Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2012
6. Conclusions In this report we have used a more limited set of 12 indicators to measure regional innovation performance across a sample of 190 European regions. The indicators match those used in the Innovation Union Scoreboard as closely as possible. The 12 indicators include 6 indicators using regional data from the Community Innovation Survey. These data are not publicly available and have been made available by 18 European countries following a data request by Eurostat. All missing data have been estimated using a combination of statistical techniques. The analysis shows that there are 4 broad performance groups similar to those identified in IUS – innovation leaders, innovation followers, moderate innovators and modest innovators – and that within each broad performance groups 3 subgroups can be distinguished leading to a total of 12 regional performance groups. Almost all countries have a smaller or larger degree of diversity in performance between their regions. This clearly shows the importance of measuring innovation at the regional level. Differences in regional performance may also require differences in regional innovation support programmes. The Regional Innovation Monitor (RIM) project provides detailed information on regional innovation policies for 20 EU Member States26.
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The current report also shows that for 12 IUS indicators regional data are not available. In order to even better measure regional innovation performance we call upon the various statistical offices and responsible government agencies to improve the availability of regional data. There are remarkable differences in the use of EU funds across EU regions. There are 4 typologies of regions absorbing and leveraging EU funds: Framework Programme leading absorbers, Structural Funds leading users, full users/absorbers – but at low levels, and low users/absorbers. The results suggest that Structural Funds and FP are complementary types of funding targeting a rather specific, but comparatively different set of regions. Whereas capital regions in the EU15 are largely FP leading absorbers or low users/absorbers in both periods, there is no much differentiation between capital regions and all other regions in the EU12. The latter were mainly low users/absorbers in the period 2000-06 (96%) and full users/absorbers (50%) in 2007-13.
The core of the RIM project (http://www.rim-europa.eu/) is a knowledge base of information on about 200 regions, including: • An 'inventory' of regional innovation policy measures, policy documents and organisations • A single access point for good practice dissemination on regional innovation policy in Europe • An on-line interregional comparison of innovation performance and governance trends by means of the benchmarking tool • A new communication platform for innovation stakeholders
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