Øresund Science Region: Cross-border triple helix collaboration

Key words: Clusters and business networks, Transfer of technology, Other key words: Regional Innovation Strategy

Region: Øresund, Sweden and Programme type: Interreg IIIA Duration of project: February 2002 – May 2005 Funding: Total cost: € 3,862,219, including € 1,931,109 from the ERDF

The Øresund Science Region (ÖSR) is a cross-border initiative that aims to bring together regional authorities, businesses and . This so-called ‘triple-helix’ model is a focused approach to cooperation between universities and the surrounding society. Øresund Science Region uses and develops the Øresund Region’s unique strengths: a highly educated population and market-leading technology, 12 universities, 6 science parks, 2000 companies and some 12,000 researchers. These strengths are reflected by the region’s large number of researchers and high-technology companies. The lack of synergy observed between research and industry across the Swedish-Danish border triggered the initiative. The ÖSR initiative therefore fosters the development of the cross-border region that gained momentum following the opening in 2000 of the bridge across the Öresund. The aim of ÖSR is to promote knowledge-based economic development in this cross-border region, as the creation and transfer of new knowledge to this society is one of the crucial competitive factors for the region’s future economy. The initiative aims at bridging research and industry across the Swedish/Danish border which from the outset implies a number of challenges and problems due to the different arrangements which exist in each country; for example IP rights, funding mechanisms, capital requirements, business traditions and academic educational structures. The initial challenge was to construct an intermediate organisation able to bring together science and industry as well as two national structures framing such partnerships. Øresund Science Region is a regional development project with innovation and research platforms and projects designed as tools to create links between authorities, industry and universities across the Swedish-Danish border, in identified core competencies. The following seven platforms are part of ØSR: o Academy (health / pharma) o Øresund IT Academy o Øresund Environment Academy o Øresund Food Network o Øresund Logistics o Diginet Øresund (digital entertainment) o Nano Øresund The ÖSR secretariat is financially and staff-wise part of Øresund and serves as an umbrella organisation for the different thematic platforms, and as project manager and promoter of the ÖSR at European and international level. The ÖSR is managed by a board composed of university, enterprise and public authority representatives from the Danish and Swedish Øresund regions. Øresund Science Region and the platforms are financed by the region’s universities (combined in Øresund University), the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Skåne, the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, and a membership of more than 2500 companies. Two different programmes were financed by the ERDF / INTERREG in relation to the innovation strategy of the Öresund cross-border region. These are the "Øresund Science Region" project and "Medicon Valley". Many of the ÖSR projects receive co-funding from other EU programmes, such as the 6th Research Framework Programme (FP6) and Marco Polo.

The Øresund Model is a unique model of a "double triple-helix" for growth based on knowledge in a cross-border region as it brings together regional authorities, businesses and universities from two different countries, with their different administrative and legal cultures, industrial landscapes and languages.

I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Project objectives The key objectives of the Øresund Science Region project was (and is) to promote cross- border triple-helix partnerships for innovation bringing together research, private industry and the public sector from the Danish and Swedish regions bordering the Øresund. The aims here are as follows:

o create cross-border networks for triple-helix promotion of regional clusters;

o enhance innovation capabilities through cross-border capacity building;

o promote cross-border collaboration for efficient structuring of research commercialisation;

o attract researchers, students and companies to the diversified set of clusters found in the region;

o provide global branding and marketing of the Øresund Region as a high-tech region, securing sustainable economic growth while maintaining high ethical and humane standards. The overall aim was to overcome challenges related to differences in intellectual property rights (IR), funding mechanisms, capital requirements, business traditions and academic structures, thereby taking the first steps towards a cross-border regional innovation system for knowledge-based growth in light of the broader European vision. These objectives were principally defined by enterprises in the border region that were also the driving force behind the setting-up of Øresund University and the ÖSR.

Description/type of activity: The innovation platforms and projects of the Øresund Science Region (OSR) are the pillars of the initiative. They create links between authorities, industry and universities in the cross- border Øresund Region. Together with enterprise associations within the ÖSR itself, the ÖSR secretariat identified core competencies and business demand for networking around a number of themes. The creation of an innovation platform (apart from those platforms that started outside or before the ÖSR initiative) is then decided by the ÖSR board, together with the establishment of a triple-helix board for each platform. Enterprises wishing to join a platform are invited to sign up and pay a token membership fee. Suitable enterprises are in general already identified in the course of the preparatory mapping exercise and through the enterprise associations.

