Socio-Organizational Challenges of the Knowledge Economy Tà lã-universitã/Universitã du Quã bec à Montrã al
Challenges of the Knowledge Economy. She is professor and director of research at the TÃ lã-universitã of the Universitã du Quã bec.
perspective of evolutionary economists. We will reconstruct an explanation of social innovation as a cognitive process confronted with localized social resistance, thus posing
notion into the field of economics, Schumpeter derives from it the notion of business and
introduces this discovery into the firm, the industry, the economy, that is, strictly speaking the person responsible for its diffusion.
entrepreneurship corresponds to the role and function of an entrepreneur. Schumpeter constructs his analysis in the economic environment and sees an actor-transformer in
anybody who can implement a new combination of arrangements in a firm, an organization with an economic vocation.
tools and instruments which make up physical capital. Veblen viewed technology as an â€oeindivisible possession of the community at large,
diffusion or â€oepropagation environment. †To a certain extent, Veblen†s theory is imbued thus with a degree of â€oetechnological determinism. †However, Veblen brings other forces into play
reciprocity between technique/technology and the social environment. For him, not only do technologies have an effect on the cultural and institutional environment, but this institutional
environment itself exerts an effect on the technologies. Thus, a form of reciprocity of effects
exists between the social context and the technologies (or innovation, a term that we prefer
â€oeevolutionary†economists who completed their work by proposing a global vision of innovation. For this movement, innovation is a process (Freeman et al.
According to evolutionary economists, the innovation process occurs in an organization or a firm; thus, their vision is closer to that of Schumpeter (Dosi, 1988.
concentration of capital over the years has given rise to the domination of large firms and
However, for the evolutionary economists these two places (SMES and large enterprises) do succeed not necessarily one another in
time but can, on the contrary, coexist This seems to correspond better to today†s reality in
cases large enterprises which dominate the innovation process. Moreover, these two innovation regimes can be explained by the phase a given industry is going through (Dosi
enterprises. On the contrary, during the maturity phase--for example, the steel and automobile sectors where markets are saturated quite and generally oligopolistic
weapons of competition The revitalizing potential of an innovation thus does not last forever. It runs out, which
of the new product creates new market opportunities, attracts capital and thus generates new enterprises, including small ones,
where new usages and types of the product are developed. The creation is replaced subsequently by mass production with stricter and more
economic growth. It also and especially refers to the voluntary actions taken jointly by entrepreneurs and organizations to appropriate the innovative process,
large enterprises, SMES, institutions of higher learning (universities, research institutes local authorities (municipalities, local organizations) and government institutions
evolutionary economists and authors who have drawn on their work. Thus, writings by Chambon, David and Deverey (1982) on social innovation, by Flichy (1995) on technical
by Polanyi (1944), who redefines the field of what constitutes economics. It should be recalled that Polanyi defines the economy as a dynamic set of social processes which are
continuously being transformed and from where stem forms of integration based on reciprocity (symmetric logic), redistribution (centralizing logic) and exchange (market logic
the altermondialist demands since the mid-1990s A parallel can be established here with the social resistance mentioned by Veblen.
political capital to be gained in this recognition. The politician and the innovator play the political capital card, seeking to reinforce it through strategic alliances.
The communication circuit includes a share of doubt, mistrust fear of novelty or a share of incommunicable information.
The observed two-step-flow communication implies that the construction of the social usage of an invention will benefit greatly from going through the intermediary of opinion
determinism is organized itself into a hierarchy around the reality of the global economy Our vision of innovation emphasizes the social construction of innovation and the
Alliances, cooperative ventures and the role of government in the Knowledge Based Economy: Policy Issues for Canada and beyond.
Vancouver: Centre for Japanese Research, UBC Press. 89-107 Innovation and Society Broadening the Analysis of the Territorial Effects of Innovation
G. and L. Soete,(ed.)Technical change and economic theory, New york, Pinter, pp 221-238 Flichy, P. 1995) L†innovation technique.
the Flow of Mass Communications. Glencoe, IL: Free Press Klein, J.-L. 1998) Mondialisation et à tat-nation:
Technical Change and Economic theory, New york, Pinter, pp. 349 -369 Maillat, D. 1992) Milieux et dynamique territoriale de l'innovation.
in economics, Universitã de Paris 1. 711 p Tremblay, D.-G. 1992. Innovation et marchã s internes du travail dans le secteur bancaire
Innovation Dynamics in a Diverse Economy. Montreal and Kingston: Mcgill-Queen†s University Press and School of Policy Studies, Queen†s
Wolfe, D. 2002) Social Capital and Clusters Development in Learning Regions. In Holbrook A. and D. Wolfe (ed.).Knowledge, Clusters and Regional Innovation.
