European union takes part in the work of the OECD This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-general of the OECD. The opinions expressed
and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the
national experts who authored the case studies. Dominique Guellec, Head of the Country Studies and Outlook Division, provided overall guidance and support for the project
The report draws on the analytical work carried out by ECOOM Koenraad Debackere, Petra Andries), the Joanneum Research Graz (Christian Hartmann), Technopolis
Group (Patries Boekholt) and the comments received by experts, including Dominique Foray, Philip Mccann, Raquel Ortega, Claire Nauwelaers, Alessandro Rosiello and Michele Mastroeni and Dimitrios
results of an expert advisory group to the EU. Tasked with finding an alternative to public policies that
labour market policy and education and skills) and horizontal innovation policies (e g. R&d tax credits. A smart specialisation strategy means that government efforts
tended to spread â€oeknowledge investment†(e g. high education and vocational training, public and private R&d) too thinly, not making much of an impact in any one area.
high unemployment, and low demand and high public deficits. And innovation is seen thus a key to restart
In practice, this means the promotion of entrepreneurship across the board. While successful companies will constitute the new specialisation of the country/region
especially context of constraints on public finances and public sector employment INNOVATION-DRIVEN GROWTH IN REGIONS:
The genesis of the concept can be traced back to the work of Dominique Foray and Bart van Ark and
theories of economic growth (e g. the theory of the division of labour by Adam smith) and notably trade specialisation.
and rigidities (e g. labour market barriers) that prevent shifts in specialisation patterns. Smart specialisation also draws on the broad economic research on
important synergies and complementarities between smart specialisation and cluster policy (e g. promotion of cross-sectoral collaboration and entrepreneurial processes and place-based interactions4 between actors
unemployment or causing long term damage to innovation capacity and the long-term growth potential In most OECD countries, the response to the crisis and to the slowdown in productivity growth has
focused on a combination of structural reform policies-labour reform, competition policy, tax policy, etc and efforts to preserve investments in knowledge based assets such as education and innovation especially
fact that this has led to a shift away from low-skilled employment in OECD countries to high skill labour
specialisation focus on social policies such as unemployment and increased worker (retraining, smart specialisation arguably offers an opportunity to foster a dynamic economic process that accelerates
regions, employment and older industries by creating new avenues for economic renewal and growth Box 1. 4. Specialisation and comparative advantage
according to their factor endowments (land, capital, human resources. Trade theory as elaborated by 19th century economist David Ricardo and expanded in the 20th century by Hekscher and Ohlin also tells us that countries tend to
social institutions (labour-employer relations) also affect factor endowments Framework policies. Broad policies such as investment in education and infrastructure, social policies and
regulations in labour and product markets can play a role in shaping specialisation patterns by affecting comparative
Imperfect competition, product market and labour market conditions can influence the degree of market integration Industrial policies (e g. taxes and subsidies) can also play a role in shaping the production structure, for good or
In Flanders (Belgium) in the case of FISCH (Sustainable Chemistry) the employers federation Essenscia Flanders developed a business plan for the FISCH initiative,
example, in Estonia, the rapid growth of RDI requires a higher number of skilled human resources than
skilled workers as an important challenge for future growth The necessary mechanisms or structures for these new †entrepreneurial bottom-up initiatives†should
ii) the participation of highly skilled workers in the process, given the increasingly cross-sectoral, cross-technology and cross-border dimension of activities, in order to easily
groups and from the social partners, participated in the design and implementation of the â€oeinnovative Upper Austria
science and technology indicators analyses, regional sectoral employment distribution, export indicators road mapping, SWOT analyses and foresight approaches
technology and employment may help policy-makers in diagnosing of strengths, weaknesses, fits and misfits in terms of scientific, technological
employees, number of newly established enterprises, Gross domestic product, and export data per economic sector For countries, sufficiently detailed, internationally comparable economic data is available from OECD (www. oecd
The most appropriate data appear to be OECD€ s regional labour market statistics By comparing specialisation indicators over time, changes in scientific, technological or economic specialisations can
The study represents pioneering work in the area of impact analysis in Finland. VTT updates the survey every other year by identifying innovations in economic
technology and employment may help policy-makers in diagnosing apparent strengths, weaknesses, fits and misfits in terms of scientific
National Innovation Strategy, the Ministry of Employment and Economy Corporate Strategy and Sectoral Strategies the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation Investment Strategy (Tekes) and the Regional Innovation
agribusiness practitioners, scientists and the GRDC€ s Executive Managers, with a possibility for other industry experts
staff inside the regional governments for an efficient â€oeself-discovery†process Policy instruments for smart specialisation
including public staff and SMES) and; ii) facilitate the mobility of highly skilled •New mechanisms to detect novel ideas:
promotion of innovation and the development of new markets: or supply-demand policies to link
international experts and stakeholders to identify emerging issues and trends, Systemic Foresight Methodology). ) Fostering a structural transition from policymaking to cycles of policy
absorptive capacity of key actors and staff inside the regional governments which is crucial for an efficient