To date, platforms have been established in the areas of life science, environment, ICT, food science, logistics, nano, digital entertainment and humanities.

The Øresund Environment Academy (www.oresund-environment.org) runs activities such as networking, company match-making, support for project development, and marketing. It coordinates projects in its strategic areas (advanced urban waste-water treatment, regional business development, energy technologies, responsible leadership forum, network on sustainable fuels and chemicals from bio-mass). Projects included the operation of urban environmental systems, in particular waste-water treatment. The Øresund Environment Academy, with some seven ÖSR staff members and project managers, runs the platform activities. It produced a database of regional businesses in the environment sector, showing that they employ around 20 000 persons in 2 000 companies and generate some 23 billion DKK in annual turnover. Some 60 to 75 enterprises are active in its projects and 200 to 300 enterprises are involved or have expressed interest. The environment platform produced a fully transferable “toolbox” containing tips for enterprises on how to improve their environmental performance. Multipliers were trained using this toolbox.

The Øresund Logistics (www.orelog.org) platform runs activities such as the Scandinavian Shuttle, a cross-sectoral project that received co-funding from the Marco Polo I programme of the Commission (€2.5 million out of a total €17 million), and the Strategic Transport Management project to create sustainable transport and serve the integration of the goods and labour markets between bordering Danish and Swedish regions (total budget: €1 million, €0.5 million of which from INTERREG III A). At present, around 1 200 companies are included in the logistics network and have free access to the information and knowledge it provides.

The main mission of the Øresund IT Academy (www.oresundit.org) is to provide contacts, knowledge, talents and resources in a bid to attract companies to the Öresund region to settle and invest. At present there are some 500 public IT researchers and 100 000 jobs in the IT sector in the region, which generate some €22 billion in annual turnover. This IT platform has around 100 member companies signed up to it. Its main activities are match-making between companies, bridging / sharing capacities between industry and universities, job guidance, promotion of the IT cluster, lobbying with public actors and projects. These are either IT sector-specific (e.g. the "Living Labs Øresund" for demand-responsive mobile services or others based on the Bluetooth standard) or support other platform projects with IT capacities. The IT Academy is also actively involved in other EU projects, e.g. the mClusters project under INNOVA (FP6-funded) that aims to integrate Europe's mobile ICT community through networking innovation activities, entrepreneurs, clusters and leading stakeholders in the mobile ICT sector.

The Øresund Food Network (www.oresundfood.org) was initiated at the request of industry. The food cluster in the Öresund region now boasts some 225 000 jobs, 4 000 scientists and turnover worth €60 billion per year. The companies include consumer brands, packaging, processing, agriculture and equipment, additives and ingredients. Many are innovative SMEs. Mapping revealed a significant difference between the Swedish food industry landscape, with its more innovative companies, and the Danish industry’s more export-oriented and traditional product ranges. The Food Network for parties interested in food-related issues throughout the entire value-chain was launched in 1999 with INTERREG II and later III A co-funding. Its membership is steadily increasing in number. It supports research activities on the use of food products in disease prevention and treatment as well as opportunities in more efficient food processing, centred mostly around the question of how to make healthy food taste better. It runs some 15 sub-networks on different subjects (e.g. child nutrition) and cooperates with the Medicon Valley platform (e.g. on better food menus for hospitals), as well as with European partners, e.g. within the FP6-funded Regions of Knowledge "FINE" project (Food Innovation Network Europe). The network is active in marketing and provides services such as consensus-building among Nordic / Baltic countries on the new EU legislation governing the testing of food for possible beneficial health effects. The Food Network is supported by an eight-strong secretariat which is part of the ÖSR secretariat. Members’ interests are the driving force behind the network’s activities.

