Kreo tn2 Karlsruhe, Rhône Alpes, Emilia-Romagna and Oxfordshire Thematic Network for the Support of Innovative Companies

7Conclusion

“Establishing research and innovation strategies to develop material and human resources such as supplying research infrastructure and equipment, local university and training facilities support structures to foster creation and growth of innovative enterprises, efficient interfaces within innovation system linking, for example researchers, innovators and sources of finance, science and technology parks, research programmes, initiative to attract researchers locally or promote staff exchanges”²⁴ represents the main priority established by the European Commission to favour the development and exploitation of research at a regional level.

The analysis on the KREO regions backgrounds, policies and practices shows the following:

• 
  All four regions show high economic performances as regards the creation of wealth as well as for the presence of dynamic enterprises. They all have specific strengths and some weaknesses as regards the creation of knowledge, research being particularly developed in the four regions, and innovation performances, innovation capacity of enterprises located in the four regions being among the highest in their countries.
  
• 
  The presence of initiatives for developing relations between research and industry is particularly high. Technology transfer offices as well as programmes to favour the exploitation of research outputs are well established in the four regions.
  
• 
  Initiatives to favour the development of technology clusters aimed at “exploiting geographical features or areas of economic specialisation” are also present in the four regions. In Rhone-Alpes, platforms integrating research, industry and public bodies have been set successfully around the main sectors with a high technological content (e.g. genomics, biotechnology, nanotechnology and microelectronics, energy) with the aim of integrating resources and competencies and making collaborative research projects emerge. In Emilia-Romagna and in the Karlsruhe region, similar experiences are set around key sectors (advanced mechanics in Emilia-Romagna and nanotechnology in Karlsruhe). In Oxfordshire, networks have been created with an industrial focus around key regional focus (biotechnology, IT).
  
• 
  Measures to provide finance to new technology and science based firms in seed and pre-seed phases are present in the four regions.
  
• 
  The establishment and management of incubators is also a major issue in the four regions: some similarities are accompanied by wide differences among the various experiences in terms of targets, founding organisations, financing methods and services offered.
  

But KREO is not only a platform for the exchange of experiences as it also represents an extraordinary framework for four regions of excellence to work together. Inter-regional teams have been set between key players in the regions with the aim of transferring “good practices” from one region to another. The long term relationship and methodological approach has indeed already proved to be appropriate for the implementation of practices in other regions. There are already several examples of effective good practices transfer between the regions. OION, the Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network has been transferred to the other regions: BAN Baden Baden and Lyon Angels (see Table 7) have indeed been established on the basis of the Oxford experience. Similarly, a transfer process has started between Emilia-Romagna (SPINNER and LINK UP) and Karlsruhe, and between Karlsruhe and Grenoble (Karlsruhe Research Centre and Minatec). On the basis of the activities carried out so far, a number of other possible useful exchanges may be envisaged and in some cases transfer and implementation of practices from one region to another seem to be possible in the future.

ANNEXES

Annex 1 – List of good practices identified in the regions

Practices	Region
BAN Baden-Baden	K
BIG-Innovations und Gewerbezentrum	K
CFN- Centre for Functional Nanostructures	K
Clues	K
Cyber Forum	K
FZK / TTM Program	K
GhG	K
Incubator Forum	K
Industrial Forum Microfabrication Technologies	K
Innotec Pforzheim	K
KEIM	K
MBA for business “succession”	K
MBA in Entrepreneurship	K
Nanofair	K
Nano Mat	K
Newcome.de	K
PriManager	K
Research competence mapping in the micro-nano field and technology screening for identifying technology with promising market potential	K
Steinbeis Transfer Centers	K
Technologiefabrik Karlsruhe	K
Technologie Lizenz-Büro	K

Practices	Region
Amorcage Rhone-Alpes	R
ASTEC	R
ATLAS	R
ARN (Regional Digital Agency)	R
ARTEB (Rhone-Alpes Agency for Development of Medical Technologies and Biotechnology)	R
Capital Link	R
CEA-Valorisation SA	R
Centre des Entrepreneurs	R
CCI Lyon/Novacité	R
Créalys	R
Emertec	R
EZUS	R
Forum 4i	R
Grenoble CNRT	R
Grenoble Interactive	R
GR-A-IN	R
Hall de l'entrepreneuriat	R
House of micro & nanotechnologies	R
INERA	R
INPG Entreprise SA	R
INSAVALOR	R
Lyon Angels	R
Lyongame	R
MINATEC's Ideas Lab	R
MINATEC Pole	R
Nanobio	R
Rhone-Alpes Genopole	R
Vouloir Entreprendre	R
UJF Industrie	R

Practices	Region
Alma Cube	E
ARCES	E
Bologna BAN	E
Hi-MECH Cluster	E
Incubatore Multimediale	E
Intraprendere a Modena	E
LINK UP	E
Local spin-off promotion “interest group”	E
MAMBO	E
Mapping of research competencies in Emilia-Romagna	E
Progettando	E
Progetti d'Impresa	E
SIPRO	E
SOPRIP	E
SPINNER	E
Start Cup	E
Workstation	E