2 See also (EC 2011) Final Report on High Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies.
For example, developing labour markets or innovation in a city or in a rural area may not entail the same
9 For example, Universities can provide private and public authorities both with strategic advice and experts to work
i) stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit of its staff and students; ii) providing advice and services to SMES;
The GRDC works closely with its two key stakeholders †Australian grain growers and the Australian Government.
stratified by industry and an employment-based size indicator •The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) Farm
the GRDC€ s Executive Managers, with provision for other industry experts to participate as appropriate
the life sciences and biotech) have agreed to take up the work set out by imec further and see whether this
institutes and universities that work in this field. Most notable are the University of Gent with a strong
as well as a highly skilled labour force. The external connectivity of the cluster is relatively high, for a number of reasons.
their work that are most relevant to their future. The FISCH office pools these articulations;
e g. in social security and unemployment. Decentralisation has increased also the powers of the provinces, most importantly in regional-economic policy, nature management and spatial planning
and skilled labour. Skills shortages and gaps are most urgent in the medium and higher skilled segments of
With low unemployment even in the current crisis, a relatively large group of baby boomers retiring and a limited mobility/willingness to travel,
But it may also pay off for the ELAT region as a whole to pool available labour resources
education and human resource development, business incubation and promotion. Many companies now in the cluster migrated from other parts of the country to take advantage of policies, funding and proximity to
The main stimuli of related industry growth were local strategic industry promotion programmes of the
industry research and promotion institutes and technology extension centres. The central government†s strategic industry promotion programmes were utilized also for local industrial planning exercises
technology development grants, networking, etc. Since the inauguration of the photonics industry promotion in Gwangju, the average annual growth rate of production, number of employees and companies
are 19.2%,9. 6%and 5. 0%respectively. Production volume reached KRW 2 540 billion in 2010.
number of employees has jumped also to 8 270 at 377 companies in 2010 Regional and national policies that have been decisive for prioritisation of domains
Jeonbuk as part of central government†s Leading Industry Promotion program The local policymakers also set priorities for the governance system to support photonics, specifically
When photonics promotion began, research institutes with core R&d capacities and expensive common equipment were crucial
regional, national and international levels, issues were found for cluster promotion such as intensifying networks and financing of commercial activities and product development
General Secretary of Universities, Andalusian Ministry of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment Definition of the ecosystem and its boundaries
Important Strategic developments regarding Human resources are the creation of the School of Aeronautic Engineers, school of Aircraft Maintenance Technicians and blue
Trade unions together negotiated and approved the strategic document Regional, national and international policies that have been decisive for prioritisation of domains
vehicles (2011 findings) produced in Turkey and providing employment opportunities for approximately 45 000 people, the region is the centre of the Turkish automotive industry.
presence of scientific and technological infrastructure to work with and to assist the automotive industry
human resources to reach national targets for the year 2023†Priority Setting Method for the Automotive Sector
If United kingdom firms and workers can adapt to the shift in production to ultra-low carbon vehicles, the potential market in the United kingdom and abroad
strategy (Ultra-low carbon vehicles in the United kingdom) to coordinate public sector activity and work with industry and academia to build on the R&d activities of the automotive industry to make the United
The NAIGT initiated three phases of work to achieve this Phase 1-the NAIGT developed a mutually agreed Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Product
Its work was delivered through an industry led steering group of senior industrialists, academics and financial analysts experienced in the sector.