The Medicon Valley Academy (www.mva.org) is affiliated to the ÖSR and similar to the platforms, but its secretariat has a different legal personality owing to the different standards used in the pharmaceutical industry driving this platform. However, it still adheres to the same triple-helix methodology since it involves some 250 enterprises, universities and public hospitals. The objective of MVA is to develop Medicon Valley into one of the world’s five most attractive bioregions, recognised for its excellent scientific environment and talent pool, knowledge sharing and technology transfer between universities, hospitals and industry, and for its innovative and entrepreneurial environment and competitive enterprises. The Academy facilitates partnering and networking activities for the creation of integration and synergies among life-science actors in the region, but with an international outlook and as part of global networks. The Academy has been running a project, supported by the Danish Strategic Research Council, designed to build up project consortia of public and private researchers for forthcoming calls under the EU Joint Technology Initiative on Innovative Medicines (IMI). It set up the Bladder Academy, a network on urology, the Øresund Diabetes Academy (ØDA) to initiate, facilitate and follow-up on regional partnerships for the benefit of diabetes treatment, and the InJection project (an FP6-funded Europe INNOVA project) to focus on how SMEs active in the medical appliances sector can obtain funding for innovation in order to achieve sustainable growth. Based on a mapping exercise, the Nano Øresund (www.nano-oresund.org) platform was set up to bring out the full potential of the region in this field by combining nanotechnology strengths in innovation, education, research and laboratory infrastructure on the Danish and Swedish sides of Øresund. Nano Øresund’s objective is to increase the application of nanotechnology in industry and to promote company start-ups centred on nanotechnology solutions and developments. The main activities are to offer a permanent forum for industry and academia, in which effective dissemination and exchange of information can take place, and to promote the region’s resources abroad. In this sense, the nano centres of the universities in the Øresund Region — University of , Technical University of Denmark and — together with MC2 at Chalmers University of Technology and the Imgeo Institute in Gothenburg, entered into a strategic collaboration to promote the development and commercialisation of nanotechnology. This consortium is one of the five strongest nanotech clusters in the EU and among the ten best in the world. Diginet Øresund (www.diginet.org) is a platform and a forum for creative industries in the Øresund Region. The public municipalities, Københavns Amt, Region Skåne and Københavns Kommune, established Diginet Øresund in 2004 in order to contribute to making the Øresund Region the leading region in for content production in relation to new digital media. Its aim is to contribute to economic growth by promoting the development, production, distribution and sale of creative experience products (e.g. computer games, new film formats, digital TV, mobile content, edutainment, e-learning) and the development of innovative concepts for design, architecture, tourism, etc. Diginet Øresund activities involve facilitating communication and match-making between higher educational institutions, the business community and independent creative players by channelling new ideas, knowledge and new talents between individuals, organisations and companies interested in developing new insight and new products, business opportunities, new alliances and partners as well as improved framework conditions. Diginet Øresund also develops projects in co-operation with business partners. Between 2004 and 2007, it participated in match-making consultancy covering more than 100 businesses. The Øresund Entrepreneurship Academy was set up in June 2006 by the regional governments and local authorities together with the Öresund University. The Academy is a competence centre in entrepreneurship education and a fund for the 12 connected universities. The fund function is meant to develop new courses, initiatives and schemes to promote interest in entrepreneurship among students at these universities. It aims to tackle the lack of entrepreneurial skills among technicians, but is open to students from all departments (e.g. design, etc.) by equipping them both for start-ups and management. The different participating universities design business and entrepreneurship courses that are assessed by the Academy and rewarded on a points scale for the quality and intensity of teaching in different fields. The results of this rating are made available to students via a website. Its approach is international in terms of content, cooperation and dissemination. For example, the winners of the “napkin competition” -- students jotting down business plans on the back of a napkin -- won a trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong University in return sends students to the Öresund University.

All platforms produced financing guides targeted at academics requiring information on finance sources in order to set up their own businesses. The catalyst for this came from investors and platform members seeking cross-border investment opportunities.

Beneficiaries: The leading beneficiaries of the ÖSR initiative are enterprises in the region. Some 2 500 companies are currently members of ÖSR platforms or participate in projects. The participation levels are constantly expanding. The enterprises in question come in different sizes and work at different points along the value chain, spanning all subjects covered by the innovation platforms. The 12 universities and two other institutes gain access to collaboration possibilities with enterprises, which both helps them to find additional funds for their research and makes them more attractive for students since they can establish contacts more easily with future employers or business partners. The region's science parks and local and regional authorities also benefit since ÖSR attracts investors and helps start-ups or subsidiaries to settle in the region. Other public institutions, in particular hospitals, benefit from the improvement of services or products through research and industry collaboration. Besides the positive impact on the competitiveness and innovativeness of the enterprises involved in the platforms and projects, individual citizens also benefited from the ÖSR since it provided education and training possibilities and enhanced labour market opportunities.

II. POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC CONTEXT

Strategic context: Öresund region is a cross-border region between Sweden and Denmark comprising Skåne county, the Greater Copenhagen area and three rural counties. Its population of more than 3.5 million is growing faster than other Danish and Swedish regions. Öresund includes a mix of economically very advanced regions (notably Copenhagen) and relatively disadvantaged regions (e.g. in Swedish rural areas). In terms of infrastructure, major investment has been made in this region, most famously the completion of the Oresund Bridge in 2000, which serves as a link between the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö. The region ranks third behind London and Paris in biotechnological and medical research. It also features strongly in ICT, food processing, environmental and nanotechnologies and logistics. These high-tech fields are sources of international competitive advantage, but represent only a part of industrial activity. A large part of the economy is based on traditional, low-tech activities. The creation of the ÖSR was triggered back in the mid 1990s by strong demand from industry on both sides of the Öresund (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Confederation of Danish Industries) and the South Sweden innovation agency “Innovationsbron” (one of the major contributors to the ÖSR) for greater cross-border collaboration. The industry associations and Innovationsbron noted the under-utilisation of competences in terms of both industrial potential and research capacities on either side of the Öresund strait and the resultant lost opportunities for generating critical mass and increasing cost/time savings through cooperation over a shorter distance (previously, main partners had been located in the UK or the US). They identified INTERREG as one of the possible funding sources for fostering stronger cooperation and, in 1998, founded the “Öresund Business Council” as a first INTERREG project. Initially there was only limited political interest in this venture. Although some pubic co-funding was forthcoming, the project’s launch was purely business-driven. Once founded, the cross-border business network convinced universities on both sides of the Öresund to set up "the Öresund University", as an umbrella organisation covering the 12 Danish and Swedish universities, and integrated this into the network. This was what gave birth to the “double triple helix” structure of the ÖSR. The priorities of the ÖSR, co-funded under a second INTERREG project from 2002, are cooperation between enterprises and universities, collaboration among universities to merge their fields of competence, and develop excellence and the optimal use of their research resources to create critical mass and enhance cooperation between Danish and Swedish public innovation support systems. To underpin this, a physical, organisational and intellectual infrastructure was set up (the ÖSR secretariat). Although not fully integrated into the development strategies for the Danish and Swedish regions, the ÖSR initiative is likely to receive Structural Funds support under the relevant operational programmes.

Innovation: The Øresund Science Region initiative is innovative in a number of respects, some involving technology and research, while others address organisational, financial and cross-border management aspects. The initiative involves cooperation between a large number of actors across many types of border: national, administrative, between research fields, and organisational. Converting this complexity into an asset was the challenge facing the initiative. In organisational terms, the most innovative element at the time of the launch of the first platform (Medicon Valley in 1998) was the platform concept: a triple helix composition (research bodies, enterprises and public actors together around a single theme) at board level, and fee-based participation of enterprises in the "inner circle" and "outer circles" complete with working groups / subplatforms or project groups. Each platform is managed by a small permanent secretariat (2-5 persons) and chaired by a "charismatic" and personally committed chairperson. An additional layer of complexity encountered for the first time was the scheme’s cross- border character, i.e. two languages (each understood and accepted by all participants, removing the need for translations), two public administrative systems, two currencies, two different industrial traditions and two legal systems. The innovative solution found to this in the management structure of the ÖSR is based on a large degree of tolerance, trust and flexibility. Its stability is guaranteed by being embedded within the Öresund University through contracts with the two host universities (Copenhagen and Lund). This provides financial and human resource management structures in the form of public employee status for ÖSR staff, IT support, and auditing services. The initiative also has a diversified base: biotech, food IT, logistics, etc. It is neither a one- crop region, nor a one-crop project. It follows the logic that different sectors with a unique set of factors require a dedicated strategy from intermediaries like the Øresund Science Region’s innovation platforms. Eight such research and innovation platforms are united under the umbrella of the Øresund Science Region and join forces within a number of strategic areas. The different project initiatives are sectoral and deal with converging technologies, i.e. food- health or bio-IT. The initiative includes an education aspect in the form of the Entrepreneurship Academy, hosted by academics at PhD and post-doc level who serve as a conduit for the inception of new knowledge-based companies in the region. Ownership and financing are now highly diverse after completion of the INTERREG III A period. There is no single dominating actor, despite the fact that the universities play a very important role.

