Final PAXIS workshop marks 'the end of the beginning' for regional cooperation on innovation
After more than five years of collaborative activities, this year's European Innovation Workshop marks the final meeting of the PAXIS network. Rather than signalling the end of inter-regional cooperation on innovation policy and practice however, most delegates in Edinburgh believed that this was just the beginning. PAXIS - the pilot action of excellence on innovative start-ups - was launched in 1999 to bring together Europe's 'regions of excellence' in the field of setting up and developing innovative companies, so that they could share their experiences and learn from each other. A total of 22 regions are involved in the scheme, which is managed by the Commission's Enterprise and Industry DG and funded under the 'Research and Innovation' priority of the Sixth Framework Programme. Opening the two-day workshop on 6 October, David White, Director of Innovation Policy at the Commission's DG Enterprise and Industry, said: 'Europe needs strong and sustainable growth to create jobs [...]. Innovation is a central element in this and a key policy for Europe. The PAXIS networks and projects have shown that regions are willing to work together when it is beneficial to do so.' George Strogylopoulos, Chairman of LOGOTECH SA and an advisor on innovation to regional authorities and national governments, stressed that PAXIS was designed as a pilot initiative, and thus there was always going to be an element of risk and uncertainty involved. 'At the start, we wondered whether networking regions of excellence would work, but it appears that it has.' Mr Strogylopoulos underlined the practical achievements of the network, with some 1,400 people involved, 300 methodologies and best practices identified and numerous initiatives having been turned into new policies across Europe. There are some areas where the impact of PAXIS is harder to measure, he admitted, such as the programme's impact on regional development, but PAXIS has certainly succeeded in raising political awareness of innovation policy. Some delegates, including Alain André, Director General of CICOM, praised the achievements of the network, but expressed their belief that it is too soon to end the activities of PAXIS. However, as Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit at the Commission's Enterprise and Industry DG, explained: 'PAXIS was designed to break the ice and show regions the benefit of cooperation.' He expressed the hope that the relationships forged between collaborating regions in PAXIS would be maintained in the future, with or without funding from the Commission. And while some delegates expressed their concern that PAXIS activities had focussed solely on 'elite' regions, Mr Büscher argued that all regions in Europe would be able to benefit from the network's achievements. 'We would like to see all the good practices that you have developed collected in one place - in a kind of toolbox - so that the work of PAXIS can be shared with all regions in Europe, and I'm aware that this is something you are currently doing.' Mr Büscher also hopes that more results will emerge from the network. 'We want to see more ideas for cooperation being implemented, and I believe that many such actions will come from the partnerships created within PAXIS. We must also raise this type of regional cooperation to programme level, not just leave it at the level of practitioners.' This sentiment had previously also been expressed by Mr White, who said that in future he would like to see regions going beyond what he called 'the first stage of policy learning' instead fostering ever closer cooperation and interaction between innovation actors. 'Regional and local authorities are better placed than the Commission to support innovation, but as PAXIS has shown, the Commission can support trans-regional initiatives to add value, and will continue to do so.' Mr White pointed to the Action Plan on Research and Innovation that will shortly be adopted by the Commission, and outlined its four key pillars. Among these are ProInno Europe, which will foster the coordination of national and sub-national innovation programmes through the InnoNet instruments developed by the Commission, and Europe Innova, which will build on the Gate2Growth initiative by supporting the networking of industrial innovation clusters. Mr White said: 'We want to develop a European Innovation Area, with optimal conditions for innovators, but there is still a long way to go. We must build on the PAXIS spirit by crystallising its efforts and outcomes through the ProInno initiative and carrying them forward.' And as Mr Strogylopoulos concluded: 'We are reaching the end of the programme now, but it seems to me that we are only reaching the end of the beginning - not the beginning of the end.'