Practices	Region
DiagnOX	O
Enterprise Hubs	O
EquityLink Milton Keynes	O
Innovation Action Tool Kits	O
Innovation Networking Club	O
Investment readiness	O
Isis Angels Network	O
Isis College Fund	O
Isis Innovation	O
Motrosport Industry Forum	O
Network Tool Kits	O
Oxford Angels	O
Oxford BioScience Network	O
Oxford Innovation’s Innovation Centres	O
Oxford Investment Opportunity Network	O
Oxford Science Enterprise Centre	O
Oxfordshire BiotechNet	O
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Challenge University Fund	O
OxIT	O
Oxmedianet Clusters	O
OxMediaNetwork	O
Said Business Planning Competition	O
South East Growth Fund	O
Technology Audit at Reserch Organisations	O
VentureFest	O

1 EC, 2003, Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Innovation policy: updating the Union’s approach in the context of the Lisbon strategy”

2 EC, 2002, Cooperation between the research system and industry to promote innovative firms, Directorate-General for Enterprises, ISBN 92-894-3929-7, Luxembourg

3 EC, 2003 European Innovation Scoreboard, Directorate-General for Enterprises, Innovation/SMEs Programme, Luxembourg

4 EC, 2003, Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Innovation policy: updating the Union’s approach in the context of the Lisbon strategy

5 see Deliverable D2.3

6 Source: Office for National Statistics (2001), Region Figures South East, Summer 2002, No 5, ISSN 1472-6246

7 The total number of local units has been calculated summing up together the data related to the number of local units for the following economic activities detailed in the REGIO database (NACE classification): C) Mining and quarrying, D) Manufacturing, E) Electricity, gas and water supply, F) Construction, G) Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods, H) Hotels and restaurants, I) Transport, storage and communication and K) Real estate, renting and business activities.

8 EUROSTAT data was not available. Data reported here (381.2 thousand local units) was collected in March 2001, the source being: Office for National Statistics (2001), Region Figures South East, Summer 2002, No 5, ISSN 1472-6246. Local units are classified in 8 different categories corresponding to the Standard Industrial Classification. (See p.31 of this document for further details).

9 European Commission Enterprise Directorate-General (2003), 2003 European Innovation Scoreboard: Technical Paper No 1 Indicators and Definitions, Innovation/SMEs Programme (Luxembourg)

10 European Commission Enterprise Directorate-General (2003), 2003 European Innovation Scoreboard: Technical Paper No 3 Regional innovation performances, Innovation/SMEs Programme (Luxembourg)

11 RNSII (regional national summary innovation index) - (where indicators 1.2 to 2.4.1 receive a weight of 1 and the five CIS-indicators receive a weight of 0.5):

where ijk X is the value of indicator i for region j in country k and m is the number of indicators for which regional data are available.

12 EC, 2002, Cooperation between the research system and industry to promote innovative firms, Directorate-General for Enterprises, ISBN 92-894-3929-7, Luxembourg

13 Source: http://www.comune.lugo.ra.it/spun/informazioni/incubatore.htm, November 2003

14 EC, 2002, Cooperation between the research system and industry to promote innovative firms, Directorate-General for Enterprises, ISBN 92-894-3929-7

15 Axis 1 supports activities developed by enterprises; specific measures regard the supply of financial support for setting-up new productive units, for consolidating existing SMEs, micro enterprises and independent work, for favouring the creation of innovative enterprises, for supporting tourism enterprises and other companies operating in the social sector. Axis 1 also supports the setting up of enterprises networks and initiatives in collaboration with research bodies. Specific measures are:

Measure 1.1- Development of productive activities (L. 488/92)

Measure 1.2 - Enterprise investments (L. 341/95; L.449/97)

Measure 1.3 - Enterprise innovation and qualification (craft and small enterprises)

Measure 1.4 - Development of independent work activities and new professions

Measure 1.5 - Start up of innovative enterprises

Measure 1.6 - Development of consortia activities and joint-ventures of SMEs and of mixed public and private units

16 EC, 2003, Green Paper Entrepreneurship in Europe”, Document based on COM (2003) 27 final

17 EC, 2002 Cooperation between the research system and industry to promote innovative firms, Directorate-General for Enterprises, ISBN 92-894-3929-7

18 EC, 2002, Cooperation between the research system and industry to promote innovative firms, Directorate-General for Enterprises, ISBN 92-894-3929-7

19 Source: http://www.aifi.it

20 Deliverable D2.1 “Innovation practices exchanges: upgraded methodology”

21 Deliverable D2.1 “Innovation practices exchanges: upgraded methodology”

22 See the Highlights report of the International Conference on technology Clusters Novembre 7-8 2003 in Montreal

23 ^{Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services, European Commission (2002) “Benchmarking of Business Incubators”, available at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_measures/incubators}

24 Communication from the Commission “The regional dimension of the European Research Area” COM (2001) 549 final , 03.10.2001