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Conference WIRE 2012. Delivering the Innovation Union at Regional Level

Final Report Summary - WIRE 2012 (Conference WIRE 2012. Delivering the Innovation Union at Regional Level)

Executive summary:

The WIRE 2012 (WIRE III) was based on a follow-up elaborated during the previous WIRE Conferences in 2010 and 2011. The previous WIRE Conferences (Week of Innovative Regions in Europe) gathered stakeholders from research and innovation sector, in particular: policy makers, regional and national authorities, representatives of research units, innovative enterprises as well as all other stakeholders supporting the growth of innovativeness. The WIRE I was organized in Granada (Spain) under the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, whereas WIRE II was held in Debrecen (Hungary) as one of the key events during the Hungarian Presidency.

The WIRE 2012 as a discussion forum gathered prominent speakers representing authorities, research and industry at the regional, national and European level. During the event three thematic pillars were developed and discussed in details during conference's sessions in order to find effective and efficient solutions on how to implement the Innovation Union at the regional level. The issue was tackled from various perspectives such as: Challenge for Smart Specialisation for European regions (session 2), Cities - innovation hubs (session 3), Centres of excellence as innovation drivers in less developed regions (session 4), Role of innovative regions and networks in the Innovation Union (session 5), Actors and instruments in regional innovation ecosystems (session 6), Tackling grand societal challenges at the regional level (session 7), Synergies between Cohesion Policy and Horizon 2020 (session 8) and Innovative partnerships of European Regions (session 9). The discussions were followed in order to reach the main conferences outcomes such as:

-providing a solid basis for serious of recommendations on the issue of coherence of the EU, national and regional priorities as well as synergetic use of instruments in the fields of research and innovation in order to reach Europe 2020 headline targets related to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as well as successfully tackling the grand societal challenges. In the next perspective the recommendations may contribute to the renewed Practical Guide on EU funding opportunities for research and innovation' focusing on the instruments available under Horizon 2020 and the Cohesion Policy in the financial frame 2014-2020.
-giving tips and recommendations for regions on the content and actions planned within smart regional specialization strategies in order to ensure the effective differentiation of regions in line with EU priorities. The recommendation will tackle the issue of excellence and ways of efficient assessment.
-presenting best practicies and examples of effective networking schemes and tailored partnerships between regions in the Innovative Europe.

In a view of developments of the previous WIRE conferences the WIRE 2012 (WIRE III) concentrated on the regional dimension of the Innovation Union Flagship as in the financial frame 2014-2020 the regional dimension will be tackled by the Horizon 2020 and instruments offered under the Cohesion Policy: ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund. All confirm the crucial role of the regions in the development of the knowledge-based society. The Horizon 2020 calls upon excellent science targeted through the implementation of the EU 2020 goals focusing on the Innovation Union flagship - making Europe into world-class science performers through focusing on innovations that address the major challenges identified in Europe 2020, pursuing a brad concept of innovation and involving all actors and all regions in the innovation cycle as well as removing obstacles - unfavourable framework conditions and fragmentation of efforts.

The Proposal on Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on specific provisions concerning the European Regional Development Fund and the Investment for growth and jobs underlines the need of concentrating funding on a smaller number of priorities performed at the regional level better linked to the Europe 2020 Strategy. The ERDF should support the development of endogenous potential through financing of local and regional research and innovation through fixed investments in small-scale infrastructure, support to public research and innovation bodies and investments in technology and applied research in enterprises as well as networking, cooperation and exchange of experience between regions, towns and other stakeholders.

Project Context and Objectives:

The role of innovation, especially at the regional level, has grown rapidly in recent years. Innovation is seen as a new source of growth for many economies all over the world. The Europe 2020 strategy and the Innovation Union Communication underscore the importance of innovation in the EU context. Taking into account these strategic documents, the question is: how to better design and implement innovation and regional policies and how to take full advantage of the complementarities and synergies between them?

