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EU Local and Regional Authorities' Contribution to the
Mid-term Review of Europe 2020
Assessment of the Innovation Union flagship initiative
CDR5172-2013_00_00_TRA_TCD .../...
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Three years after its launch, the Committee of the Regions will take stock of the Innovation Union flagship initiative at a conference to be held on 27 November 2013 in Brussels. This conference will be the seventh in a series of CoR events and monitoring initiatives surrounding the mid-term review of Europe 2020. More news on this conference can be found on the CoR website[1].
By participating in this survey, you will:
- ensure that your views are taken into account in the debate held during the conference;
- contribute to the CoR's consultative activity in this field over the coming months;
- provide input to the CoR's contribution to the mid-term review of Europe 2020.
If you wish to participate in this survey, please complete this questionnaire in any eu language, using the spaces provided, and return it in text format to:
by 27 September 2013
For more information on this survey and for details on how to join the
Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform, go to:
http://portal.cor.europa.eu/europe2020/
The questionnaire is available on this website in all official EU languages
You can find more information on Innovation Union, as seen from the local and regional authorities' viewpoint, in the Committee of the Regions' publication Delivering on the Europe 2020 Strategy - A Handbook for Local and Regional Authorities[2]. General information on Europe 2020 may be found on the strategy's official website[3].
Contributor information[4]
Name of sender: / Rogier van der SandeContact details:
(address, telephone, email) / Trierstraat 59-61, 02 7379951,
On behalf of:
(name of local or regional authority) / Province of South Holland (Provincie Zuid-Holland)
Type of organisation / City/Town/Municipality Region
County/Province Association of local and/or regional authorities
Other (please specify)
Country: / Netherlands
Member of the EUROPE 2020 Monitoring Platform: / Yes No
Policy challenges and responses at regional and local level
BOX 1Innovation Union as specified in the European Commission's Communication
The Innovation Union initiative[5] was adopted in 2010, as an integral part of Europe 2020[6]. The overall aim of this flagship initiative is to re-focus research and development (R&D) and innovation policy on the challenges facing our society, such as climate change, energy, health and demographic change. Innovation Union is a crucial investment in our future. For example, it is estimated that achieving the target of investing 3% of EU GDP on R&D by 2020 could create 3.7 million jobs and increase annual GDP by €795 billion by 2025. The flagship initiative contains the following aims:
1. In times of fiscal constraints, the EU and Member States need to continue to invest in education, R&D, innovation and ICTs.
2. EU and national research & innovation systems need to be better linked up with each other and their performance improved.
3. Education systems at all levels need to be modernised. Excellence must become the guiding principle even more than before. Researchers and innovators must be able to work and cooperate across the EU as easily as within national borders. The European Research Area must be completed.
4. Access to EU programmes must be simplified and their leverage effect on private sector investment enhanced, since our research needs to result in more innovation. Cooperation between the worlds of science and business must be enhanced, obstacles removed and incentives put in place.
5. The remaining barriers for entrepreneurs to bring "ideas to market" must be removed: we must have better access to finance, particularly for SMEs, affordable intellectual property rights, smarter and more ambitious regulations and targets and a faster setting of interoperable standards.
6. European Innovation Partnerships should be launched.
7. Strengths in design and creativity must be better exploited.
8. Social innovation must be championed and a better understanding of public sector innovation developed, identifying and giving visibility to successful initiatives.
9. Better work with our international partners is needed. That also means adopting a common EU front where needed in international (trade) negotiations.
The Innovation Union flagship initiative has evolved since its launch in 2010. New building blocks, such as the Smart Specialisation Platform and five European Innovation Partnerships have already been launched (the EIPs on: Active and Healthy Ageing; Agricultural Sustainability and Productivity; Smart Cities and Communities; Water; and Raw Materials). All these elements as well as news of events are publicly available on or through the EU Commission's dedicated Innovation Union website.
1) What type of policy programmes/actions are being implemented in your city/region to support the policy goals of the Innovation Union (see Box 1)?
1.1 Investing in R&D, innovation and ICT (own resources, public-private partnerships, other sources…) / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
Brief description:
-Research and Innovation is one of the priorities of my province as well as within our strategic cooperation in the Randstad Region (four provinces Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Flevoland and Utrecht).
-We support R&D via e.g. structural funds, our regional innovation strategy based on the cooperation with universities, knowledge centres as well as SME’s (active in R&D).
