Sterea Ellada Region RIM Report 13-03-12.Docx
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Version: Final Date: 11 April 2012 Regional Innovation Monitor Regional Innovation Report (Sterea Ellada) To the European Commission Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General Directorate D – Industrial Innovation and Mobility Industries Alexandros Nioras Logotech SA Regional Innovation Monitor i PREFACE The Regional Innovation Monitor (RIM)1 is an initiative of the European Commission's Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, which has the objective to describe and analyse innovation policy trends across EU regions. RIM analysis is based on methodologies developed in the context of the INNO-Policy Trendchart, which covers innovation policies at national level as part of the PRO INNO Europe initiative. The overarching objective of this project is to enhance the competitiveness of European regions through increasing the effectiveness of their innovation policies and strategies. The specific objective of the RIM is to enhance the scope and quality of policy assessment by providing policy-makers, other innovation stakeholders with the analytical framework and tools for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of regional policies and regional innovation systems. RIM covers EU-20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This means that RIM will not concentrate on Member States where the Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics NUTS 1 and 2 levels are identical with the entire country (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Malta which only has NUTS 3 regions, Slovenia which has a national innovation policy or Cyprus and Luxembourg which are countries without NUTS regions. The main aim of 50 regional reports is to provide a description and analysis of contemporary developments of regional innovation policy, taking into account the specific context of the region as well as general trends. All regional innovation reports are produced in a standardised way using a common methodological and conceptual framework, in order to allow for horizontal analysis, with a view to preparing the Annual EU Regional Innovation Monitor reports. European Commission official responsible for the project is Alberto Licciardello ([email protected]). The present report was prepared by insert Alexandros Nioras ([email protected]). The contents and views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Member States or the European Commission. Copyright of the document belongs to the European Commission. Neither the European Commission, nor any person acting on its behalf, may be held responsible for the use to which information contained in this document may be put, or for any errors which, despite careful preparation and checking, may appear. 1 http://www.rim-europa.eu ii Regional Innovation Monitor Table of Contents 1. Main Trends and Challenges in the Regional Innovation System 1 1.1 Recent trends in regional economic performance 1 1.2 Recent trends in regional innovation performance 2 1.3 Identified challenges 4 2. Innovation Policy Governance 6 2.1 Degree of institutional autonomy 6 2.2 Institutional-set up, co-ordination and implementation mechanisms 6 2.3 Availability and use of policy intelligence tools 8 2.4 Key challenges and opportunities 9 3. Innovation Policy Instruments and Orientations 10 3.1 The regional innovation policy mix 10 3.2 Appraisal of regional innovation policies 15 3.3 Good practice case 15 3.4 Portfolio of innovation support measures 16 3.5 Towards smart specialisation policies 17 3.6 Possible future orientations and opportunities 19 Appendices Appendix A Bibliography................................................................................................ 21 Appendix B Stakeholders consulted...............................................................................22 Appendix C RIM Repository information ......................................................................23 Appendix D Statistical data ............................................................................................24 Regional Innovation Monitor i Figures Figure 1-1 Economic and innovation performance indicators........................................ 3 Figure 2-1 Management and implementation structure of regional innovation strategy .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Tables Table 3-1 Overview of the regional innovation policy mix............................................. 11 Table 3-2 Existing regional innovation support measures ............................................14 ii Regional Innovation Monitor Executive Summary 1. Introduction: Main recent trends in the Regional Innovation System The region of Sterea Ellada, the second largest in Greece, is a manufacturing hotspot, and is rich in mineral resources. It also possesses a developed agricultural sector, a relatively developed tourism infrastructure and a growing services sector. However, the region is characterised by geographical and economic heterogeneity, with urban areas being more developed than the rural and mountainous zones. The region was third out of the thirteen Greek regions in terms of export volumes in 2008, while in terms of GDP per capita it was on a par with the national average. The proximity of Sterea Ellada to the region of Attiki, where almost half of the country’s population is located, is also one of the most important drivers for growth, while its satellite role also has negative facets constraining endogenous growth. As a result of the current economic crisis, the region faces increased unemployment that reached 16.9% in the second quarter of 2011, a steep increase from the 11.5% over 2010 and above the national average (16.3%). During 2000-2008, a period of considerable growth, no significant restructuring effects took place in the region, limiting the ability of the regional economy to absorb the present economic shock. Sterea Ellada, despite its strong manufacturing sector, has a marginal share in the country’s GERD, mainly due to the low contribution of the private sector and to the weak regional public research infrastructure. During 2005, GERD accounted for 0.18% of the regional GDP, while BERD as a percentage of regional GDP was very small (0.14%) compared to the EU average (1.14%). The limited private sector R&D expenditure and the low level of patenting activity of firms compared with the EU average highlight the region’s dependence on off the shelf technologies developed outside companies in the region, and also the structuring of the regional economy towards lower technological segments within value chains. The region also lacks the critical mass of public R&D organisations and other intermediary organisations that can support the innovation and research activities of regional firms and stimulate an endogenous growth model. Moreover, organisations that are active in R&D focus only marginally in technological fields that are relevant to the needs of the local economy. Regional Innovation Monitor i 2. Major innovation challenges and policy responses In summary, the major challenges that the region faces are: Challenge 1: Modernise the agro-food sector and link it with other sectors along the value chain. Agriculture and the food industry are important sectors for the regional economy, accounting for a considerable share of its value added, but the two sectors are only partially linked. Moreover, only a small fraction of regional firms in the field of agro- food are innovative or perform R&D activities, a tendency more apparent in SMEs. These conditions have a negative impact on the competitiveness of the sector, which is gradually being eroded as these firms find it difficult to penetrate new markets, at a time when national demand is declining due to the crisis. The sector faces a number of diverse challenges, from brand awareness, slow take up of biological production, shortages in basic production infrastructures and the slow change in emphasis towards higher quality, biological and environmentally friendly production processes. Moreover, the region lacks a strong public research and technology network that could provide suitable solutions on the basis of a long run strategy. In order to reverse these negative trends, considerable technological and financial public support is required. Challenge 2: Promote Environmental and Energy Saving Technologies As a recent consultation has shown, it is crucial for the region to invest and promote Environmental and Energy Saving Technologies as part of a strategy to establish a new profile based on Green Entrepreneurship for the regional economy and address one of its major challenges, i.e. environmental degradation. Such technologies are expected to have an impact at a wide range of industries, from manufacturing to services and tourism. They also present firms in various positions within existing value chains with the opportunity to proceed with the development of common infrastructures and investments, with mutual benefits. Current discussions are centred on the establishment of a Regional Innovation Pole, which is expected coordinate research activities and provide the necessary funding. Moreover, since the promotion of a ‘Green’ economy is at the heart of the government’s new development model, there exist many opportunities for synergies and complementary