More insight to improve regional innovation
Innovation on a regional level is one of the key drivers of the European knowledge economy, creating clusters whose members can achieve more together than if they were alone. In order to be successful, regional innovation must be supported by the right policies on many different levels. The EU-funded REGIO_SPIN (Regional innovation policy, knowledge spillovers, productivity, and institutions) project developed recommendations on cohesion policy, science, technology and innovation policies. To articulate these policies, the project team researched the role of regional institutions in implementing cohesion policy and good governance. It studied innovation in different European regions comparing it with Chinese regions and examining university-industry partnerships related to technological transfer and innovation. The project also looked at the effectiveness of training policy in improving labour marker performance of workers and unemployed, considering factors such as labour market institutions, skills and innovation. Building partnerships among academic institutions, the team organised two workshops in Italy on relevant topics. One workshop covered key topics such as university-industry linkages, and the other examined risks and resilience from a regional perspective. Through its research, REGIO_SPIN articulated valuable findings on different angles related to regional innovation policy. It found, for example, that productivity growth is mainly driven by capital accumulation in regions which are lagging behind socioeconomically. It therefore recommended that cohesion policy upgrade technological capabilities to help independent generation of innovation and encourage uptake of technologies developed in advanced regions. In other findings, the project team revealed how decentralisation can encourage economic growth and how structural funds can have a higher impact on economic growth in decentralised regions. Important findings also emerged with respect to university-industry linkages, as well as on the impact of training on the employed and unemployed in getting a job. The results were disseminated through seminars, conferences and workshops. They were also communicated to regional policymakers and stakeholders at EU level with the aim of informing relevant events. The more insight the EU has on improving regional innovation, the better it is for competitiveness and industry.
Keywords
Regional innovation, REGIO_SPIN, cohesion policy, training, structural funds