Horizon 2020 and cohesion policy are strictly connected. Horizon 2020 supports research and development activities of the highest quality across the EU, while cohesion policy aims at strengthening the foundations on which European regions, especially the less developed ones, can build their innovativeness. Horizon 2020 should support regional research infrastructure to ensure greater access to excellent research facilities. Horizon 2020 and cohesion policy need to be fully integrated if Europe's intellectual capital and the potential of its regions are to be fully used to strengthen the European Research Area. Complementarities and synergies should be achieved by the use of support instruments such as: teaming of excellent research institutions and less developed regions, twinning of staff, expert advice and the development of joint strategies for the establishment of centres of excellence, creating links with innovative clusters and recognising excellence in less developed regions. The question is: do we know any other noteworthy instruments?

Any discussion on the complementarities and synergies between innovation and regional policies cannot omit issues related to the directions of support, particularly strengthening critical mass and creating so-called smart specialization. It is fully justified that the support, especially in the framework of cohesion policy, is directed towards areas and fields which enable regions to strengthen their competitive advantages and economic specialization. Excellent examples of strengthening regional potential and regional excellence can be found among the investments financed under the cohesion policy framework in Poland over the last few years, especially state of the art research laboratories as well as educational infrastructure (a map of investments is available on the Ministry's website). The issue of smart specialization is addressed particularly by cohesion policy, however the question is: how can this process be supported by Horizon 2020?

The regional dimension of innovation policy has been discussed at many conferences, especially WIRE 2010 and WIRE 2011. It was also an important topic for Trio Presidency: Poland, Denmark and Cyprus.

WIRE2012 focused on smart regional development based on knowledge and innovation, it addressed current issues related to the effective implementation of the Innovation Union at the regional level for the next period 2014-2020.

The event was organised by National Contact Point for Research Programmes of the EU and the European Commission and took place in Krakow, Poland on 4-5 June 2012.

The aim of the WIRE2012 conference was to present both main challenges and barriers concerning the development of innovation in regions and to elaborate recommendations for European and regional innovation policy-makers.

Project Results:

This project did not concern scientific issues and therefore did not use any foreground knowledge nor produced applicable knowledge.

Potential Impact:

Results of the conference

The conference was organized upon three thematic pillars:
-Smart regions in the Horizon 2020 which covered 'Regional dimension in the future Framework Programme', 'synergies with the Cohesion Policy'; 'Best practices of leading innovative European regions'; 'Concept of 'cities as innovation hubs' and its contribution to the regional specialization'; 'Enhancement and development of regional infrastructure'; 'Building the effective regional innovation ecosystems'; 'Smart specialization of regions in practice'; 'New innovative schemes on exchange of know-how'; 'Main barriers in the regional smart specialization process'; 'Key Performance Indicators at the regional level'; 'Innovation tailored partnerships'
-Stairway to Excellence which covered 'Future of regional dimension of research and excellence'; 'Identification of possible synergic use of the financial instruments available under the Horizon 2020 and the Cohesion Policy'; 'Examination of the concept of excellence within the smart specialization of convergence regions', 'Smart Regional Innovation Strategies'; 'Supporting the development of talents at the regional level - smart education and smart skills for the new competitive economy'; 'Centres of Excellence (identification, evaluation, seal of excellence, support from SF) '; 'Lessons learnt from REGPOT and Regions of Knowledge Programmes'
-Networking the ERA at the regional level which covered 'Identification of networking schemes through clusters of regional authorities'; 'productive sectors and research institutions'; 'Constructing ERA at the regional level - instruments; best practices'; INTERREG; 'European Territorial Cooperation'; 'Clusters'; 'Regions of Knowledge'; 'European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation'; 'Networks of research infrastructures'; 'Multiregional Knowledge Partnerships (Danube, Odra) '; 'Instruments in HORIZON 2020'; 'synergy with the Structural Funds'; 'Lessons learnt from Regions of Knowledge Programmes'

WIRE2012 contributed to recommendations on the issue of coherence of the EU, national and regional priorities as well as synergetic use of instruments in the field of both research and innovation in order to reach Europe 2020 headline targets related to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as well as successfully tackling the grand societal challenges. These recommendations shall contribute to the updated Practical Guide on EU funding opportunities for research and innovation focusing on the instruments available under Horizon 2020 and the Cohesion Policy in the financial framework 2014-2020.