Political support: Building on largely business-driven demand for closer links and cooperation across the Øresund, which delivered tangible results and gave the Öresund region a high profile as a region specialising in innovation and research, cross-border activities now enjoy political support, mainly at the regional and local levels. This is facilitated by both Sweden and Denmark having significantly decentralised systems of governance. National governments have limited involvement in the ÖSR initiative, save with regard to certain project aspects (e.g. infrastructure links) and representation in project management committees (Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs and the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications). However, problems can arise in relation to national policy areas such as fiscal policy, employment legislation and intellectual property rights, where legislation differs between the two states. There is also a concern within national governments on both sides for national funds not to be redirected outside their respective country. This is viewed as a politically sensitive issue and means that the national governments are cautious at times when supporting this venture. The 2006 OECD report1 therefore recommends the adoption of a cross-border agreement between Sweden and Denmark to place ÖSR activities on a firm footing.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

Programming: The eight themes of the innovation platforms were chosen on the basis of analysis of industrial and research structures and capacities. Based on the results of such mapping exercises, the platforms were set up jointly by business confederations and universities as networking structures for businesses and universities specifically interested in the relevant topic. The first ÖSR platform was the Medicon Valley Academy. Subsequent platforms have been created using it as the template. Since the creation of the ÖSR, nutritional health and food and nanotechnology have been added as new innovation platform themes.

Management structure quality and effectiveness: The ÖSR initiative’s management structure is designed to be both flexible and adaptable. It has evolved gradually since 1998 and consists of: ƒ A steering committee (integrated within the Öresund University), which provides the umbrella for the initiative as well as analytical capacities and administrative support, determines the strategy and ensures coordination and cooperation between the different thematic platforms. The board decides on the budgets for the secretariat and the amounts allocated to the platforms. It defined general rules for allocating project funding (e.g. a minimum percentage of private co-funding, the minimum number of firms in a project and how to ensure that projects are pre-commercial). The board was composed in accordance with the “double triple helix” approach (representatives from Danish and Swedish businesses, universities and public bodies). From each of the two countries, it brings together four local and regional government representatives, three

1 Peer review report: “The Öresund Science Region: a cross-border partnership between Denmark and Sweden”, by Steve Garlick, Peter Kresl, Peter Vaessen (OECD 2006) university representatives (vice-rectors of participating universities), one student representative and three business representatives (nominated by the respective business associations, most of them from big companies, but also some representing SME interests). ƒ Support structures: Öresund Innovation, Öresund Entrepreneurship Academy, Öresund Network (secretariat). ƒ Five fully developed innovation platforms for enterprises, researchers and public actors. Each of the innovation platforms has a board of six members, the composition of which also adheres to the double triple helix principle. Day-to-day management of the ÖSR is handled by the Öresund University. This secretariat is made up of around 35 employees working for the different platforms, the general board, administration, finance, etc. Staff members are employees of the Öresund University and have either Danish or Swedish civil-servant contracts (irrespective of their nationality). This offers the secretariat stability and a number of fiscal and other benefits. Overall accounting and IT support remains within the actual universities. The ÖSR has offices in Copenhagen, Malmö and Lund. Activities of the Öresund University: • Identifying potential areas of cooperation for enterprises and or research in the region through analytical and foresight work, experience stemming from contacts with the platform members and participation in a number of national and international associations. • Partner-finding, in particular bridging the enterprise/university divide and the Swedish- Danish border. • Support the initiation of projects emanating from innovation platforms, including for FP7 applications. • Management of small projects (large projects are managed by the lead partners). • Publicity activities for promoting ÖSR as a location for business and research excellence. • One of the main activities of the ÖSR is promotion of the Öresund region as an attractive place to invest and live. The location’s advantages are based on its available skills levels, easy access to research facilities, and its logistical connections. The attractive environment in terms of leisure, schools and culture is also used to promote the region’s attractiveness. The Øresund Science Region and platforms are financed by the region’s universities (together within Øresund University), the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Skåne, the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, and more than 1 000 member companies.

Partnership: The very core of the Øresund Science Region project has been to create partnerships across the Swedish-Danish border in Øresund. This has been achieved through a variety of measures: o identification of potential areas of collaboration by innovation platforms e.g. through sector analysis, technology forecasts, designated needs and requests from research bodies or industry; o gathering of partners for collaborative projects through workshops and workspaces, events and projects; o facilitation of partnerships by providing funding to project developments organised and coordinated by the innovation platforms; o facilitation and joint coordination of an inter-regional brand ("Øresund Science Region") under which collaborative efforts have forged a common identity. The ÖSR now involves some 2 500 small and large companies, NGOs, 12 universities and regional and local authorities. Participation levels are constantly expanding. The ÖSR has four graduated categories of fee-paying members. The basic requirement for ÖSR network membership is for a company to have its headquarters or a subsidiary in the Öresund area, or to be a knowledge-based manufacturing or a knowledge-intensive service company (i.e. not retail or simply replicating tried and tested products / services). The underlying approach of the ÖSR to partnerships is that of “open innovation”, i.e. to be inclusive and remain open to new participants and create the feeling among network partners that they own the activities. This was helped enormously by pre-existing goodwill, linguistic tolerance and the collaborative mindset within local enterprises.

Marketing: Marketing and branding of the ÖSR initiative is one of the main tasks of the secretariat, accounting for up to 20% of earmarked activities. It uses a wide range of information and publicity tools for this and participates in numerous international platforms and events. The main purpose of these activities is to attract not just companies and investors, but also qualified staff, to the Öresund region. Initially the project’s thrust was more international (US, Japan), but is now concentrated more on Europe, in particular through strategic alliances within the Nordic Network for Technology Transfer. Activities include so-called "soft landing programmes", for companies wishing to set up subsidiaries or for start-ups.

Obstacles in terms of design or implementation: • It was difficult to mobilise SMEs to participate in the ÖSR and its platforms, as they have little time to devote to activities other than production and sales. Within the environment platform especially, this proved difficult and could only be overcome once the economic benefits (such as the prospect of funding) had been demonstrated. Mobilisation was achieved through SME associations and associations of environmental businesses. Interestingly, the degree of difficulty in attracting SMEs varied depending on their size and development stage. Within the food area especially it proved easier to involve small enterprises since they were generally younger and more open, whereas medium-sized enterprises were focussing on expanding production of existing products instead of developing new ones. In addition, more often than not they had no academic background, having evolved from humble craft beginnings. • The confidentiality requirements on companies for participating in platform projects were often difficult to reconcile with the transparent approach of the ÖSR. In response, a methodology to ensure suitable levels of confidentiality is currently being developed and tested with companies. • The main challenge facing the further development of the initiative and its platforms is that of securing multi-annual financing. The funding for the platform's projects stems from a multitude of sources, which on the one hand gives them independence from any major contributor, but on the other hand entails high financial management expenses. It would be preferable to have fewer, but larger, funding sources.

Transferability: The Øresund model for regional innovation alliances across national borders has become very well-known in the regions surrounding the Øresund region and generated substantial interest among European regional policy-makers. According to an OECD report in 2006, it now serves as a model for cross-border collaboration.

IV. EFFECTIVENESS

Effectiveness: The initiative has created eight sector-specific platforms for innovation straddling the Swedish-Danish border. These platforms today have total memberships comprising all 14 universities in the region, regional authorities and approximately 600 industrial enterprises. The model for cross-border collaboration applied by the Øresund Science Region has become widely known. As a result, the intermediate model for science/industry partnerships across national borders has been recognised for its functionality, meeting the needs of both industry and research.