-We will use in the period 2014-2020 a substantial percentage of the structural funds (through our regional development agency) for venture capital, start-up investments to specifically address SMEs.
-As a province we try to act as a catalyser, stimulator and intermediate for bringing the stakeholders (universities, businesses, governments) along the innovation value chain together.
- Due to our intermediate position we believe regions are key in bringing the innovation union to practice. We believe we cannot reach the objectives of the Innovation Union on our own as a region. We try to focus on a business and demand driven approach in order to pull market innovations.
1.2 Providing support to potential beneficiaries to access EU funds and participate in EU initiatives in the field of research and innovation / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
Brief description:
-We organise as a province on a very regular basis ‘brokerage’ events for project partner searches and information seminars and sessions about Future EU funds, policies and programmes.
-Besides we have an updated database gathering all the European projects (mostly ERDF). This way we can deduct from the available data the topics and priorities of several target groups, SMEs, local authorities etc.
-Besides our province has an official ‘EU support point’ consisting of a team of experts providing advises about project proposals/ ideas and guide applicants through EU processes and procedures.
1.3 Encouraging the use of the results of research projects in innovative products and services / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
Brief description:
To translate innovative ideas and concrete innovations into market introductions and new productions is a major European challenge and has our continuous concern as a province.
In several projects the results are translated into concrete services and products.
NECen microscope (Netherlands Centre for Electron Nanoscopy)
The main aim of NeCEN is to provide the means to resolve and characterise the detailed structures of life through the use of advanced cryo-electron microscopy. NeCEN is a national facility. NWO and EFRO (European Regional Development Fund) have both contributed to its financing. Outcome is that other regions and consortium members are able to make use of this highly sophisticated and unique microscope. Researchers from all national and international scientific institutions can submit proposals. New users of the facility will gain preferred access, in order to spread the use of the possibilities of electronmicroscopy. Young researchers are specifically invited to apply.
Like HEALTH-TIES. Modelling, fact finding and analysis
A model for investigating regional strength was developed by the HEALTH-TIES regional innovation experts. Furthermore, to analyse the scientific strengths per region a system was developed and both were executed combined with several visits to each region to scout for best practices. The analysis resulted in the web-based virtual reference region, which is now available via http://vrr.HealthTIES.eu.
Approximately 30 parameters were defined as quantifiably numbers in order to compare the strength of several aspects. Parameters that could be found via publicly available sources were selected which are sufficiently relevant with the definition and implementation of new actions for the regions. The expected final results and their potential impact and use
The HEALTH-TIES joint action plan is anticipated to lead to the delivery of more healthcare products and services for the EU citizens and jobs within the life science and medtech companies. These goals will be met by the implementation of e.g. TTO cooperation, joint entrepreneurial education and incubator management, joint public-private research projects for which the first ideas are already being discussed.
1.4 Removing barriers to innovation, such as expensive intellectual property rights and limited access to finance / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
Brief description:
We do everything within our reach and competences to overcome obstacles that hamper innovation. As said we will dedicate a specific percentage of the structural funds (through our regional development agency) for diminishing administrative barriers/ regulation, invest in start-ups and provide venture capital financing for SMEs.
1.5 Participating in one of the European Innovation Partnerships / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
If so, which one?
We contribute to EIPs with expertise, both direct and indirect:
More indirect:
- EIP Agriculture (as Dutch provinces);
- EIP Raw Materials (through the businesses situated in our province);
- EIP Active and Healthy Ageing (through the knowledge institutes in our province).
1.6 Stimulating social innovation / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
Brief description:
Direct effects of social innovation are rather difficult to define.
1.7 Cooperation with international partners in the field of research and innovation / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
Brief description:
We are a very internationally oriented region. As we mainly act as an intermediate between the businesses and universities our role is rather to support international R&D cooperation and align our initiatives with the demands and proposals from the knowledge institutes and universities in our region. One of our objectives is to create and provide the right knowledge/ innovation infrastructure and policy environment. Besides we support initiatives or important project proposals that for example need the involvement of a public (regional) authority.
1.8 Encouraging innovation in the public sector[7] / Policy programmes/actions contributing to this aim?
Yes No Don’t know
Brief description:
We do differentiate. Innovation is necessary in all sectors, both public and private.
