Transcript Setting the scene

The Challenge and the Opportunity of Smart
Specialisation: a chance for Europe
Dr Dimitri CORPAKIS
Head of Unit, Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation
Connecting Research and Innovation to Regional and Urban policies
Directorate for the Innovation Union and the ERA
DG Research and Innovation
European Commission
Vilnius, 12.06.15
Setting the scene
 The knowledge economy is here – with a price
 Globalisation has pushed the boundaries and has changed traditional ways for
dealing with regional development
 Global value chains have redrawn the map of conceiving and producing products
and services
 Countries / regions that are not able to adapt will see their economies being
marginalised
 Global positioning necessary
 Need for a new growth proposition based on knowledge assets
2
Policy
Research and
Innovation
900
Globalisation
of knowledge
800
Rest of the World
600
500
Japan
400
300
Declining EU share of
knowledge production
USA
US
Evolution of World R&D expenditure
in real terms, PPS€ at 2000 prices
and exchange rates, 1995-2008
200
EU-27
100
0
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
EC SECURITY ACCESS REQUEST - DAA.
Figure Private Expenditure on R&D as % of GDP
(1)
- average annual
growth (%) in the major economies, 2000-2007 (2)
12,0
Stagnating
business R&D
9,8
10,0
8,0
6,0
Average annual growth as %
of GDP, EU-27, US, Japan,
South Korea & China,
2000-2007
5,0
%
PPS€2000 (billions)
700
4,0
2,5
2,0
0,0
-0,2
-0,7
-2,0
EU-27
US
Japan
South Korea
China
Globalisation of knowledge: the
European response
Develop world-class excellence
Attract investment through better support
and framework conditions
Establish strategic cooperation with
world partners
Economic and financial crisis
EU lost six million jobs, €1000 Bn annual GDP due to
crisis
 Invest in future growth
EU target of 3% of GDP for R&D in 2020 could create a
net 3.7 million jobs and close to €800 Bn annual GDP by
2025
 Make the most of available resources
through leverage effects, integration and cooperation
Societal challenges
• Climate change
• Health and ageing
• Use of natural resources
• Energy security
• Clean transport
• Land use
• Powerful drivers of
change in economy and
society
• Major global market
opportunities
• Requiring EU-scale
approaches
• From research to market
New needs  new ideas  new markets
The EU Innovation Champions’ League (2015)
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Policy
Research and
Innovation
Policy
Research and
Innovation
How European regions invest in R&D
Out of a total of 266 regions in the EU, only 35 had in
2009 an R&D intensity (R&D investment as a % of their
GDP) above 3%
Taken together these 35 regions accounted for 45% of all
R&D expenditure in the EU
10 of the most R&D intensive regions in 2009 were
located in the Nordic member States, totalising 9,3% of
total R&D expenditure in the EU (source EUROSTAT regional yearbook 2012)
EC DG RTD.B.5 DC
Europe’s innovation divide undermines
competitiveness
 Large parts of the EU out of ‘sync’
 Modest and Moderate Innovators holding back the EU as a whole
 Grand policy designs at risk without a sound and functioning base
 Identification of priorities and strategies of crucial importance – yet
still, among the major bottlenecks
EC DG RTD.B.5 DC
11
We had a dream: turning the European
Union into an Innovation Union
•
Innovation Union flagship initiative aimed at creating the best conditions for Europe's
researchers and entrepreneurs to innovate
•
A broader approach to innovation: meshing research and technological development with
-
Product innovation, service innovation, innovation in design etc.,
including process and organisational innovation
-
Social innovation, public sector innovation, eco-innovation etc.