Impact: The results of the project have changed a number of pivotal issues for sustainable science/industry collaboration in the Øresund region. The project has enabled "light institutionalisation" of science/industry relationships in a cross- border region, thereby removing mental barriers to cross-border science/industry collaboration in the course of the project and opening up collaborative opportunities. Increased access to cross-border capital for science/industry partnerships has been enhanced in the form of matching national start-up funding in the Øresund region. Sustainable autonomous science/industry networks have been founded , transcending regional and national borders. This project has led to the establishment of a new industrial PhD scholarship, the creation of contact databases and the introduction of guides in areas such as access to finance. In terms of the quantitative impacts of platforms in practice, the joint Øresund Food Network research projects attracted funds worth 16 million euro between 2003 and 2005. A project on the operation of urban environmental systems, in particular waste-water treatment, resulted in an annual cost saving of DKK 500 000 at one of the participating water companies. The Scandinavian Shuttle project succeeded in reducing traffic and improving just-in-time deliveries by intermodal transport. Thanks in no small part to the activities of the ÖSR, a substantial number of companies has been attracted to the region, either in the form of the setting-up of subsidiaries or the relocation of headquarters. In terms of the general impact on the regional economy, which is difficult to gauge, it is expected that the development in science/industry relations ensuing from the Øresund Science Region has created employment opportunities. The Øresund Science Region has promoted a wide number of projects connecting traditional, but separate technologies and knowledge domains. This converging of technologies and clusters could provide the future basis for regional growth.

Sustainability: Financial sustainability: The ÖSR was initially co-funded by an INTERREG III A programme, complete with contributions from the Danish and Swedish regional governments, 12 universities and companies. After the end of the ÖSR INTERREG project, additional sources of regular funding were added, e.g. from the Nordic Council and central government funds, to run the ÖSR secretariat and organise basic operations, e.g. meetings of the innovation platforms, publications and ‘signature’ activities. The individual projects are funded from these and other national, regional or EU sources (sometimes also INTERREG project funds), depending on the composition of the consortia that run the project and on its objectives and activities. This very mixed composition of revenue for the ÖSR entails both problems (due to the very different accounting rules) and advantages, in particular the fact that each contribution is relatively small and thus less damaging in the event of withdrawal, and also that the wide range of “stakeholders” prevents the dominance of one or other in decision-making within the steering committee. Operational sustainability: The aim of the ÖSR is to develop the next generation of innovation support, i.e. to become smarter and faster in the delivery of support. The framework for this extends beyond the end of INTERREG funding in 2005 for the “Öresund Innovation” platform. The ÖSR initiative is now expanding its activities to encompass other Scandinavian and Baltic Sea regions (e.g. Skagarak and Norway under the INTERREG IV A programme). It is expected that a "European Innovation Network" will be funded under INTERREG IV C. In terms of international orientation, efforts to foster collaboration potential with Asian countries will be strengthened. The 2006 OECD report noted a need to make the partnerships created by the ÖSR more inclusive and operational in a practical sense in order to achieve the region’s competitiveness objectives and to harness the full potential of the region’s human capital. This would require, for example, greater involvement with SMEs, small- and medium-sized technology firms, social, cultural and environmental segments of the community and attention to some of the more peripheral communities in the region. To avoid a stagnation of the Öresund region’s development due to a lack of human resources, the ÖSR will increase education efforts and is aiming to attract staff from Swedish regions with high rates of unemployment. The report also encouraged the development of an intergovernmental agreement between the two national governments, recognising the requirements of the Øresund Science Region as a cross-border place of special significance and identifying the need for harmonisation of current policy differences that impede cross-border development.

V. CONCLUSIONS

Lessons learnt: • Active communication is vital as it makes innovation support systems more transparent and thus more accessible. • Innovation support is only effective if it is provided by professionals.

Good practices: • Tolerance for the use of two languages on an equal footing, without the use of translation or interpretation, was key to the success of the initiative. • The creation of transnational structures (Öresund University, Öresund Network), integrating both legal and administrative traditions and financial management regulations in an operational and practical manner, was a key basis for this cross-border initiative. • The public status and broad base of the ÖSR budget provides the volume necessary for pre-financing linked to large projects, e.g. co-funded by the EU. • The main key to the Entrepreneurship Academy’s success is that it combines practical experience with the receipt of academic credits. • Shifts in university funding over the past 25 years have favoured the development of the ÖSR initiative, because the reduction in public support for universities, from around 95% to some 35% today, spurred universities to look for new sources of funding. This entailed a change in types of research in order to attract more funding from companies through contracts or sponsorship. The ÖSR, with its double triple-helix approach, has provided an ideal support platform for this.

CONTACT Mr Bengt Streijffert CEO Øresund University Østre Vallgatan 14, Box 117 SE-21100 Lund Sweden Tel: 0046 46 222 7202 E-mail: [email protected] Web-site: www.oresundscienceregion.org

Briefing date: 16/01/2008