1
Introduction and Methodology On the June 22, 2012, the INTERREG IVC Joint technical Secretariat (JTS) launched a Thematic Programme Capitalisation analysis that aims to enable all regions in Europe to exploit the knowledge capital gained from projects working on the same or similar topic. It focuses on the thematic content and not on the interregional cooperation process. The mission is carried out by experts, who, for each of the 12 selected themes, analyse projects’ features and results and identify their added value. The exercise is coordinated at programme level by the Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) and the Information Points.
Thematic capitalisation means collecting, analysing and disseminating ‘theme-specific’ knowledge gained from projects working on the same topic. The insights and information generated by the capitalisation analysis will be useful for the innovation policy community all around Europe. The capitalisation is aimed, however, in particular towards a) decision-makers including politicians and their professional staff at local, regional, national and EU levels, b) programme bodies including members of the Monitoring Committee, Managing Authority, Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) and Information Points and c) the end-users (i.e. the people directly affected by the projects) and other policymakers and practitioners. The objectives of the thematic capitalisation are to better exploit the knowledge generated by projects working on a similar theme for the benefit of local and regional authorities in Europe as well as to increase the visibility of the programme and its impact on the policymaking process at local, regional, national and European levels. The systematic analysis of the projects aims to deliver the following results: -
identified innovative approaches that could also be relevant to other regions in Europe
-
theme-specific policy recommendations for the national and the EU levels
-
possible synergies and mutual enrichment among the INTERREG IVC projects dealing with similar issues
-
projects links to related initiatives in other EU programmes
-
specific topic-related recommendations to the projects
Dr Peter Heydebreck, Nils Gabrielsson (1st year of Capitalisation) and Carl Arvid Dahlöf (2nd year of Capitalisation) of INNO AG (www.inno-group.com) are the assigned capitalisation experts for the INTERREG IVC projects under the theme ‘Innovation systems (triple helix & open innovation)’. The theme includes ten projects co-funded by the programme throughout the first to the fourth rounds of financing. More information on the respective projects can be found in chapter 3.1, as well as in the Annexe. This report presents the final analysis results based on an in-depth review of the projects.
1.1 1.1.1
Definition of theme-specific terms Innovation System
Innovation Systems, regional as well as national, are defined as follows: · “... the network of institutions in the public and private sectors whose activities and interactions initiate, import, modify and diffuse new technologies.” (Freeman, 1987)4
4
Freeman, C. (1987), Technology policy and economic performance: lessons from Japan, London: Pinter
7