At the regional level the WIRE 2012 was a platform for formulating recommendations for regions on the content and actions planned within smart regional specialization strategies in order to ensure the effective differentiation of regions in line with EU priorities. The recommendation will tackle the issue of excellence and ways of efficient assessment.

The WIRE2012 will provide examples of effective networking schemes and tailored partnerships between regions in the Innovative Europe.

Moreover, as the event gathered policymakers, authorities and scientists from all over Europe the guests were able to take part in the discussion whom results will contribute to defining instruments within the Horizon 2020 dedicated to the support of smart regions, but also will help to identify schemes for cooperation and networking between regions within the Innovative Europe.

The participants, during their discussions, also had an opportunity to work out some practical tips on how to elaborate the regional smart specialization strategies and a portfolio of innovative indicators measuring the smart specialization of regions.

Identification of financial instruments under the Horizon 2020 and Cohesion Policy supporting the excellence at the regional level as well as possible schemes for further enhancement of Centres of Excellence in the Convergence Regions and identification of schemes and instruments for supporting the development of talents within regions were also an important point on the conference's agenda.

The past and future participants of Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) calls, regional authorities and industrial actors debated on schemes of incorporating excellence into regional smart specialization strategies as well as they tried to come up with recommendations for a future shape of the Practical Guide on EU funding opportunities for research and innovation focusing on the instruments available under Horizon 2020 and the Cohesion Policy in the new financial frames. This was also an opportunity to share and learn some Practical tips on communication and facilitation of procedures on building Multiregional Knowledge Partnerships and European territorial Cooperation. Identification of possible networking schemes and partnerships between regions in the Innovative Europe on research and innovation was also possible as the participants came from all over Europe.

In order to achieve best attendance, media coverage and, in turn, to achieve best impact, a whole array of activities was planned within the project.

First of all, the conference team, together with the Commission, created a draft list of speakers. The speaker group was designed to both attract as many stakeholders as possible and to give the event a relatively high status. To communicate with the speakers, a designated email account was created. There, the speakers could address the organizers and receive answers to any questions concerning issues such as accommodation, airport transfer, reimbursement, time assigned for presentation, etc.

The next point on the agenda was to communicate the date and venue of the event. The first announcement was made in February 2012 on the Commission's websites. Almost simultaneously, the conference was announced on other web portals, this includes Polish websites governmental websites such as http://www.cip.gov.pl http://www.pi.gov.pl the NCP's website etc. and their counterparts in other EU member states, as well as on web pages of some European projects (see http://www.c-energyplus.eu http://www.ncp-sme.net online) and others.

In parallel to the aforementioned actions, the conference's website was launched on the 17th of February 2012. There - the participants could check the most up to date agenda, view profiles of the speakers, as well as check practical info concerning Poland, Cracow, the means of transport and book a room in one of the recommended hotels. After the conference was ended, the videos from each of the sessions have been uploaded onto the website and may now be streamed. As of December 2013, we had more than 11000 visitors on the website.

The organizers used the mailing lists of from the previous WIRE conferences and some of their own mailing lists to inform the community about the conference in Cracow and informed the media. The result was the fact that there were press articles concerning the event that was published in from March to June 2012.

The results of the activities described in this part of the report were:
-a well-balanced European-wide representation of relevant stakeholders and, as a result, a multi perspective platform for discussion on regional policies of the EU
-wide media coverage, thus contributing to the promotion of Framework Programmes and European strategies and initiatives

List of Websites:

http://www.wire2012.eu