Innovation Key points from the Atelier Innovation Turin, September 16, 2005 Andrea Bonaccorsi University of Pisa

Implications for innovation policies Governance Coordination regional planning- national plans Multi-level governance (consensus building, planning, funding) Selectivity, priority setting Concentration of resources Private-public partnership (permanent integration solutions: e.g. Comitè Scientifique researchers/industrialists in French poles de competitivitè; Agenzia ASTER with all stakeholders involved in Emilia Romagna; Piano per la Ricerca in Trentino).

Implications for innovation policies Policies and tools Demand-oriented policies -Support for business services -Regional incentives to business R&D -Vouchers for technological audits/ business consulting/ potential assessment

Implications for innovation policies Policies and tools Integrative policies -Centres of competence / Poles de competitivité / Technological districts/ Clustering -Technological platforms -Joint laboratories between industry and academia/ public research -Joint research projects with innovative contractual tools (Contrat progrès; university- industry contracts for 30 man-days minimum)

Implications for innovation policies Policies and tools Start-up package -second generation incubation -advanced services (international marketing, IPRs, global consulting) -rapid international expansion of start-up -integration of the financial cycle: -seed capital > venture capital > private equity -EU level financial market

Implications for innovation policies Policies and tools Human capital formation -Investment into higher education and postgraduate education -Critical role of PhD and post-doc in advanced areas -International attractiveness -Solutions for linking education and employment opportunities in SMEs (fiscal treatment, flexible contracts)

Implications for innovation policies Policies and tools Support policies -Monitoring/evaluation -independent bodies -international level -Economic intelligence -International networking -Social innovation

Innovation Market process with many non-market inputs Systemic view of innovation - multi-actor - multi-layer governance - multi-process Innovation as an “unfolding” process: a sequence of (often unpredictable) problems, that must be solved in order to advance towards the final solution Cultural conditions: tolerance to errors, risk propensity, mobility, trust, self-confidence Not only technological but organisational If these conditions are not met, some growth opportunities will simply be lost for ever. Innovation has not interest groups and powerful lobbying per se.

If you continue to do what you have always done You will always obtain what you have always obtained

Innovation policies Useful distinction: R&D-based innovation Non R&D-based innovation process technology style, design, aesthetics, formal innovation

Innovation policies/ R&D-based innovation Main issues (1) Quality/excellence of research: “only good science is useful science” (Pavitt). In the field of research the rule of the game is international competition. Within cohesion policy, there is a role for capacity building in less developed regions, but only within the overall goal of quality and international competitiveness.

Innovation policies/ R&D-based innovation Main issues (2) Operational linkages between research and innovation Obstacles: - cultural differences between researchers and entrepreneurs - different time horizon - organizational rules - motivational aspects Need to integrate in joint organizational settings for a sufficiently long time horizon.

Innovation policies/ R&D-based innovation Main issues (3) Critical mass at territorial level Overall trend of territorial concentration of innovative activities. Agglomeration effects. Attraction of young researchers and technicians. Need to balance accurately local specificities and potential for growth and the hard rules of international competition in research-based innovation. No pole of excellence in biotechnology in each region, please.

Innovation policies/ Non R&D-based innovation Main issues (1) Absorptive capacity European SMEs have grown out of a model that maximizes the rent from entrepreneutial intuition and skilled workforce, without any investment into long term education and R&D. The challenge of competitiveness requires more and more high level competencies in employees, mainly young people, and continuous learning.

Innovation policies/ Non R&D-based innovation Main issues (2) Creating the demand for advanced services There is not such a thing as “demand for innovation”. SMEs do not elaborate on their competitiveness problems in such a way to generate explicit and liquid demand for services. There is a large role for public policies in helping to interpret competitiveness issues and formulate explicit requirements for advanced services.