CONCLUSIONS ON BUSINESS AND INNOVATION CULTURE

Common features in innovation support 1.Majority of the regions have institutions which support innovation and provide consulting in implementing new technologies and modern management systems in companies, in particular:  public and private consulting companies national funds supporting innovations EU funds supporting innovations

2.The most advanced systems of business and innovation support are applied in: - Upper Austria (leader in european networking) - Weser-Ems - Andalucia 3. In other regions (South Aegean, North Karelia, Lubelskie) the support system operates to a lesser extent

4. All regions involved in the project hold academic and research development potentials, but cooperation is varied in particular regions: The most advanced and complex projects are realized in Weser- Ems, then in Upper Austria and Andalucia. Low level of cooperation between schools and business is characteristic for schools from the Lublin and South Aegean regions However, Lublin region, among other regions, is the largest academic centre with highly unused potential.

Situation in border regions  Tendencies to develop the company support and innovation systems are being observed in Andalucia partners: Morocco and Tunisia  The opposite situation exists in the former Soviet Union countries (Volyn and Republic of Karelia), where pro-business policy had never been designed or developed

What should we focus on? Cooperation between businesses Cooperation between business and schools Taking advantage of experience of welathy regions participating in the project, especially Weser-Ems and Upper Austria

Obstacles for the Y4I diverse level of innovation in particular regions different systems of business suport lack of experience in cooperation between businesses (business clusters) and between business and schools (in several regions) Thus, in some regions there may be difficulties in attracting valuable partners to the project.