Summary objectives The background 7

6.4Implementation phase

Good practices already identified, analysed and shared may be implemented at the local level.

Implementation is intended as the development of initiatives on the basis of analysed practices or the application of some aspects of the analysed practices to already developed practices existing in the other regions.

The involvement of local network members, having the will and capacity to develop new innovation practices with relation to the specific area, is particularly important in the implementation phase.

Specific implementation modalities being closely linked to the nature of the transferred good practices and also to the context where they will be implemented, they will be defined during the implementation process.

7Various decision levels involved

The methodology described here above involves all actors participating in the network. Here below the level of involvement of each decision level in each phase is described.

7.1The partner organisations

Partner organisations being either “bridging organisations” (ASTER, KEIM, Oxford Innovation) or a local institution (Municipality of Grenoble on behalf of the Cities of Grenoble and Lyon and The Rhône-Alpes Region), they have a major role in the development process and in the management and transfer of innovation practices.

As observed in KREO TN1, partners act either as “producers” or as “pioneer-users” or “carriers” of knowledge.

In particular, as highlighted in Figure 1, bridging organisations:

(1) may be involved in the implementation of specific practices when an active role is performed by local administrations in terms of innovation policy and explicit decisions are taken.

(2) when regional innovation policy has a passive role, a "laissez faire" situation characterises the framework where these organisations are asked to effectively deliver the appropriate innovation policy through the implementation of specific practices.

The Municipality of Grenoble has a co-ordinating role in innovation policy and the various initiatives developed in the area, therefore its role within KREO may be assimilated to the one of the bridging organisations participating in the networks.

The partners play a central role in the application of the methodology, working on all its phases in collaboration with their local network:

• 
  In the exploratory phase, partners are in charge of collecting inputs from their local networks and focusing investigation activity on those initiatives that are deemed to be most promising and interesting both locally and at a network level.
  
• 
  In the transfer phase, the partners will be responsible for a close collaboration with the local network for the identification and analysis of good practices that can be of interest for the other partner regions. The creation, within each thematic WP, of inter-regional working groups will enable activity to be better focused and exchange to happen.
  
• 
  In the implementation phase, partners have the role to favour the direct participation to the implementation process of the interested organisations belonging to their regional tissue.
  

7.2The Advisory Board

As mentioned in the KREO TN2 Manual of Procedures, the KREO TN2 Advisory Board (AB) represents a “supra-project” organisational level and is composed by high-profile representatives of the partners, directly involved in or close to the innovation policy decision level of the partner regions.

The setting-up of this board is based on the experience of KREO TN1, the main objective of the AB being to define the strategic orientations of the network. From a methodological point of view, the AB, although providing an overall guidance to the network, will focus particularly on:

• 
  The exploratory phase, where the AB will be responsible for assessing the identified new initiatives and priorities in innovation policy for the support of start-ups
  
• 
  The implementation phase, where the Board will be particularly active in assessing the results of the activity, and identifying, starting from those, possible inputs for future policy developments, both at local and European level.
  

7.3Local networks

Regional key players should be involved in all phases from the exploratory one to the implementation phase. However, they play a major role in the latter one.

In order to maximise the impact of network activities at local level, local networks are co-ordinated by partner organisations based in their area.

8Tools

Several tools will be used all along the good practice transfer process:

• 
  The structure for collecting information on regional frameworks (Annexes 1 and 2)
  
• 
  The questionnaire for analysing good practices (Annex 3)
  
• 
  Workshops and seminars,
  
• 
  Bilateral meetings
  
• 
  Visiting schemes
  
• 
  Set of impact indicators for the evaluation of practices (to be developed)
  

Figure 5 – Main tools applying to each transfer phase

ANNEX 1

INDICATORS ON REGIONAL FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS

ANNEX 2

STRUCTURE FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION ON POLICIES AND INITIATIVES DEVELOPEDED WITHIN THE REGIONAL FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS

STRUCTURE TO COLLECT INFORMATION ON REGIONAL FRAMEWORKS
The information below will be collected in each region on a yearly basis. The aim of the present document is to identify regional framework conditions and detect new initiatives being developed in a series of themes linked to innovation and support to new innovative firms, in particular science and technology based ones.

1. 
   Regional innovation systems
   
   1. 
      Industry
      

• 
  Main economic sectors
  
• 
  Presence of technology clusters
  

1. 
   Higher Education and Research Strustures
   

• 
  Higher education structures
  
• 
  Research centres
  

1. 
   Innovation Support Infrastructures
   

• 
  Science Parks
  
• 
  Technology transfer structures
  
• 
  Sectoral service centres
  
• 
  Incubating facilities
  
• 
  Industry/Research platforms and joint research structures
  

2. 
   Key policy and legal framework for innovation and enterprise creation, education and training (at a national and regional level)
   

• 
  Measures to encourage business start-up
  
• 
  Measures to develop innovation in existing enterprises
  
• 
  Measures for interface research/education/enterprises
  
• 
  Measures to favour the mobility of researchers
  
• 
  Measures to favour the creation of start-ups out of research outputs and competencies
  
• 
  Measures to favour the development of technology clusters
  

3. 
   Provision of risk capital for new science and technology based enterprises
   

The provision of capital may be of public, private, and mixed origin and, in particular, information may regard:

• 
  Pre-seed financing
  
• 
  Seed funds
  
• 
  Early stage financing
  
• 
  Business Angels Networks
  
• 
  Venture capital companies operating in the region