ERMIS Policy Recommendations : First Part
1. EU Regions and innovation challenges: the ERMIS approach
The ERMIS (Effective Reproducible Model of Innovation System) project aims to The ERMIS approach
open the “black box” of the regional innovation system through a solid analysis of place-based innovation assets, to establish: a) the state of the economic environment and the business context of regional and local innovation, stressing the peculiarity of each locality or region (confirming the paradigm that “one size does not fit all” in innovation strategies
1
);
b) what are the reproducible assets of local or regional innovation policy (assuming that the place-blased approach to innovation can be strengthened by interregional exchange of best practices as a form of knowledge diffusion).
ERMIS is a joint response from a regional perspective to the UE challenge to develop a regional policy for smart growth through Europe 2020. The ERMIS contribution is centred around:
Taking a place based approach to innovation (recognizing the importance of local capacities and local knowledge bases);
A recognition of regional/local interdependencies and externalities based on degrees of diversification and maturity of the economic base
2
;
A recognition of the dominant role of high growth SMEs.
1
See Todtling, Franz, Trippl, Michaela, One size fits all?: Towards a differentiated regional innovation policy approach, 2005. 2
ERMIS lays down a methodology to measure the diversification/specialization of a regional economy and the level of maturity of its sectors.
5