1. Miroslav Janeček Knowledge Economy Forum V Prague March 28 – 30, 2006 R&D for Innovation The Czech Approach

2. Current situation in the Czech Republic R&D Institutions  Universities  Academy of Sciences  Private sector R&D Funding (2005)  Very complex system  (the amount of money: 0,56 public, 0,75 private) GERD/GDP:0,56% vs.BERD/GDP: 0,75%  Strong institutional funding (60 % of R&D financed by the State)

3. Main Challenges  Current state of the industry  Governance of research institutions  Lack of political commitment  Insufficient support for technology transfer  Big concentration of R&D capacities to Prague (70 % of the state budget for R&D)

4. Successful Measures  Positive trends in state funding in the last 18 months  Collaborative programs  Science-technology parks (Structural Funds)  Fiscal incentives since 2005 (companies can deduct their own R&D expenditures from the tax base)  R&D evaluation more emphasise on both scientific excellence and practical results

5. Collaborative Research Common feature: Joint research between industrial companies and academic institutions Industrial programs Industrial programs  TT Centres, Consortia, Tandem  funded by the Ministry of Industry General programs General programs  Research Centres A, B (RC A, RC B)  funded by the Ministry of Education

6. Industrial Programs  Short to middle term horizon  Projects focused on a defined goal  product / technology  Funding from the state budget 25 – 50 %  industrial research and development  Tandem has a broader scope of activities  starting from basic research  Industrial Program Facts…

7. Facts on Industrial Programs TT CentresConsortiaTandem Duration1998-20032001-20062004-2010 Costs 3,54 / 1,3474,38 / 1,9352,88 / 1,834 (CZK bil.) Specific featurechemical spec.telecom.higher ratio of coal processingmachinerybasic research new materialseligible

8. General Programs  Mid to long term horizon  Oriented towards improvements within a sector (no concrete product anticipated as a project goal)  General Program Facts:  2 categories (A - basic research, B - applied research)  21 + 12 projects have been awarded  funding from the state budget CZK 1,57 bil. + 1,71 bil.

9. General Programs - Examples Basic research (RC A)  Research centre for applied optics  Centre of cell therapy and tissue substitution  Research centre of laser plasma  New and prospective inorganic compounds and materials Applied research (RC B)  Centre for the machinery equipment  Centre of complex crude oil processing

10. RC Program Achievements I Positive features  Critical mass has been achieved in the awarded important sectors  Centres have been realised internationally as a new R&D quality  Many new PhD students have been educated in these Centres  Practical applications of some results (eg. Machinery, Aircraft manufacturing)  Relationships between people from various institutions and companies have helped create new alliances

11. RC Program achievements II Negative features  R&D priorities have not been respected  All 33 centres were assessed as excellent  In few cases no continuation of very promising activities  No direct successor to category B program

12. Science-Technology Parks  Thanks to an older programme more then 20 STPs and Business Innovation Centres have been created  Only some of them work well  BIC Plzeň  18 companies, e.g. Panasonic SW, 77 employees, 1925 m²  Technological Incubator VUT Brno  15 companies e.g. YSoft, 90 employees, 521 m²  Current increase strongly supported by EU Structural Funds  Business Incubators and Transfer Technology Centres

13. Space for Improvement  Change the proportion of various funding mechanisms (institutional/project)  Enhance the amount of funding for collaborative research  Use fiscal measures (tax incentives) to encourage collaborative research  Apply National Innovation Policy  Improve the entrepreneurship environment  Orient EU structural funds to R&D and innovation

14. Thank You for your Attention Miroslav Janeček R&D Council Association of Research Organisations janecek@avo.cz