Dytiki Makedonia PROJECT TOTAL ERDF ERDF URL - WEB ADRESS POPULATION DYTIKIACRONYM BUDGET CONTRIBUTION OBJECTIVE M WMSPIT ECU 400,100 50% 1 270,000 CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES STEERING COMMITTEE Western Macedonia is located in the north-west of Chairperson: General Secretary, Region of West Greece and borders Albania and the former Macedonia. Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It is a mountain- Members representing: Region of West Macedo- ous region with low population density and until nia; Regional Development Agency (ANKO S.A.); recent years inadequate transportation links. The Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace; General Secre- primary sector (including mining and energy pro- tariat for Research and Technology; Prefectures of duction) accounts for around 35% of the workforce. Kozani, Florina, Kastoria and Grevena; Public Power Agriculture faces a series of problems including the Corporation; Business representative from each of small size of the average farm, low utilisation of new the four prefectures; Technological Educational technologies, lack of a regional quality product Institute of Kozani; Technical Chamber of Greece; label, environmental damage and limited develop- Geotechnical Chamber; Economic Chamber of ment of processing. Greece; Thessaloniki Technology Park; Centre of Manufacturing while growing in importance is con- Solid Fuel Technology; Municipal Tourism Enterprise centrated in sectors facing strong international com- of Kastoria. petition notably: wood (700 small enterprises engaged in wood-working and furniture production) DEVELOPING A REGIONAL and fur trading (clustered in the towns of Kastoria and INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP Siatista). The unique and unspoilt natural heritage are A strong point throughout the implementation has increasingly viewed as offering scope for expansion been the strengthening of relations between the key of sustainable tourism activities. However, develop- partners. Despite the fact that it is a small region in ment of new tourism products, not restricted by the terms of surface and population and one could relatively short summer season, is hampered by the expect a spirit of solidarity, this has not always insufficiency of basic infrastructure and the under- occurred in practice with prefectures and even development of the network of tourism services. municipalities, taking individual initiatives without Most firms in the region are small and family run with considering the regional dimension. In order to little technological innovation - this situation is com- mobilise all the partners in the RIS exercise, the dif- pounded by the lack of support services in the ferent studies were carried out through participative region. Consequently, the RIS seeks to elaborate working groups involving an expert and members of and implement a strategy and actions in support of the Steering Committee with a particular interest in innovation in regional SMEs and the organisations the theme. The eight working groups drew up of technology supply, transfer, and demand. The reports on the wood, fur processing, agricultural objectives include: products, marble and mining, electricity production and tourism sectors and on two horizontal themes • understanding the factors influencing technology (financial support to SMEs and production systems development and innovation and identifying the and development programmes). strengths and weaknesses; The procedure of the RIS project, innovative itself, • ensuring a consensus between the public admin- helped many of the participants realise that a united istration, the enterprises, and higher education on effort is always much more effective. Finally, the the priorities for technology development and project also helped the partners to understand that innovation support in the Region; good technical preparation and support of a proj- • selection of specific actions to reinforce the ect, particularly EU funded projects, is something capacity of regional businesses for innovation indispensable for success. The RIS procedure - and technological development; thinking, selecting ideas, analysing them and sup- porting them in a bottom - up approach - despite • implementing the above projects in collaboration its difficulties, was something finally welcomed by with the Structural Funds, the Community Initia- everyone in the Steering Committee. tives designed to support innovation, and private investments. 50 MAKEDO FIRST RESULTS AND PILOT PROJECTS IMPACT ON REGIONAL POLICY AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES The analysis carried out by the working groups and the technology audits carried out in 52 selected com- The main impact to date is regional consensus, the panies (the principal firms in the textile and clothing, raised awareness of regional firms and actors on food, wood and furniture, marble, machinery and innovation, and the diffusion of information on tech- construction sectors) brought to light key strengths nology and innovation processes and policies. and weak points in terms of innovation and indicated Reaching consensus was a permanent concern and a series of pilot projects to be carried out in the key implied the preparation of all decisions, from the sectors of the regional economy (see also box below): creation of working groups to the definition of pri- orities and the selection of projects, in consultation Agricultural production: (1) information and train- with the participants in the formulation of the ing for farmers and those engaged in processing or regional innovation strategy. A key output of the RIS trading in agricultural products in relation to market will be measures to support business development trends and agricultural policy, (2) development of and innovation in the next Community Support traditional brand name products, through genetic Framework for the period 2000 and beyond. The material, standardisation and labelling of origin, and fact that many of the members of the RIS Steering (3) organisation of farmers networks, local action Committee are also members of the Regional Coun- groups and other forms of co-operation, to fill the cil, has ensured a coherent link with planning for the gap left by the inertia of the co-operatives. next Regional Operational Programme. Industry: (1) Wood Institute to study and modify forestry product distribution methods, increase STIMULATING INNOVATION industrial exploitation of logging wastes, promote IN SUB-CONTRACTING CHAINS the adoption of quality standards and company cer- In West Macedonia, the mining and refining of tification and develop new products based on wood important lignite resources and the generation of and wood derivatives, and (2) enterprise moderni- electricity is carried out exclusively by Greece’s sation in the fur sector through technology transfer Public Power Corporation (which with its mine and and training. its four generating stations, produces over 70% of Tourism: (1) supporting new low-impact forms of Greek electricity). tourism, (2) protecting ecosystems and integrating The RIS permitted the development of a pilot proj- them into alternative tourism networks, (3) creating ect in this field which aims to expand the impor- an organising and planning framework for available tance of local suppliers through the creation of an tourism services and (4) using new technologies to Information and Technology Transfer Company, disseminate information. designed to foster the modernisation of firms pro- These projects reflect the spirit of the RIS project ducing products and services for the PPC, provide whereby innovation is not only considered in terms technical back-up to suppliers, inform firms about of industrial products or processes but also includes procurement programmes and related tenders, the stimulation of new forms of co-operative struc- organise events relating to the exploitation of lignite, tures. In this respect, a key horizontal action will be help local businesses participate in EU energy sec- the establishment of a Regional Innovation Office to tor research programmes co-ordinate actions designed to promote the devel- opment of SMEs. ¨ CONTACT Ioannis Fallas RIS Project Manager ANKO S.A. Fon Karayanni 1-3, GR-50100 Kozani Tel: +30-461-24022 Fax: +30-461-38628 E-mail: [email protected] 51.