CORDIS

In order to achieve the Lisbon objectives and create a knowledge based society, Europe needs to increase and improve investment in research and development (R&D). This requires improving the effectiveness and coherence of research policies at European, national and regional levels.

The strategic objectives of the project was to increase the effectiveness and coherence of research policies at European, national and regional level by the coordination and exploitation of the synergies and results of the parallel programming activities on the basis of mutual learning between the project partners. The project aimed to achieve this objective through analysing, comparing and benchmarking of the regional processes on the field of research, development and innovation (RDI) policies in the partner regions.

The most important obstacle by carrying out the activities in the COGNAC project was the nature of the available information in the different regions. We realised our partner regions are in different stage of producing relevant RDI statistical information in order to allow joint analysis with other regions. The COGNAC project has done a lot to provide information for regional innovation stakeholder and policy makers.

In the project, two types of regional stakeholders participated: one regional authority responsible for the regional innovation strategy planning and implementation and one regional stakeholder (research institute or tertiary education centre). From the eight regions participating, two are at NUTS III level: Zlin and Kosice region, but the others are NUTS II regions. Although, the statistical level of the regions is different, all regions participating in the project has their own proper regional level authority and these authorities operate on the given regional level.

Mutual learning among the COGNAC partners has been present during the whole COGNAC project. Firstly, in the elaboration of the transnational catalogue on priorities, secondly in the design of the action plan through joint actions and in the elaboration of the responsibilities matrixes, and finally in the collection of recommendations on mutual reinforcing actions and on transferability model.

As a result of the research and benchmarking conducted by the project several recommendations on the transferability of initiatives field were gathered in order to ease the transferability of good practices done that could be the inspiration for new transregional initiatives.

The recommendations were classified taking into consideration the nature of factors influencing the transferability process. On one hand, the elements related to the initiatives, such as their maturity or flexibility, and on the other hand, the elements linked to the context where the initiatives are transferred, for example: the differences among legal frameworks or the innovation system of the involved regions.

These recommendations were classified according to the different government levels: regional, national and the European Union level. Some of these recommendations are:
- Regions should ensure they have channels for accessing national and European levels of government (regional recommendations).
- Ensuring that regional interests are adequately covered for national governments, especially if the level of decentralisation is low (national recommendation).
- Ensuring regional cohesion through RDI activities (national recommendation).
- A deeper information management on regional initiatives would be interesting, having access to more regional projects and more information about the design, implementation and monitoring issues of these projects (EU level).

Finally, thinking about the future, the designed COGNAC action plan is already an opportunity to foster transregional cooperation as a way to develop the regional innovation systems in the COGNAC regions. In that sense, contacts among COGNAC partners can go on to implement the planned initiatives. Besides, the set of recommendations produced by the COGNAC project, they can be a useful guide to ensure the adequate implementation of future transregional joint initiatives and to ease the transnational transfer of successful regional initiatives to other COGNAC regions.