technology transfer process.
• Projects had to have at least 3 partners coming
  from 3 different Member States.

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Implementing the regional dimension through
specific measures in FP6 (2002-2006)

• Regions as direct or indirect partners in the
  major new instruments (NoE or IP)
• Structuring the ERA Research and Innovation
• encouragement and validation of local and
  regional initiatives
• encouraging trans-regional co-operation
• experimenting with new tools and approaches
• Strengthening the ERA foundations the ERA-NET
  scheme support for coordination measures at
  national or regional level / and also regional
  tech. foresight, benchmarking)
• SMES (collective / cooperative research)
• Human Potential special grants favouring
  participants coming from less developed regions,
  in particular host driven technology transfer
  fellowships
• Possibility of complementing the Framework
  Programme funding for Objective 1 partners in
  successfully selected proposals. Money would come
  from the Structural Funds (ERDF). BUT NOT
  COMPULSORY for ERDF / Respecting fully the
  scientific excellence criteria when selecting
  projects for funding WITHIN THE LIMITS of the
  State Aids regulations.

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Towards a Mutual Learning Platform for the
Regions

• The Barcelona 3 Action Plan establishes the
  concept of the Mutual Learning Platform (MLP)
• building on existing activities
• to produce a typology of RTDI growth patterns
• to measure regional RTDI performance
• to stimulate a better use of regional foresight
  for more efficient planning
• to stimulate a learning process

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Net links

• http//www.cordis.lu/era/knowreg.htm (The
  Regions of knowledge Web page)
• http//www.cordis.lu/era/regions.htm (Regional
  Dimension of the ERA)
• http//www.innovating-regions.org/ (The IRE
  Network, Innovating regions in Europe)
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/themes/r
  esear_en.htm (Structural Funds and Research /
  Innovation)
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/research/index_en.html
  (DG Research official home page)
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/research/nfp.html (The
  6th Framework Programme (2002-2006)