-
Exploration of new business models > Both technological & non-technological > Both
incremental & disruptive innovation

Improving framework conditions for innovation to flourish

34 commitments: Speeding up standardisation, Making better use of and 'modernising' public
procurement procedures, Creating a real internal market for venture capital, Agreeing on a
unified European patent, Completing the European Research Area (ERA)
The Promise of
Smart
Specialisation
Policy
Research and
Innovation
The Policy Context for Smart Specialisation
Courtesy Raquel
Ortega-Argilés
(2012)
Smart Specialisation: the Policy Context (II)
Courtesy Raquel
Ortega-Argilés
(2012)
An era of change: the advent of General Purpose
Technologies (GPT/ICT)
Courtesy Raquel
Ortega-Argilés
(2012)
A backgrounder on Smart Specialisation (I)
 The concept of smart specialisation traces its origins back to the debate on the
transatlantic productivity gap. Initially conceived by Dominique Foray and Bart van Ark,
and later given additional impetus by other co -authors Paul David, Bronwyn Hall and by
other members of the “Knowledge for Growth” expert group (2009).
 Transatlantic differences in R&D intensity used to explain differences in growth terms
between USA and Europe reflected also on differences in the way new technologies diffuse
in the broader economy, with a special emphasis on ICT. That was thought to explain
largely the productivity differences observed.
Policy
Research and
Innovation
A backgrounder on Smart Specialisation (II)
 Concept of smart specialisation central to economic development and growth policy
 A central pillar of the Europe 2020 Strategy (see also Flagship Initiative Innovation Union [COM(2010)546] and
the EU Budget Review [COM(2010)700]
 A central element in the development of a reformed European Cohesion Policy, which is
based on the principles of ‘smart’, ‘green’, and ‘inclusive growth’.
 Regions / MS are required to identify the sectors, technological domains, where they
would seem to have competitive advantage,
 and then to focus their regional development policies so as to promote innovation, based
in these fields. This development would then be rooted on knowledge assets.
Policy
Research and
Innovation
D.Foray, P.A. David and B.Hall : Smart Specialisation: the
Concept
Knowledge for
Growth expert
group for the EC
A simple idea (KfG brief no 9, 2009)
 “It should be understood at the outset that the idea of smart
specialisation does not call for imposing specialisation through some
form of top-down industrial policy that is directed in accord with a
pre-conceived “grand plan”. Nor should the search for smart
specialisation involve a foresight exercise, ordered from a consulting
firm.
 We are suggesting an entrepreneurial process of discovery that
can reveal what a country or region does best in terms of
science and technology. That is, we are suggesting a learning
process to discover the research and innovation domains in which a
region can hope to excel. In this learning process, entrepreneurial
actors are likely to play leading roles in discovering promising areas of
future specialisation, not least because the needed adaptations to
local skills, materials, environmental conditions, and market access
conditions are unlikely to be able to draw on codified, publicly shared
knowledge, and instead will entail gathering localized information and
the formation of social capital assets.”
Policy
Research and
Innovation
Courtesy Raquel
Ortega-Argilés
(2012)
Smart Specialisation is not
what you usually think it is
• It is not about pure specialisation – since this involves
huge risks about potential lock-ins
• It is not about selecting and favouring only a few
sectors – but this might be an intermediate stage
• It is rather about identifying the new
opportunities that often emerge at the
intersection of existing sectors and technologies –
the target of the "entrepreneurial discovery
process"
Policy
Research and
Innovation
Key points on Smart Specialisation:
• Stimulate innovation through entrepreneurship,
modernisation, adaptation
• Dare to introduce innovative governance
solutions
• Think about strategic technological
diversification on areas of relative strength and
potential
• Increase diversification – promote new
linkages, synergies and spillovers
Adapted from Philip McCann (2012)
Policy
Research and
Innovation
Steps to RIS3
(1) Analysis
Step 1: Analysis of regional potential for
innovation-driven differentiation
Step 2: RIS 3 design and governance –
ensuring participation & ownership
RIS 3 Strategy
Step 3: Elaboration of an overall vision for
the future of the region
Step 4: Selection of priorities for RIS3 +
definition of objectives
Step 5: Definition of coherent policy mix,
roadmaps and action plan
Step 6: Integration of monitoring and