To help take forward the Council†s work, two subgroups were created. The Supply Chain Group aims to build consensus on the challenges in the UK supply chain
and associated regional initiatives to influence business and employment growth in the region This strategy is influential at the local
and attracting leading management and research staff workers to the region through lifestyle benefits such as quality education, healthcare and recreational
SEMIP works in consultation with industry and the organisation is chaired currently by an industry representative
small firms (e g. less than 200 employees) in comparison to other industrial areas. Data from the
iii) Manufacturing employment in the region represents approximately 18.9, %compared to the national average of 8. 4%and the Victorian state
live, invest and work INNOVATION-DRIVEN GROWTH IN REGIONS: THE ROLE OF SMART SPECIALISATION 98 Â OECD 2013
•Promotion of liveability: A skilled workforce is a fundamental aspect of driving economic growth, especially in high tech manufacturing or research. â€oesoft†factors,
providing ongoing employment and creating an environment that allows workplace mobility and hence the possibility of open innovation and idea â€oecross fertilisationâ€
18 300 employees •Advices and services: Lower Austria implemented programmes (â€oesoft measuresâ€) providing services to support R&d&i activities of SMES.
%In Lower Austria especially small companies(>9 employees) were engaged largely in innovation activities. Still below average are innovation activities in the service sector.
multiplier (indirect and induced) effects on value added, employment, tax revenues and social security contributions as well as on beneficial impact on structural change and value creation in
thematic networks in the fields of human resources, logistics, design and media and energy-efficiency are supported.
and cluster promotion activities, consultancy, qualification) are measures related to R&d co-operation and technology transfer.
means of communication with experts and STI implementers and via ex-post evaluations Coordination activities to support S3
to avoid duplicate work within the companies of the Upper Austrian Innovation Holding and to identify
and from the social partners (with the involvement of the members of the Upper Austrian Research and Technology Council) in Upper Austrian participated
power, experts, agents responsible for the process, etc. are not suitable to take on these roles Bottlenecks and threats for the innovation ecosystem that hamper entrepreneurial discovery
closed down their manufacturing facilities and left thousands workers unemployed. The incentive system was adjusted subsequently to target FDI involved in higher value added operations (high-tech
significant improvement in the quality of staff inside the Regional Authority and intermediaries such as JIC
Each start-up has its own consultant, who  OECD 2013 115 can connect the new entrepreneurs with growing network of mentors and coaches either
•Human resources: i) SOMOPRO is a program offering 3-year incoming grants for distinguished researchers and grants for re-integration of research expats;
As science, technology and labour market for world class experts became global, only global ambitions can lead to sustainable
success that makes a region attractive and helps to initiate a positive cumulative causality development (see Myrdal 1957
Scarcity of skilled human resources is currently and likely to remain a bottleneck for sustaining the
workers being a challenge for growth, and underlined that in some key areas in within the IT field there
human resources, especially in knowledge intensive sectors. The mere fact of the size cannot be changed, but it is important to turn the small size into an advantage by being focused more and
formed between the National Innovation Strategy, the Ministry of Employment and Economy Corporate Strategy and Sectoral Strategies, the Tekes †the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation
represents pioneering work in the area of impact analysis in Finland. It is even internationally unique since
promotion of joint projects is to be improved, the provision of attuned/coordinated innovation promotion instruments is an essential requirement for the realisation of innovations
Each cluster has to define indicators that will allow evaluating its work and progress. The
industry settlement, job creation investment, patents, and new products, visibility on the national and international level
resources to optimal use by taking part in a cluster, benefit from an improved division of labour or supply
development strategy took over 2 years of thorough cooperative works involving many actors, including experts and citizens.
At the moment all regional policy strategic documents are being updated to be in line with the superior the Development Strategy of the Maå opolska Region 2011-2020.
assets provided for the purpose of conducting R&d works in enterprises; innovative solutions by providing financial assistance to pre-competitive research in enterprises
government experts to prepare RIS 2013-2020 (the group has been supported by national government experts). ) The working group has organised many meetings dedicated to specific issues of RIS 2013-2020
such as: SWOT analysis, the areas of specialisation in line with RIS 3 Guide, monitoring and evaluation
Economic Council (representation of high-level regional experts from business), Joint Commission of INNOVATION-DRIVEN GROWTH IN REGIONS:
and iv) Labour market and Education Observatory of Maå opolska which focuses on gathering information and improving knowledge of the regional labour
market and education At the same time, the system of monitoring and evaluation of Regional Innovation Strategy of the
promotion and development. Furthermore, almost all public university activities are covered by a single entity: the University of the Basque Country, EHU, with a high degree of autonomy.
the SPRI (Society for Industrial Promotion and Restructuring; ii) public funding of the technology centres
and iv) The vocational training centres for the purpose interaction between business and technology development Measuring the effects and impacts
i) GVA per worker; ii) Employment rate; and iii) Happiness and Health The PCTI has selected 25 Performance Indicators based on its own strategic objectives of the PCTI
The 25 indicators are grouped into the following nine strategic targets: i) shifting the business structure
share of researchers per Working population and iii) Innovation Innovation expenditure as a share of GDP
On the contrary, for the Lahti region the lack of skilled workers and research infrastructures is a main bottleneck for its smart specialisation strategy.
such as science and technology indicators analyses, regional sectoral employment distribution, export indicators, road mapping, SWOT analyses and foresight approaches.