Medium-sized Enterprises (SMES) in Europe in terms of research participation. He has an MSC in Engineering from the University of Porto (1989) and a Master†s in Marketing by IEP/ESADE (1999
academic researchers and other stakeholders to build multi -disciplinary research projects and innovation services. She joined inno as a consultant in economic
development and policy evaluation http://www. inno-group. com /â€oethe contents of this work reflect the views of the author (s)
process of continuous policy learning among all interested regional policy stakeholders around Europe Michel Lamblin Erwin Siweris
The innovation capacity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) is a key issue for Europe†s
or commercial opportunities that have been neglected by more established companies and commercialise them, thereby contributing to growth and employment
and companies face investment choices regarding scarce resources. Innovation is often in competition with other business functions for this investment
To address this challenge, regional and local authorities can ï¿Implement innovation voucher schemes ï¿Implement flexible innovation funding schemes (guarantees, public/private
Support regional Venture capital Funds ï¿How to address the lack of innovation management skills Innovation processes need to be managed from the generation of ideas to the generation of
profits on the markets with new products/services. Moreover, an increasingly complex innovation system combining †open†innovation approaches with closed ones requires more
How to develop the marketing of innovation and of innovative products and services This challenge is particularly true with regard to the promoting of internationalisation and
exploiting public procurement opportunities. In this regard, new business opportunities are being driven by three types of public or pure market drivers
o The promotion of lead markets in a bid to restore European union (EU) competitiveness o The creation of new market opportunities related to the search for technological and
other solutions to societal challenges o Expanding markets abroad 5 To address this barrier, regional and local authorities can
from other capitalisation themes, such as Innovation Systems or Entrepreneurship. It is structured according to the identified barriers faced by SMES to improve their innovation
in order to validate the benchmark of the knowledge from INTERREG IVC? What is their learning effect on the still running INTERREG IVC projects?
•Telephone interviews with project lead partners and stakeholders •Visit to the EURIS project •Two Thematic Workshops organized together with the Innovations Systems theme.
Innovation can occur in any sector of the economy, including government services such as health or education.
However, for the current thematic analysis, the focus is solely on innovation in SMES SMES The theme of the analysis is the capitalisation of INTERREG IVC results addressing the
innovation capacity of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMES. In terms of regional policy, the SME concept is taken generally to mean everything from micro-companies
IPR Economies rely increasingly on knowledge-based competitiveness, and innovation is increasingly non-technological in nature.
of innovation and is currently reemerging as the most common instrument of demand -side innovation policies in Europe, with a particular impact in SMES.
The buying agency simply uses its own demand or need to influence or induce innovation;
Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy), Lund University, Sweden, 2012 6 †Community Framework for State Aid for Research and development and Innovation†published in the Official Journal of the
However, the global economic crisis had a rapid and significant negative impact on innovation worldwide. OECD figures reveal7 that total OECD-area business expenditure on research and
categories †Non-R&d innovation expenditure†and †Venture capital†and, to a lesser extent, for †SMES
Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMES (COSME) and the European Regional Development Fund ERDF) offer both direct and indirect funding,
With Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMES) as its main target, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) supported innovation activities (including eco-innovation
and delivered business support services in the regions The main tools/facilities used by CIP to support innovation activities were
•The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), which offered a'one-stop shop'to meet all the
provided venture capital for SME financing. The GIF was funded by the CIP but was managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) on behalf of the Commission.
The GIF's objective was to improve access to finance for the start-up and growth of SMES,
and investment in innovation activities, including eco-innovation According to its Interim Evaluation10 CIP€ s efficiency improved †at both national and European levels â€
Besides the administrative burden which continues to be mentioned by the stakeholders interviewed during the evaluation process, there is also a perception that the low success rate for proposals creates
which was allocated to Innovation and the knowledge economy. The programme supports two types of projects:
contributed to the â€oeendogenous development of European regions by promoting entrepreneurship in underdeveloped areas building on local skillsâ€,
This programme provides assistance to stakeholders that are implementing programmes under the European Territorial Cooperation Objective
Small and Medium Enterprises, i e. the internal ability of companies to manage innovation processes from the generation of the idea to its profitability on the market
as COSME15 (Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises) will also be set up COSME will run alongside H2020 with a budget of â 2. 4 billion.
business-friendly environment for SMES with a view to ensuring and supporting their competitiveness and growth.
It is designed principally to strengthen the role and innovation services of the Enterprise Europe Network-EEN under this programme
Scheme adapted from †SME opportunities for EU-US collaboration in Horizon 2020â€. Information guide from the project
http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index en. htm Market Lump sum 50.000 â 6 months
investments and supports countries and regions in strengthening their innovation capacity, while focusing scarce human and financial resources in
economic growth and prosperity. ††RIS Guide 18 Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3
boosting their economy and productivity therefore benefiting SMES. Furthermore the RIS3 are built upon the industrial and economic fabric of each region
ensuring that there will be economic growth. The entrepreneurial knowledge is used to define each RIS3 and it is known as †the entrepreneurial process of discovery18.
opportunities. They contribute to creating a favourable environment for SME development and innovation and help in their internationalization.
Strong clusters combine entrepreneurial dynamism top-level academic knowledge and synergies among innovation stakeholders. They contribute to the
building of a knowledge-based economy and to achieving the Europe 2020 objectives of new growth
and job creation Procurement of Innovation Platform The Procurement of Innovation Platform19 is an online hub developed by ICLEI (an association of over
a great market for innovative products and services and yield benefits for both public and private sectors
•Increased economic growth •Better products and services •Initiatives towards solving societal challenges In 2009, public procurements accounted for about 19%of the European Union†s GDP,
and in 2011, the European commission estimated the number of contracting authorities to be about 250 000.
It offers the opportunity for bilateral field visits 18 This idea was introduced and is elaborated on by Foray et al (2009) in'Smart Specialisation †The Concept',a Policy Brief of
-based economy regions Innohubs http://www. innohubs. eu Innovation Hubs Promotion of innovation in edge cities
between traditional economy and competitive economy PERIA *http://www. peria. eu /Partnership on European Innovation Agencies
Improvement of innovation services provided by the Regional Innovation Agencies ERIK ACTION http://www. eriknetwork. net/erikaction
/Upgrading the innovation capacity of existing firms Improving the innovation capacities of existing firms and SMES
commercial links and opportunities, which can affect their capacity for growth and competitiveness •Insufficient marketing of innovation
business models in SMES by designing implementing and managing strategies policies and tools, whose aims are to
promoting entrepreneurship and providing infrastructure for innovation to SMES •Lack of internal research capabilities
marketable products and services •Weaknesses in networking •Lack of internal research capabilities •Shortage of financial resources
enterprises in the partner regions, by using structural funds to capitalise on the results from previous projects, addressing key
environment incl. CSR •Weaknesses in networking •Lack of internal research capabilities •Shortage of financial resources
Entrepreneurship, Creative Industries or E-government. Table 6 lists these other related projects Table 6:
stakeholders to support open innovation Innovation Systems SMART +Innohubs Innomot Mini-Europe DISTRICT +PERIA ERIK ACTION
innovation environment Innovation Systems INOLINK http://www. inolink. eu /Innovation Policy in University City Regions
Economy Exchange, sharing and transfer of E -government and Wireless Broadband good practices E-government
Entrepreneurship UNICREDS http://www. unicreds. eu/i ndex. html Enhancing the regional competences in strategic management
GPS from the entrepreneurship theme were categorized as follow •Education and culture •Finance •Regulatory environment and procurement
•Infrastructure •Support and technical assistance Those from the †financeâ€, †regulatory environment and procurement†and †support and technical
assistance†categories may also relate to the innovation capacity of SMES; however, the project Young
and the Knowledge Economy) project†s objectives were to â€oeimprove regional and local Innovation & Knowledge-Economy policies through the exchange, sharing and
transfer of E-government and Wireless Broadband good practicesâ€. It identified GPS specifically addressing the inclusion of online services and management In public Administrations, with the aim of
dealing mostly with entrepreneurship, with innovation systems (mainly Science Parks or other infrastructures) or with specific industries such as energy, transport or ICT
problem is particularly urgent in a period of economic crisis and shortage of bank loans to industry, as
and is a top priority for all regional and national stakeholders involved in innovation support
companies (a large majority of which were innovative micro and small enterprises) and 430 innovation intermediaries found that
o Lack of access to finance is viewed by enterprises as the main factor hampering innovation activities
o Lack of access to finance is considered by institutional stakeholders as the principal barrier preventing businesses from bringing innovations to the market
Community level, http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/swd effectiveness en. pdf SMART +INNOHUBS INNOMOT
Equity (Public or Private) Seed Capital Venture capital Seed/Start-up Emerging growth Debt financing Bank loans
Guarantees Public loans Emerging growth Development Later stages ï¿Good practices This barrier is addressed directly in 22 of the 93 measures deployed by INTERREG IVC projects
enterprises (notably SMES) and external knowledge/research providers (universities, R&d service providers or private consultants), in a small-scale approach targeted to the needs of individual
This will increase the range and quality of services available to SMES, as well as strengthening international networking
collaborative R&d activities, theme-specific R&d activities (Technological Environment Innovation Subsidy) or specific types of SMES (Young Innovative Enterprises Contract
•MINI-EUROPE28 o Technological Environment Innovation Subsidy •DISTRICT+29 o Joint R&d call
•PERIA23 o Young innovative Enterprises Contract, with grants and public loans •ERIK ACTION30
27 INNOSUP-4-2014 within the †Innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises†Work Programme
innovation vouchers help micro enterprises to start an innovation process by building up a first
%It can be used to finance a wide variety of services: technical feasibility studies, tests, product characterization, prototypes, market survey, technical state of
the art, modelling, and first patent registration expenditures. The service provider is paid directly once the company has paid its share.
micro and small-sized enterprises to undertake innovative initiatives and increase supply and demand in the field of innovation services.
Calls for proposals focused on innovation were financed from an Innovation Fund. The National Office for Research and Technology (NORT
launched a call for R&d services in the regions in which SMES could apply. Ã szak-Alfã ld
aims to support SMES€ R&d investments by providing funding to help companies clarify their R&d investment needs (â 3 500) as well as actual R&d funding (â 50 000.
The grant can be used to pay an external research provider from all over Europe. The application process is very
Venture capital funds In addition to innovation vouchers and public grants, which are popular GPS within the projects and
across Europe in general, INTERREG IVC projects have addressed also access to Venture capital VC) with •SMART+31
o Business Accelerator, for the promotion of private VC o Business Angel Network to connect private investors to entrepreneurs
stimulate investment in micro-companies in order to improve their products and/or services facilities, equipment, and other necessary modifications.
The mechanism also aimed to promote investment in developing strategic areas such as quality, new technologies, environment
security and hygiene The mechanism is applied through a partnership between ADRAL (the regional development agency), the council and a commercial bank,
With their wide knowledge of the territory and environment they can guide the fund to the most needed areas
This GP is now part of a national investment programme •Young Innovative Enterprise (YIE) Contract (Champagne-ardenne, France) in the
PERIA project: The GP was developed by the Champagne-ardenne Regional Council and addresses the shortage of financial resources of innovative start-ups by supporting them
consulting services (training, advice on intellectual property rights, market research technology transfer services, and technological assistance, etc
This GP was adapted successfully in Valencia via the creation of a new funding instrument 31
One of the most relevant Good Practices concerning access to Venture capital is •Financial Engineering (Veneto Region, Italy) in the MINI-EUROPE project:
practice consists of a synergic set of tools designed to foster investments in innovation in order
-Decrease the costs for innovative investments -Enhance SMES€ access to the credit system -Launch a venture capital fund for start-ups and companies at an early stage
A well-balanced mix of financial engineering tools, focused on research and innovation, has been set up and launched.
-System of guarantee for innovative investments -Revolving fund for SMES innovative investment -Venture capital and private equity fund
In line with the operating programme strategy, the regional authority has launched tenders to select and appoint external bodies to manage the funds.
In all cases, a high level of experience as well as a spread system of local desks is required to give companies assistance as well as
and moreover, the venture capital fund is based on a reinvestments system This GP was used to improve financing methodologies in the à szak-Alfã ld
Large enterprises provide an innovation mentoring service to smaller ones. This is achieved through the organisation of training sessions on the level of day-to-day
In addition to practical training, events offer networking opportunities The Parenthood project approach is based on the following principles
responds to the unique circumstances of the commercial and industrial environment -Group development approach: Maximising learning effect by capitalising on certain
It creates a business to business environment in a regional context It is a flexible but simple concept.
Virtual Enterprises and Organisation Finally, one GP from ERIK ACTION42 was particularly innovative in its response to this barrier:
PRAI/VINCI GP aimed to promote Virtual Enterprises and Virtual Organisation as an instrument for
the creation and managements of clusters leading enterprises to share skills and competencies more easily.
†Summer Entrepreneur†can almost instantly be measured by the number of new ventures created (even if many never get off the ground),
A unique GP about virtual enterprises •PRAI/VINCI (Tuscany, Italy) in the ERIK ACTION project:
Virtual Enterprise/Virtual Organisation as an instrument for the creation and management of clusters, thus strengthening the competitiveness of the main industrial systems in the Tuscan
economy A Virtual Enterprise (VE) is a temporary alliance of enterprises that come together to share skills or core competencies
and resources in order to better respond to business opportunities, and whose cooperation is supported by computer networks. It is a
manifestation of Collaborative Networks and of Virtual Organisation (VO: a productive organisational entity that uses telecommunication tools to enable,
members†relationships in distributed work environments The VE/VO was tested particularly in the field of technological innovation and technology
opportunities o RURCED, to support cross-border marketing opportunities o World trade center Almere, where all international services are available to stimulate
international entrepreneurship and innovation •PERIA43 o International Cooperation Visits o Foreign Trade Fairs It is very interesting to note the GPS that tackle the challenge differently, in such a way as IVEX or I
-CREO. The IVEX GP focuses on helping SMES apply to calls for tender from international organisations
International Public Procurement. It is the only GP that addresses public procurement as a means
expert directly to the supported SMES network to help them find new business opportunities and to
opportunities to fruition, including in export markets. In Valencia the Institute for Small and Medium Industry of the Generalitat Valenciana (IMPIVA),
and promote business opportunities and to gather essential information in order to start up innovation strategies in each of the sectors
the INNOHUBS and the SMART+projects promoted GPS offering, among other services, training courses and consultancy in innovative tools for SMES
and procure goods and services in international markets Assistance is provided in two different phases i) Inception:
business opportunities, reports on the business environment and selected sectors such as water, energy, construction in 22 countries
It is focused on facilitating internationalisation opportunities for SMES, and it is a purely transnational initiative, relatively easy to implement †including at transnational level with
and real added-value services were deployed at local level for the final beneficiaries. This was a small-scale measure with a good
SMES, Fabrica Ethica has constructed a production process that makes the regional economy more competitive and able to differentiate its production on the basis of material and immaterial
environment. It encourages an approach based on continuous improvements which anchor CSR in SME strategies and management systems.
Universities and enterprises network to increase technology transfer •MINI-EUROPE47 o Genomnanotech: Setting up of a technology transfer office and innovation
capital services 45 GPS described in the ERIK ACTION Good Practices Report: http://www. eriknetwork. net/erikaction/index. html
and develop products/services/technologies together. This increases the regional and national competitiveness of the country.
o Enhancing R&d intensive investments in the à szak-Alfã ld region in cooperation with Innova
services from research results. It also facilitates a link between universities and businesses converting scientific knowledge into economic activity,
and leading to the creation of a network for business start-ups and knowledge transfer. Since March 2005,121 projects
The main stakeholders involved in the Campus Programme are: IDEA as the manager of the
initiative, the Capital Investment and Risk management company of Andalusia INVERCARIA which is the first venture capital company at regional level
and is owned 100 by IDEA, and collaborating entities composed of the universities of Andalusia, CSIC (Spanish Council for
transferability as well as opportunities for bilateral exchange of Good Practice This type of GP has also been described in the UNICREDS50 project from the Innovation Systems
Most GPS addressed services to support cluster management/development improvement •SMART+52 o regionet, sub-project to improve network/cluster management
-related services. The support consists of 4 pillars o Grant for the labour costs of the innovation assistant
o Cluster Support Environment Model, focusing on the physical infrastructure requirements of a cluster o Regional Innovation Pole of Western Greece, to improve the technological and
o Cluster Management Services, to strengthen cooperation between cluster members MINI-EUROPE particularly focused on GPS related to cluster management improvement with three of
•Cluster Support Environment Model (NW England) in the MINI-EUROPE project This good practice has been developed based on activity undertaken by the Sixth Framework
either require space in an incubator or in managed workspace depending on the technical complexity of the business and the cost of the specialist equipment and facilities
It focused on both the foreign investment in firms from local clusters leading to cluster upgrading and innovation as well as on the internationalisation of the firms
/Cluster internationalisation via foreign investment •Cluster and Foreign Investment Dovetailing (West midlands, United kingdom) in the
NICER sub-project (DISTRICT+project: this GP aimed at increasing foreign direct investment FDI) within the local cluster firms by embedding the attraction of FDI into the regional
development strategy, achieved by dovetailing the attraction of FDI with the regional cluster policy. The attraction of FDI was aimed to strengthen existing regionally embedded clusters
actions will support energy-related initiatives by further identifying funding opportunities and engaging the involvement and commitment of local and regional authorities to uptake aspects
importance for the regional economy. This action promoted innovation in the wood sector at a
In this context, everybody had the opportunity to discuss their business and any problems or obstacles they were facing.
technical services (§3. 2. 1 Very high Venture capital Funds MINI-EUROPE Financial Engineering Financial engineering involving guarantees, revolving funds and
venture capital funds (§3. 2. 1 High Public Grants, Loans and Guaranties PERIA Young Innovative
Enterprise Contract Public loans for young innovative enterprises and public grants for consulting services (§3. 2. 1
High Private/Public Loans ERIK-ACTION FAME Bank loans for innovation projects ensured by guarantees from
regional authorities (§3. 2. 1 High Shortage in skills Innovation Management ERIK-ACTION Parenthood project Professionalise SMES management by organising learning
networks by and for entrepreneurs (§3. 2. 2 Very High Creativity INNOMOT Mindshake Coaching in creative product development (§3. 2. 2). High
ICT ERIK-ACTION PRAI/VINCI Support for the setting up of Virtual Enterprises based on ICT
I-Creo To identify innovation opportunities through a network of professionals working as a think tank (§3. 2. 3
Environment Model Clustering physical infrastructure requirements to facilitate growth and internationalisation (§3. 2. 5
Investment Dovetailing Support for foreign direct investment within cluster firms and internationalisation of cluster firms (§3. 2. 5
Medium Cluster Creation SMART+TREC Creation of a transnational renewable energy cluster (§3. 2. 5). Medium
various opportunities and obstacles to transferring GPS, as well as all the transfer steps they took In general, the different steps for GP transfer are
The stakeholders involved, as well as the timing of the transfer are critical factors. Indeed, projects mention that the stakeholders wishing to implement an external GP need to have the political and
financial independence necessary to do so •Involvement of the Managing Authority from the very beginning and continuously throughout the
projects that the opportunity window for implementing a GP can be very slim Projects such as ERIK ACTION composed of partners that had come to know each other and identified
It also gives an opportunity to showcase some GPS for up -scaling. The INTERREG IVC website has a GP database,
which is useful for an initial benchmark, but it is not detailed to the extent of this report (and to the level of the other thematic reports.
With such a tool, regional stakeholders, including those not involved in INTERREG projects would be
Furthermore, the PERIA project focused on GPS from stakeholders of the local innovation systems Regional Innovation Agencies and Managing Authorities,
promoting networking opportunities from IPP (Entrepreneurs†day-Promoting Networking and Entrepreneurship Other themes can also contribute to the innovation capacity of SMES, such as Entrepreneurship or
Creative Industries. Indeed, young SMES need to innovate in order to grow and to find new markets
and their innovation capacity should be included within the companies†Business plans. Another example from the Creative Industries sector:
the Cross Innovation project described a GP related to the hiring of research staff within SMES with public support (Technological Promoters for Innovation) 61, a
H2020 call in the Innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises work programme: INNOSUP-5-2014
H2020 call in the Innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises work programme: INNOSUP-4-2014
and †human capital and entrepreneurshipâ€. These two areas have projects with GPS related to the
incubators and business networks. Another example is the †4d Cities†project64, aimed at promoting
innovation as well as the knowledge economy in the field of health It is interesting to note that the INNOHUBS project from the INTERREG IVC programme involved
•Support given to enterprise creation very often appears at city level when dealing with
incubators and real estate offers, with links between existing companies and start-ups but at regional level when dealing with financing (seed capital, venture capital, tax
exemption, etc Therefore it seems relevant to have common tools between the two programmes and more links
project partners (INTERREG or URBACT) to stay abreast of the GP benchmark that they should do when there are several different programmes and several hundreds of projects.
evidence, analyses and scenarios on territorial dynamics and (2) revealing territorial capital and potentials for development of regions and larger territories contributing to European
and represent the demand for data to support policy development. Therefore, these projects are not about GPS,
This programme provides assistance to stakeholders that are implementing programmes under the European Territorial Cooperation Objective.
and a hub for sharing information and GPS among stakeholders involved in ETC programmes. It is
http://urbact. eu/en/projects/human-capital-entrepreneurship/fin-urb-act/homepage /64 http://urbact. eu/en/projects/innovation-creativity/4d-cities/our-project
however, it is somewhat difficult to conduct a benchmark when sources of knowledge are diverse and not known.
to require a benchmark analysis of the GPS that exist when considering transferring a GP.
Finally, new stakeholders like associations or Non-governmental organizations are invited to participate in the consortium to make the results more
guarantees schemes, seed capital and venture capital. We have seen that access to financing is one of the most important barriers impeding innovation in SMES.
will involve SMES but also other kinds of stakeholder research, education companies, citizens, NGO, etc The overarching objective of the Commission is to have 20%of the financing allotted to SMES (in FP7
opportunities for networking and to obtain funding Besides H2020, there are other initiatives like •The Joint Technology Initiative (JTI.
•COSME is launched a programme by DG Enterprise with a budget of â 2. 4billion.
•The cluster policy launched by DG Enterprise with support for meta-clusters (13 have been
and to support their stakeholders to take part in other European Programmes (including H2020. Second, regional authorities are supposed to orient
are crucial for fostering economic growth within local companies allowing for a better †entrepreneurial process of discovery†and resulting in better RIS3
for regional policymakers and stakeholders active in assisting SMES to overcome barriers to innovation 4. 1 General Recommendations for Local & Regional Authorities
of technical services, as addressed in MINI-EUROPE, DISTRICT+and PERIA. This measure can typically reach up to 1 000 SMES per year of implementation with a quick impact in terms
•Support regional Venture capital Funds, either public, private (with regional support), or public-private, as addressed in SMART+(through the sub-project Innofin), INNOHUBS
complex solution, with a typical reach of ten beneficiary companies per year for investments of â 1 million or higher,
and a return on investment of five years or more It is important to note that the innovation vouchers are very popular in European Regions, so much so
networking in order to create virtual enterprises/organisations Altogether, these Good Practices cover the most important skills necessary to foster and manage
innovative products, processes or services. This has notably been the case of PERIA with measures such as International Cooperation Visits and Participation in Foreign Trade Fairs as
and to help them stay up to date with innovation support services and policies. The RDT Bretagne GP (ERIK ACTION),
favourable environment for the innovation of SMES 4. 3 Recommendations for local & regional policymakers not addressed by the projects
finance, such as peer-to-peer lending services or crowdsourcing (fund-raising for specific projects from individuals, normally using web platforms to reach scale.
The key to crowdfunding lies in the fact that many participants (those that provide a financial contribution) are often emotionally or ideologically
environmental or artistic cause which appeals to the typical crowdfunding participant. As is the case with
few are aware of the possibilities of crowdfunding. It is therefore a promising area for publicly funded projects,
incentives at Member State level, especially to include investments in innovation management (e g tools, dedicated staff and training.
investments and activities and rarely cover aspects of non-technological innovation. Tax incentives target established companies that make profit,
and this is precisely the group that might benefit most from increasing their innovation management capacity.
Enterprise Development to conduct a project on new forms of public procurement including a series of training courses for procurers and SMES co-financed by the Structural Funds
opportunity to obtain professional expertise with regard to innovation procurement •Enterprise Ireland channels technical advice and market information to contracting authorities
helping them to identify types of product or service from the SME community 57 •An interesting initiative of the Greater london Authority is the E-learning tool that has been
investment that is outside the scope of INTERREG IVC projects and is suited better to trans-border or
economy and competitive economy Erik Action Upgrading the innovation capacity of existing firms Improvement of the capacities to increase
industries regions to knowledge based economy Project acronym Number of partners68 Country of the LP69
economy Theme: Innovation, research and technology development TYPE OF INTERVENTION Type of intervention: Regional Initiative
5 Germany Ministry of Science and Economy Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg 6 United kingdom Birmingham Technology Limited
DISTRICT+,3 were on the topic of science parks (including their impact on entrepreneurship), and 3
It addressed policies for attracting foreign direct investment into business clusters as well as policies supporting their internationalisation
the uptake of eco-innovation in enterprises within the construction and mobility sectors and the
enterprises to increase the development or uptake of eco-innovation products and services. It proposed
the right level of support services Figure 10: DISTRICT+-Content Analysis Shortage of financial resources for
Within specific technological sectors, the poles deliver advanced services to strengthen the links between the research and the business systems
the School in Business Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg allows master students in
Business Economics to do an internship within a growing SME. The programme matches entrepreneurial students with SMES showing potential growth or experiencing a form of growth barrier
The programme aims to support SMES€ R&d investments by providing funding to help companies clarify their R&d investment needs (â 3 500) as well as actual R&d
funding (â 50 000. The grant can be used to pay an external research provider from all over Europe
cluster of innovation support services and (3) to favour the establishment of industrial clusters. This
between partners, including the SHARP-CLOUD environment (the tool used to interconnect the GPS identified in terms of issues tackled, topics,
This SHARP-CLOUD environment is enabling organisations, including SMES, to form and join online communities,
potential partners and customers who share common business or technical goals, at reduced costs and
with minimal infrastructural investments. Lately, the growing penetration of cloud technologies opens up further new paths for the provision of new services, including those based on massive volumes of data
or processing, to SMES with limited resources 73 DISTRICT+focus on †transfer of good practices and policies improvedâ€
for improved provision of services that could be followed by other projects 66 Upgrading the innovation capacity of existing firms:
economy Theme: Innovation, research and technology development TYPE OF INTERVENTION Type of intervention: Capitalisation Project
8 Belgium Flemish Government-Enterprise Flanders, Brussels 9 Romania The Southeast Regional Development Agency, Braila
the PRAI/VINCI is given particularly relevant its focus on Virtual Enterprises which stands-out from the
SMES can reposition themselves and their innovative products and services in the market, thus contributing to their growth
VINCI aimed to promote the Virtual Enterprise/Virtual Organisation as an instrument for the creation and management of clusters,
the main industrial systems in the Tuscan economy A Virtual Enterprise (VE) is a temporary alliance of enterprises that come together to share skills or core
competencies and resources in order to better respond to business opportunities, and whose cooperation is supported by computer networks.
It is a manifestation of Collaborative Networks and of Virtual Organisation (a productive organisational entity that uses telecommunication tools to enable
maintain and sustain member relationships in distributed work environments The VE/VO was experimented particularly in the field of technological innovation and technology transfer
The objectives of the mechanism were to stimulate investment in micro companies in order to improve their products and/or services, facilities, equipment,
and other necessary modifications. The mechanism also aimed to promote investment in developing strategic areas such as quality, new technologies
environment, security and hygiene The mechanism is applied through a partnership between ADRAL (the regional development agency
the council and a commercial bank and provides companies with loans which must be paid back within
With their deep knowledge of the territory and environment they can guide the fund to the
production process that makes the regional economy more competitive and able to differentiate its production on the basis of material and immaterial quality.
workers, consumer rights and the environment. It encourages an approach that is based on continuous improvements which anchor CSR in SME strategies and management systems.
Innovation and the knowledge economy Theme: Innovation, research and technology development TYPE OF INTERVENTION Type of intervention:
the major capitals of Europe) grouped under the Edge Cities Network (ECN While the project addressed the innovation capacity of SMES in general,
entrepreneurship, with the main aim being to identify and exchange Good Practices relating to the
support and promotion of local entrepreneurship and innovative SMES among the partner Edge Cities This goal would be achieved through the creation of an †innohub†in each city, drawing and building
business environment, available for private individuals as well as businessmen and other entrepreneurs for commercialising ideas from start to finish, from an invention to an innovationâ€.
Start-up) were oriented clearly entrepreneurship focused on university students, and therefore lie outside the scope of the present analysis. The other
a. Innovation champions engage key stakeholders and decision makers to support innovation 2. Vision and Strategy for innovation †defined through a collaborative process
6. Communication †to encourage engagement and participation A a municipality is in a good position to communicate about innovation to all its
The services are provided by local advisors or hired-in professionals. Regular training sessions also take place in the centre and market
research/business intelligence services are available. Company growth is associated always with product or process innovation. Its approach to sustainability is important:
offers free services to support SMES in all phases of innovation development. It can go from a simple
Innovation Stockholm has about 1 000 customers a year, and 20%of them commercialize their innovative idea
on the edge of the major capitals of Europe. This common background allows partners to move
Innovation and the knowledge economy Theme: Innovation, research and technology development TYPE OF INTERVENTION Type of intervention:
†non-technological†measures and simple modernisation or support to investment initiatives Country Institution, Town
4 Ireland Meath County Enterprise Board, Navan 5 Bulgaria Regional Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovations â€
Varna (RAPIV), Varna 6 Spain European Business Innovation Centre of Navarra-CEIN, Noain 7 Spain
business models in SMES by designing, implementing and managing strategies, policies and tools whose aims are to improve non-technological innovation,
to help its members develop innovating services and products to locals and tourists in their villages.
