Prof. Mario Calderini President of Finpiemonte Regional Financial Piemonte Company of Regione Piemonte

RE-THINK, the think tank created by Regione Piemonte to set Research and Innovation policy in the Region Overview of the presentation 1.Some figures about Piemonte and its R&D capacity 2.What is Re-Think? 3.Policy guidelines 4.Policy instruments

SOME FIGURES ABOUT PIEMONTE 4.3 millions inhabitants (7,5% of the national population) 411,000 companies (of which 1,600 with over 50 employees) Over 1,800,000 employees (18% in hi-tech sector) Over 100 billion euro GDP (8,4% of national income produced) 10% of national industrial production Torino 2006 host city of XXth Winter Olympic Games with an investment of over 8 millions euro

One of the top Italian regions for investment in R&D (equal to 1.8% of the region's GDP) Business enterprise sector investment in R&D (% of total R&D investments): 78,6 % Over 18,000 R&D employees, 11.6 % of the national total 25% of national private R&D investment. Re think is constantly updating the Regional Innovation Scoreboard to monitor Piemonte’s R&D performance in response to policy inputs against those of other 12 European Regions SOME FIGURES ABOUT R&D IN PIEMONTE

Re-think is a multidisciplinary think tank created in 2006 to set policies and manage funds for research and innovation in Piemonte, coming mainly from ERDF. Its members are: the Regional Authority, Regione Piemonte the Regional financial company, Finpiemonte, that acts as development agency RE-THINK IS..

RE THINK POLICY GUIDELINES: Selectivity: the double-track strategy Intervention only where market failures exist Support to innovation demand and technology transfer Focus on human capital International evaluation for regional call for proposals (FP6 evaluators) Enhanced cooperation in R&D with other Italian Regions (agreement between Piemonte, Lombardia, Emilia, Umbria and Sardegna) and with European networks of Regions (Regions of Knowledge, Regions for Economic Change, ERRIN, IRE,..)

SECTORS OF INTERVENTION FOR R&D POLICY: SCIENCE PUSH –Life-science and biotechnology –Nanotechnology and advanced production processes –New materials –Alternative energies TECHNOLOGY PULL –Environmental safety –Agro-industry sector and product traceability –Advanced health services –Advanced logistics –Aerospace –Intelligent and sustainable mobility –Creative and multimedia companies –Heritage conservation and transformation

MEANS OF INTERVENTION OF R&D POLICY: Calls for proposals with high minimum size of research project and implying a strong cooperation between Universities/research centres and entreprises. Creation of regional technological platforms in key regional sectors User groups Living Labs Researcher as main vector of technology transfer: researcher internship program in enterprises Support to higher education programs and to PhD students' insertion in innovative enterprises

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 2006 CALL FOR PROPOSALS –6 sectors (renewables infomobility,bio&nanotech, aerospace, agri-food) –Budget: 32 M€ project size: M€ –Joint University-enterprises projects –International evaluation SUPPORTING SMEs –Voucher for research activities, IPR enforcement and credit risk (Basel II) CALL FOR TRASNATIONAL RESEARCH PROJETCS via ERANET in Manufacturing 1 TECHNOLOGICAL PLATFORM –Aerospace

WHAT IS IN PROGRESS: 2007 CALL FOR PROPOSALS –Youth&Design (Turin, 2008 World Design Capital) –Mechatronics: 18M –Converging Technologies (ICT, biotech, nanotech and cognitive sciences): 26M 4 TECHNOLOGICAL PLATFORMS –Creativity and Multimedia –Advanced Health services –Sustainable Chemistry –Info mobility

Thank you for your attention! For further information about Re Think and our activities visit: