The outcomes of INNAXE have contributed to strengthen the interconnection among European Life Sciences and Healthtech innovation ecosystems, increasing their efficiency and innovation capacities. The consortium is composed of 6 leading regional, national and EU-wide cluster organisations and networks from Catalonia (Biocat, ES, coordinator), Île de France (Medicen, FR), Rhine-Neckar (BioRN, DE), Bulgaria (Health and Life Sciences Cluster, BG), Denmark (DLSC, DK), and (CEBR, BE).
INNAXE has helped the partners to better understand the pathway to impact concepts and metrics. The consortium has included this logical framework into a joint actionable programme towards more interconnected, inclusive, sustainable, dynamic and competitive Life Sciences and Healthcare innovation ecosystems across the EU and Associated countries.
As main achievements:
- The partners gathered a list of practices from their networks, used to collect, store and circulate knowledge from the Life Science and healthcare sector. The results were linked to the summary innovation index of the RIS (Regional Innovation Scoreboard) to identify trends and relate to impact assessment of the cluster programs and services.
- The consortium analysed and reflected on how cluster management activities performed by their organizations were connected to their strategic goals, their ecosystems’ strengths and weaknesses and the impact achieved with their actions.
- The consortium identified six of the challenges most frequently faced by Life Science and Healthcare clusters and developed an impact evaluation tool based on the logical framework approach to support the design of a Joint Programme to address these challenges. The framework includes indicators to measure outputs, outcomes and impact. All consortium partners completed an impact assessment of their programmes and actions. To better implement the logical framework methodology, the partners participated in an Impact Assessment training provided by an expert on the subject.
- INNAXE provides insights in the form of a framework to support clusters in their definition of services and programs drawing on the specific strengths of each region, to increase the capabilities of territories that are, according to the RIS, emerging and moderate innovators.
- The partners engaged key players from the quadruple helix. Such complementarities and further synergies would be crucial to engage policy makers and stakeholders in the JAP and ensure the long-term impact of INNAXE.
- The consortium implemented a series of dissemination and outreach activities, for example those targeted to cluster organisations like the CEBR Annual Meeting, and with high level strategic the meeting like the one celebrated with former Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, INNAXE has been able to attract attention and engage other European players.
- INNAXE intends to continue as with the implementation of a JAP that has validated by relevant stakeholders (among them, the Associated Partners representing the quadruple helix) and defines a collaboration framework for five years (2024-2029). The consortium has committed to seek potential funding sources to ensure its implementation. To define the main JAP lines and activities, the consortium underwent a series of workshops and an onsite cocreation retreat (in Denmark).