evaluation mechanisms
Policy
Research and
Innovation
(2) Process
(6) Monitoring
(3) Vision
(5) Policy mix
(4) Priorities
RIS3 assessment
Horizontal issues and policy delivery instruments for RIS³
 Green Growth: only sustainable is smart – Eco-innovation & Energy efficiency
 Digital agenda: enabling knowledge flows throughout the territory –connected
regions
 Clusters for regional growth: business ecologies that drive innovation
 Innovation-friendly business environments for SMEs: good jobs in internationally
competitive firms
 Social Innovation: new organisational forms to tackle societal challenges
 Stronger focus on financial engineering: not only grants
 Lifelong Learning in research and innovation: support knowledge triangle (KICs)
and university-enterprise cooperation
 Key Enabling Technologies: systemic potential to induce structural change
 Research infrastructure/centres of competence: support to ESFRI and EU
wide diffusion of leading edge R&D results
 Creativity and cultural industries: innovation beyond technology and outside
manufacturing
 Public Procurement for market pull: pre-competitive PP to open new innovation
friendly market niches
Policy
Research and
Innovation
Example: Bremerhaven (DE)
 Economy based on
shipbuilding & commercial
fishing in strong downturn
end of 1990’s
 Selection of ‘offshore wind
energy’ as new
development: clear &
integrated industrial
strategy and clustering of
competencies
 Strong existing synergies
between ‘shipyard’ &
‘offshore wind’ sectors
 Now Bremerhaven = major
hub of offshore wind in DE,
4 major manufacturers,
already 1,000 jobs created
Policy
Research and
Innovation
RIS3 initiative – the driving forces
Mirror Group
Intermediary
organisations
& networks
World
Bank
Academics
Expert groups of other DGs
(KETs, Cluster Alliance …)
JRC-IPTS
DG REGIO
European
Parliament
Steering Team
DG
ENTR
DG
AGRI
DG
CNECT
DG RTD
DG
MARE
DG
EMPL
Regional
Policy
DG EAC
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Smart specialisation: Commission assistance
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RIS3 Platform http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/activities/research-andinnovation/s3platform.cfm
Established by the Joint Research Centre (IPTS) in Seville
Facilitator in bringing together the relevant policy support activities in
research, regional, enterprise, innovation, information society,
education and sustainable policies.
Information and communication on related funding opportunities
under the relevant EU funding programmes.
Direct feed-back and information to regions, Member States and its
intermediate bodies.
Provides methodological support, expert advice, training, information
on good practice, etc.
Mirror Group of International experts
Outside the Platform: Commission has supported expert contracts for
specific assistance to regions and Member States
Policy
Research and
Innovation
Possible implications for H2020
 Possible impact on Horizon 2020 future Work Programmes
in all Priorities (especially Industrial Leadership and Societal
Challenges)
 Feedback from National and Regional Research and
Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation could
influence areas for future Topics and vice versa
 Involvement of flagship Horizon 2020 projects and
stakeholders in RIS3 should not be excluded although of
course not compulsory and largely unpredictable. But this
depends also on policies by MS and regions involved (active
involvement policies maybe supported by the Structural
Funds)
 RTDI projects can be simultaneously or consecutively
supported by H2020 and the ESI Funds
Policy
Research and
Innovation
Innovation and its bottlenecks
 Designing and delivering innovation policy in a context of global
uncertainty
 EU policies provide a conceptual and an implementation framework
 Structural deficiencies across Europe may prevent these policies to run to
their full potential
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Major issues on planning ahead
• Structural deficiencies in the planning authorities at national and
regional level
• Absorptive capacity - Difficulties of small players in integrating
global innovation value chains
• Difficult or non-existent cooperation between universities and the
business communities
• Spiral of marginalisation and lack of ambition
• Huge gaps in research and innovation investments correlate with
gaps in innovation performance
•
Commission response: emphasis on better planning tools and
on institutional networking with no compromise on excellence
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Policy
Research and
Innovation
Things do not happen.
Things are made to happen
John F. Kennedy
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Policy
Research and
Innovation
Thank you !
Policy
Research and
Innovation