and procure goods and services in international markets. Assistance is provided in two different phases: i) inception:
containing business opportunities, reports on the business environment and selected sectors such as water, energy, construction in 22 countries.
products, services and processes. The food sector always needs to adapt to consumers and social
issues (environment, climate and health issues. The activities carried out by the hub include coaching
Innovation and the knowledge economy Theme: Innovation, research and technology development TYPE OF INTERVENTION Type of intervention:
most visible impact has been in the topic of entrepreneurship, due to the success of the Good Practice
of †Summer Entrepreneur†can almost instantly be measured by the number of new ventures created
Environment Innovation Subsidy Vouchers Cluster Supp Cluster mgmt I-CREO Internationalisatio Productive Clusters Programme Clusters mgmt
new business opportunities to fruition, including in export markets Genomnanotech (Hungary: The Hungarian government realized that the subsidisation of innovation
and develop products, services & technologies together. This increases the regional and national competitiveness of the country.
-Enhancing R&d intensive investments in the à szak-Alfã ld region in cooperation with Innova
Innovation and the knowledge economy Theme: Innovation, research and technology development TYPE OF INTERVENTION Type of intervention:
of knowledge into new and marketable products and services, through the sharing of experiences and
other R&d funding opportunities •†Cluster Management Services†and other networking support programmes, corresponding to
•Technology transfer services and other SMES/Universities joint R&d collaborative programmes or business cooperation
Innovation Scoreboard, training activities for innovation support stakeholders, coordination of the innovation support stakeholder†s actionsâ€.
a) Defining principles and communication rules b) Identification of GPS focused on RIAS c) External evaluation
Services Cluster mgmt Innovation vouchers Young Innovative Enterprise contract (loans New products by design (new staff
Incubation coaching 82 good potential for transfer, due to their simplicity of implementation and universal applicability.
Aquitaine) to the Veneto Region and Young Innovative Enterprise Contract from the Champagne -Ardenne Regional Council was transferred to Valencia via the creation of a new funding instrument
Young Innovative Enterprise (YIE) Contract (Champagne-ardenne, France: The Good Practice was developed by the Champagne-ardenne Regional Council and addresses the shortage of financial
000 for consulting services (training, advice on intellectual property rights, market research, technology transfer services, and technological assistance, etc
Innovation Vouchers (Innovalis †Aquitaine, France: The innovation vouchers help micro enterprises to start an innovation process by building up a first technological partnership with a service
provider. The maximum subsidy is â 10 000 with an intervention rate of 50 to 80%.
finance a wide variety of services: technical feasibility studies, tests, product characterization prototypes, market survey, technical state of the art, modelling,
and first patent registration expenditures The service provider is paid directly once the company has paid its share
It is focused on facilitating internationalisation opportunities for SMES, and it is a purely transnational initiative, relatively easy to implement †including at transnational level with cooperation
portfolio of activities and measures for regions wishing to enhance the services provided by their Regional Innovation Agencies
Innovation and the knowledge economy Theme: Innovation, research and technology development TYPE OF INTERVENTION Type of intervention:
exchange of ideas, experiences and tools for entrepreneurship, securing financing and offering tools for joint marketing by the SMES of all the European regions taking part in the project
The Role of Innovative Services in the Tourism Market to Support Regional Development (Smart Tourism):
•Support for development of innovative enterprise •Support for development of clusters •Support for development of cooperation between the research and SME sectors
The SMES were considered always the main stakeholders of the whole process Good Practice analysis: As SMART+was a mini-programme that managed sub-projects, the analysis
a bottom-up call for proposals open for six topics (Consulting Services for SMES, Cooperation between SME & Research Institutes, Financial services for SMES, Company-based Innovation Management
seminars, organized in cooperation with regional authorities, business environment institutions or entrepreneurs'associations, in order to foster business relations between regional SMES and
and real added-value services were deployed at local level for final beneficiaries. This was a small scale measure with a good potential reach.
better services to be deployed to a specific group of SMES (e g. to the tourism sector, as in
medium-sized enterprise. Link •Community Framework for State Aid for Research and development and Innovation. Official
Call in the Innovation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises work programme 2014. Link •INNOSUP-5†2014:
Medium-sized Enterprises work programme. 2014. Link •Innovation and business strategy: why Canada falls short.
•Smart Specialisation †the Concept, Knowledge Economists Policy Brief nâ°9. Knowledge f or
•SME opportunities for EU-US collaboration in Horizon 2020. Information guide from the project
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