(or other monetary unit) invested in R&d or per R&d staff member. The propensity to patent indicates the extent to which R&d inputs (in terms of expenditures or
1965), but other economic indicators such as employment, Gross domestic product (GDP), number of newly established firms, and degree of innovation can be used as well.
production, operating surplus, employment, labour costs and investment. Benchmark data can be obtained by summing up sectoral data over all countries in these OECD database (or over a smaller group of
The most appropriate data appear to be OECD€ s regional labour market statistics (e g. number of establishments or number of employees per TL2 region),
which are available for a selection of countries and regions and are aggregated in 37 industries.
regional labour market statistics. The data show a relative specialisation in Manufacture of Coke and Refined Petroleum Products, Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products, and Manufacture of
We see that the relative employment in Air Transport and in the Manufacture of Basic Metals plummeted,
OECD regional labour market statistics Combining baseline indicators for specialisations in science, innovation, and economic development
The identified topics can then validated by experts and further analysed using bibliometric methods such as indicators of publication activity and citation impact and (international) collaboration of the main
Claire Nauwelaers, independent consultant, Belgium Smart policies need smart governance. The governance question lies at the heart of the OECD-TIP
Potential for additional employment Potential for higher added value Keep existing activity Regions Countries INNOVATION-DRIVEN GROWTH IN REGIONS:
Labour unions are the least important actors in the Smart Specialisation process both at regional and national levels
Labour unions Countries Regions INNOVATION-DRIVEN GROWTH IN REGIONS: THE ROLE OF SMART SPECIALISATION 184 Â OECD 2013
Independent expert assessments are frequent too, and regions indulge more than countries in international benchmarking practices.
%Foresight Peer reviews Expert assessments SWOT analyses International benchmarking Regions'use of assessment methods not at all seldom regularly
%Foresight Peer reviews Expert assessments SWOT analyses International benchmarking Countries'use of assessment methods not at all seldom regularly
with external experts. The results are used as the basis for the strategic choices†•â€oeoften hard data give surprising results
financing, acquisition, export and trade promotion, support to start ups etc. †In the case of this region
Technopoles on value added, job creation, transformation of economic structure etc. †•Flanders: â€oethe management contracts with all organisations are evaluated at the end of their
instruments, such as public procurement policies oriented towards the promotion of innovation and the development of new markets, an especially relevant instrument in policies with a â€oetransformative†goal
entrepreneurs able to spot â€oeweak signalsâ€, external experts, the involvement of users (to avoid falling into
or do regional employers need to look abroad for qualified personnel •How do you assess the climate for entrepreneurship in your region?