2) One of the main aims of the Europe 2020 Strategy is to increase investments in R&D to 3% of EU GDP. This target is underpinned by several actions under Innovation Union. The latest Innovation Union Scoreboard[8] of the European Commission, a progress monitoring tool, shows that there are big differences in the progress made towards this target across the EU. Which of the following challenges would you consider as the most urgent to address?
Multiple answers possible
Under-investment in the existing knowledge base (infrastructure, public research centres etc.);
Poor access to finance for innovative start-ups;
High costs of intellectual property rights (IPRs);
Ineffective use of the innovation possibilities offered by public procurement;
Fragmentation and costly duplication of projects and programmes;
No strategic approach to innovation at national level;
No real cooperation between research and industry, limited scale of bringing ideas to market;
So-called "brain-drain" (best talents leaving Europe for opportunities elsewhere);
Other (please specify)
Besides having an innovation policy one should be prepared to invest in R&D.
BOX 2
Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe
The Communication of the European Commission entitled "Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020[9]" [COM(2010) 553] sets out the role of regional policy in implementing the Europe 2020 strategy[10] in the area of smart growth and in particular the flagship initiative Innovation Union.[11] The Communication calls on national and regional governments to develop smart specialisation strategies to maximise the impact of regional policy in combination with other EU policies. As a follow-up, in June 2011 the European Commission launched an online platform with a set of tools which can be used to optimise the development of local and regional smart strategies. The Smart Specialisation Platform (SPP) provides users with practical guidelines such as the latest news and events, as well as many other features. In the Communication document, the European Commission provides a non-exhausive list of ideas which regions could use to design their strategies:
1. Innovation clusters for regional growth
Clusters provide a favourable environment for fostering competitiveness and driving innovation. Support for their development needs to be concentrated on areas of comparative advantage.
2. Innovation-friendly business environments for SMEs
Regional and national authorities should support innovation-friendly business environments to assist SMEs, R&D-intensive ones especially, and the creation of new firms.
3. Lifelong learning in research and innovation
Focusing school, vocational and higher education curricula on cross-sector skills such as creativity and entrepreneurship will help young people to develop their full potential for innovation.
4. Attractive regional research infrastructure and centres of competence
National and regional authorities should consider, in particular, how EU regional policy can contribute to the 2015 objective of the Innovation Union flagship of completing or initiating 60% of the research infrastructure currently identified by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI)[12].
5. Creativity and cultural industries
Cultural and creative industries, which flourish at local and regional level, are in a strategic position to link creativity and innovation.[13] They should be integrated into regional development strategies.6. Digital Agenda
With regard to the significance of ICT for the innovation system, Member States should consider how to better use the ERDF to accelerate achievement of the EU 2020 objectives for broadband access.
7. Public procurement
Innovative public procurement means the public sector taking on the role and risks of a lead customer, while improving the quality of its services and productivity.
3) In line with the Innovation Union flagship initiative and the additional Communication on "Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020" (see Box 2), local and regional authorities are encouraged to build smart specialisation strategies, as a condition for having access to EU Structural Funds available for investments in research and innovation. Does your region/city have a smart specialisation strategy?
Yes No Don’t know
Ø If you answered "yes" please describe briefly its main elements and the opportunities you have identified in your smart specialisation strategy, corresponding to the list in Box 2.
Randstad Region (North Holland, South Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland) is a competitive region. All provinces are listed in the top 10 of the European Regional Competitive Index 2013. Within its borders there are many knowledge institutions (>100). So there is a high potential to contribute to the aims of the innovation union in the area with many possibilities when it comes to subjects. Therefore we embrace the sectors of the National Government. These are water, agriculture, energy, agro & food, logistics, high tech, life sciences & health, chemistry and creative industry.
Ø If you answered "no" please let us know whether your region/city was asked by your national government to initiate a smart specialisation strategy.
Yes No Don’t know
4) Innovation Union and the concept of smart specialisation encourage a better integration of cultural and creative industries in the overall economic development. Although they have a high innovation potential, they are not always included in strategies or projects. Are cultural and creative industries included in the economic development strategy and/or in the smart specialisation strategy of your city/region?
Yes No Don’t know
Ø If you answered "yes" please describe how.
Creative industry is one of the nine subjects on which the national K&I policy is aimed at.
How is the Innovation Union relevant to your city or region?