regions and innovation: collaborating across borders

REGIONS AND INNOVATION: COLLABORATING ACROSS BORDERS

XIV All-Russian Forum «Strategic Planning in the Regions and Cities of Russia» St Petersburg, 19 October 2015 Bill Tompson, Senior Counsellor & Deputy Head Regional Development Policy Division [email protected]

Innovation trends call for international collaboration

strategies

St Petersburg, XIV All-Russian Forum 2 19 Oct 2015

Innovation-related collaboration increasingly global

International scientific co-publications tripling from 7% to 22% over 20 years. The share of regional co-patents with foreign inventors has doubled from 10% to 20% over 30 years.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

Thousands

Internationalco-authorship

Single-institutionco-authorship

Domesticco-authorship

Single authorSource: OECD (2010), Measuring Innovation: A New Perspective, OECD Publishing, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264059474-en.

International scientific production


http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264059474-en

Global value chains intensifying

Foreign value-added content of exports by country As a percent of total exports 1995 and 2009

St Petersburg, XIV All-Russian Forum

OECD-WTO: Statistics on Trade in Value Added, (database), doi: 10.1787/data-00648-en

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Location of co-patenting partner

But proximity still plays an important role in collaboration

Over 33% of R&D in the top 10% of large regions; 58% of patents in the top 10% of small regions

Spatial decay (150-200 km); neighbourhood effects; “cost” of the border increasing over time

St Petersburg, XIV All-Russian Forum

Source: OECD (2013), OECD Regions at a Glance, OECD Publishing,.

5 19 Oct 2015

OECD (2011) Regions and Innovation Policy, OECD Publishing, Paris based on Benneworth, P. and A. Dassen (2012), Strengthening Global-Regional Connectivity in Regional Innovation Strategies, Regional Development Working Papers, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Internal and international innovation system linkages to influence strategy

Inte

rnat

iona

l lin

kage

s

Type of regional innovation system (RIS)

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Innovation policy to consider actors operating at different geographic scales

Geographic scales

• Cross-border co-operation (contiguous areas)

• Trans-national

co-operation • (macro-regions) • Inter-regional co-operation

(internationally)

Actors

• SME collaboration more localised than large firms

• Different university

orientations: global, national and regional

• Co-location more important

for market-oriented research impacts, inter-regional networks for scientific research (Attila et al, 2012)


Evidence from recent OECD cross-border study

When, why and how to promote cross-border innovation policy 1. TTR-ELAt Region (Belgium,

Netherlands, Germany) 2. Helsinki-Tallinn (Finland,

Estonia) 3. Hedmark-Dalarna (Norway,

Sweden) 4. Bothnian Arc (Sweden,

Finland) 5. Ireland-Northern Ireland

(Ireland, UK) 6. Oresund (Denmark, Sweden)

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Innovating beyond borders: Why and when to collaborate cross-border

Acting beyond borders • Innovation does not stop at the border

Borders as bridges

Borders as opportunities

Defining the functional area

Checking for the right conditions

• Openness cross-border goes hand-in-hand with better integration and competitiveness in global networks

• Benefit from proximity, critical mass, complementarity expertise, greater international attractiveness, etc.

• Data reveal the innovation-relevant “functional” region ≠ administrative region, resulting in variable geometry

• Checklist of ten conditions for a more or less favourable environment for cross-border regional innovation policy


Defining a “functional” cross-border area for innovation support (can differ by function, technology)

High-tech systems Life sciences

Source: Competitiveness Indices: BAK Basel Economics, 2012

Mapping of technological competencies in the Top Technology Region/ Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle


Ten conditions favourable to cross-border collaboration for innovation Framework conditions

1. Geographic accessibility

2. Socio-cultural proximity

3. Institutional context conditions

4. Cross-border integration

Innovation system conditions 5. Economic specialisation 6. Business innovation model

7. Knowledge infrastructure

8. Innovation system interactions

Governance and policy context 9. Governance 10. Policy mix Source: OECD (2013); inspired and adapted from Trippl (2009)

Several of these considerations are relevant for trans-national and inter-regional collaboration efforts


Governing cross-border collaboration: Public and private engagement

Raise public interest at different government levels

• Each level of government (local, regional, national and even supra-national) has a role to play

Identify overarching vision

Demonstrate mutual benefit

Governance beyond government

Private sector engagement

• Need a common purpose to unify different actions

• Each side of the border will make its own assessment of the costs and benefits, and its share of these

• Use top-down and bottom-up levers, formal and informal governance that contribute to long-term relationships of trust

• Ensure the private sector takes a sufficiently prominent role in promoting the cross-border area


Many innovation instruments used cross-border Some used on macro-regional / transnational basis

Strategy and policy development R&D support

Analytical exercises and mappings (mapping of clusters or value chains, technology foresight exercises)

Joint public research programmes

Benchmarking and policy learning Joint research infrastructure, shared access to

research facilities

Joint branding of the cross-border area Cross-border private R&D funding programmes (generic and thematic)

Technology transfer and innovation support Educated and skilled workers

Cross-border innovation advisory services (vouchers, intermediaries)

Scholarships/student exchanges

Advisory services to spin-off and knowledge-intensive start-ups

Joint university or other higher education programmes

Other technology transfer centres and extension programmes

Talent attraction and retention or mobility schemes

Cross-border labour market measures Science and technology parks and innovation networks

Other instruments

Cross-border science and technology parks Financing (venture capital funds or angel networks)

Cluster or network initiatives Public procurement/ border as a source of innovation/ innovation awards St Petersburg, XIV All-Russian Forum 13 19 Oct 2015

Ease of using cross-border instruments (Based on case study examples)

Easiest to implement

Attempts to allow funds from one country go to another (rare exceptions)

Certain innovation projects in highly regulated sectors (health, energy) • Albeit often those areas

have greatest potential for using border as source of innovation

International branding efforts often caught up in political sensibilities

Mixed results Most challenges observed

Cross-border linkages of firms with providers (e.g., innovation vouchers) Cluster-related support for areas of common competencies

Joint prioritised research

Access to shared S&T parks, scientific installations, joint centres

Broad-based university collaborations • researchers look for

excellence over proximity

• students need right framework conditions (diploma recognition, financing, etc.)

Firm networking and matchmaking; leading to collaboration?

Cross-border cluster initiatives

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.


regions and innovation: collaborating across borders

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