•How favourable are working conditions for researchers in your region? How much mobility between the public science and the private sector does exist in your region (i e. are
employers absorb graduates or are forced graduates to look elsewhere INNOVATION-DRIVEN GROWTH IN REGIONS: THE ROLE OF SMART SPECIALISATION
What is the share of international staff in scientific/creative positions? How many co-operations with other international lead institutions does your region have
and participative or rather driven by experts •Do you have an evaluation system for your regional growth
resources or would you have to involve external experts •Who is addressing innovation policy in your region (i e. the EU, your national government, the
other relevant policies such as for instance education, employment and rural development policies)? ) Does it assess/take into account the existing level of policy co-ordination within the
Claire Nauwelaers, independent consultant, Belgium Introduction The OECD-TIP enquiry on smart specialisation governance Goal of the governance enquiry within the TIP project
and human resources training1 Key words: innovation, Romanian SMES, performance entrepreneurship I. RESEARCH ISSUES In order to create a general perspective on small and
%and human resources training (13.46%.%We also highlight the relative low percentage of companies where the absence of innovative approaches was noticed
%5 Human resources training 11.38%16.97%18.49 %6 No innovation activities 27.13%12.12%5. 88 %Analyzing innovative activities within SMES on fields of activity reveals
human resources training are observed in a higher proportion in constructions (22.58%and 32.26%),the interest for new informational
empowerment, job creation, and employment within disadvantaged communities (Daves 2001 SMES have a valid claim to heightened relevance,
and strategies have been developed world wide to expand and integrate this sector into the mainstream of economic activities (Luiz, 2002
employees (informal employment. According to Terziovski (2010) Small and Medium enterprises (SMES) in the manufacturing sector make a significant contribution to economic
of employees, financial position or annual turnover. However in Zimbabwe, according to Small and Medium Enterprises Institute, SMES are defined as a registered enterprise with employment
levels ranging from 30 to 70 depending on the types of industry. It went on to state that
employees and an annual turnover in sales of a maximum of 830,000 U s. dollars 2. 2 SMES€ sustainable Development
constantly experience shortages in capital to employee skills to improve production capacity which makes it necessary to continuously improve their production strategies with customized
He went on to say managers should take advantage of different methods for staff encouragement to innovate
(1988) for instance, suggested that the smallest firms (20 employees) had the benefit of individualism, the larger firms (50 employees) had the benefit of more resources and systems
while the intermediate group (20-49 employees) lacked the best of either world. Ettlie and
Rubenstein (1987) in support stated that for radical innovations they required additional funds for technical work, capital investment for plant and equipment, marketing and promotions.
They went on to clarify that larger size have a key enabling condition because of access to key
Leseure (2000) in support observed that, works in one organisation does not necessarily apply to another and managerial practices vary from one
variables such as quality of human resources, top management†s leadership skills, organizational support, organizational culture and organizational sizeas according to Tornatzky and
In support, Tornatzky and Fleischer (1990) postulated that qualified human resources were helpful to adopt innovations because of their competent learning and innovative capabilities
They said the quality of human resources was an essential factor influencing technical innovation Organizational ties helped SMES to establish their network.
customers, motivation of management and labour force, less bureaucracy, little filtering of proposals with strong interest in product development and technological change as part of the
ï The professional qualifications of the workforce ï Various kinds of technological effort which induce further accumulation of techno
At individual level, the capacity included employee empowerment and engagement, trust, training, job rotation, and the extent and range of
individual networks. At project level it included a diverse mix of project team members conversation rules and management,
and labour force, less bureaucracy, little filtering of proposals with strong interest in product development and technological change as part of the characteristics and strengths of an
workers 33%40%12%10%0 Results were aggregated in the agreeing and disagreeing range. From the respondents
At individual level, the capacity included employee empowerment and engagement, trust, training, job rotation, and the extent and range of individual networks
Educational background of the founder was ranked 63 %which showed the owner should also have the capabilities
SMES required more than just having the professional qualifications of the workforce. The results also suggest that on the job training is required equally for innovation to succeed in
works in cities and towns, and by 2050 some 82 %of the continent†s population will be concentrated
policy makers and transport experts www. eltis. org to boost the development and wide-scale application
The Directive 2009/33/EC on the Promotion of Clean and Energy efficient Road Transport Vehicles requires
Directive of the European parliament and the Council on the Promotion of Clean and Energy efficient Road Transport Vehicles, Directive 2009/33/EC, Brussels
technology is the work of man, and therefore, by definition, can be influenced 1. 2. The main theme
and technology is the work of man, and that we ourselves determine to a large extent how it is given shape and form
innovations involving the organisation of work were the driving force behind new extremely successful production systems 10 Innovation processes are neither linear nor causal
Strength, Employment. Towards the 21st Century: Roads and Challenges†potentially important role of †Cultural Industry†in our economic system was pointed out 7. When
knowledge-intensive consultants) plays an important role in this respect. Recent research shows that these services play a crucial role in innovation processes
and unemployment, gives rise to some economists assuming that structural changes in which knowledge plays an important
And, finally, business administration experts and organisational sociologists discuss the question of how to interpret the far more open business strategies demanded by the network
experts and laymen producers and the users of knowledge; different (scientific disciplines; policy and science R. Smits/Technological Forecasting & Social Change 69 (2002) 861†883878
Innovation is the work of man, but making science and technology work is by no means easy.
7 European commission, Growth, Competitive Strength, Employment. Towards the 21st Century: Ways and Challenge, Office for Official Publications of the European communities, Luxembourg, 1994
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011