innovation dialogue forum

Centre for Innovation and Technology in NRW

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Innovation Dialogue Forum

Michael Guth

ZENIT GmbH

Centre for Innovation and Technology

Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany

T: +49-208-30004-56

Email: mg (at) zenit.de

Towards a regional innovation system

Becici, 8-9 November 2010

Some Experiences from North Rhine Westphalia


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10 – 15 minutes (more details in discussion)

1. Some words about ZENIT as technology transfer and innovation player in NRW

2. Enterprise Europe Network (in NRW)

3. Technology Transfer and Innovation:Concepts and Schemes

4. Some lessons for the WBC

Contents


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ZENIT Trägerverein e.V.an interest group of over 200 primarily small and medium-sized North Rhine-Westphalian enterprises from all sectors

Consortium of banks

The Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia

Who we are

ZENIT Zentrum für Innovation und Technik in Nordrhein-Westfalen GmbH founded in 1984 as a Public Private Partnership to support the structural change in North Rhine-Westphalia

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+ Supervisory board chairman

1. ZENIT as technology transfer agent


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Our clients

Consulting and Technology Transfer Services for ...

Small and medium-sized enterprises

District councils andregional authorities

The Federal State ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia

Europe


Enterprise EuropeEU contact point for SMES concerning competitiveness innovation and technology transfer

National Contact Point NCP

SME - Support in participation in the Seventh Framework Programme of the EU

eTEN - Support of telecommunication and information services

eContentplus - Promotion of the production, dissemination and application of digital content

EU Networks /National Contact Points NCP

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2. Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)in NRW


Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation

ZENIT GmbH & NRW.BANK

Stakeholder Network

• SMEs • Research Institutions• Enterprises • Universities

Enterprise Europe Network

Enterprise &SME policy

Innovation &Technology policy

572 network partners in Europe Network partners in NRW

Players in NRW

The EEN network

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Enterprise Europe Network in NRW: NRW.Europa

• Germany: 13 network partners

• North Rhine-Westphalia:

• 723,000 small and medium-sized enterprises

• NRW exports amount of 140 billion €

• 59 universities and universities of applied sciences, 60 non-university research institutions

• 50 technology centres and 28 technology transfer units (Source: Knowledgebase-nrw.de, 2008)

Relevance for NRW

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NRW 2009

Area 34,088 km²

Population 17.9 million

Population density 526/km²

GDP 521.7 bn €

GDP per capita 29,160 €

Gainfully employed 8.7 m

Private consumption* 323.8 bn €

Exports 138.6 bn €

Imports 147.8 bn €

Foreign direct investments** 187.7 bn €

* 2008, ** data: as of end of 2008

150 million people within about a 500-kilometer radius

NRW located in the Center of Europe


NRW.Europa in a nutshell

• Central contact point for all EU-related information (one-stop shop)• Early information about current EU topics and funding opportunities• Short and fast routes to information and contacts in NRW• Local access to specialist know-how and information• Use of international network of contacts• Technology offers/ Technology request -> Technology Transfer• Internationalisation support (new markets for services, products and

know how)

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Virtual Market place: Technology and business databases of the EEN network

• Central tools for partner mediation and for facilitating cooperations• Structured technology/business offers and requests from all fields of

industry/technology; world wide!• Quality assurance through the network partners and the Commission

(EACI)• Currently some 10,000 entries!• Access via websites of EEN partners (e.g. nrw.europa.de) • Targeted email alert (automatic matching tool; ATM)• Anonymous modus operandi; only the local EEN partners have

contacts and reveal only after permission

EXAMPLE of EEN Innovation Service

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Centre for Innovation and Technology in NRWEXAMPLE of EEN Innovation Service

Profile Detail (Request)Photovoltaic solar systems (08 MK 82EX 0JIA) A Macedonian medium sized producer of industrial pumps is searching for technology for photovoltaic (PV) solar systems. The company is interested in cooperation with a PV systems producer that will provide the necessary know-how and technology, while the company will specialize in certain phase of production and promote the PV systems on the South-Eastern Europe market. Preferred type of cooperation is joint venture, but is also open for commercial and subcontracting agreement.

Country: Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Type: REQUEST Date: 07.06.2010

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Profile Detail (Offer)New modular compact technology of drinking water purification from harmful organic and inorganic substances (10 RB 1B1O 3HY1) Serbian SME has developed technology for purification of waters from harmful organic and inorganic substances using processes on electrochemically active micro alloyed and nanostructure solid materials. Innovation offers a kind of nanotechnology as a new compact technology of drinking water purification from all substances in ionic, colloid and molecule state. Serbian company is interested in license agreement, joint further development, testing of new application, adaption to specific needs

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EEN and WBC

• All WBC countries participate in network (but Albania)• Not very visible• E.g. only 25 technology offers from Serbia• In Montenegro: Chamber, SME Directorate SMEDA and

university of Montenegro (faculty of mechanical engineering) • No transfers with ZENIT accomplished• Limited participation in FP 7

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3. Technology Transfer

• Definition: what do we mean by TT….• TT-Schemes in NRW and Romania


Innovation and Technology Transfer

Innovation can be defined as:

1) „the result of individual and institutional learning processes, the knowledge created by this and its economic application“(ZENIT)

2) “Innovation is the ability to take new ideas and translate them into commercial outcomes by new processes, products or services….)1)

We only speak about „innovation“ when new knowledge is actually being applied in new products, services, organisational procedures or management procedures!!

1) Nedis, R. and Byler E. (2009), Creating a national innovation framework, in Science progress April(2009)

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Transfer

In this perspective technology (knowledge) transfer is key for innovation processes to take place!

Technology Transfer and Innovation are two sides of one medal

BUT

How does Technology Transfer and Innovation (TTI) function??

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Traditionally the RTD&I systems both in market and in transition Traditionally the RTD&I systems both in market and in transition environments were (and still are!?) based on a rather linear way environments were (and still are!?) based on a rather linear way

of thinking technology transfer/innovation of thinking technology transfer/innovation

Basic Research

ProductDemonstration/

FeasibilityApplied

ResearchMarket

The concept of innovation

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XBasic

ResearchProduct

Demonstration/Feasibility

Applied Research

Market

The concept of innovation

X X

It is not that easy!

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It is more complex: It is more complex:

Non – linear process

Involving different actors (science, firms, governments, public)

Complex feed back loops between the actors

=> Innovation is a system

Elements of innovation are:

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Research may no longer be the only focus of science policy measures

Pure technology aspects become less important

Interaction of actors is equally important for the success of innovation policy (Transfer as critical element)

A striking new element for policy measures are the links between actors! (Networks, Cluster, Exchange)

What does this mean for Innovation Policy and related policy tools?

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Examples of TT schemes in North Rhine Westphalia

On-going proposal submission

call/competition/selection committee


Selection process

4 months – 1 year2 years1 – 3 yearsProject

duration

-Max 60% of gross annual salary

- Max 12,750€ (male)and 15,300€ (female)

via personnel costs amounting to part-time placement at university + 5000€ for consultancy services

Max. 50% funding rate for winning projectsFunding

through “heads”

through “heads”young graduates bring university know how into new firms

- joint projects - joint development- joint application of

knowledge

Know how transfer

SMEyoung start ups (pre-starting phase)

SMEs + research institutions, network

Target

IPTPFAUZukunftsWett-

bewerbRuhrgebiet

On-going proposal submission



Selection process

4 months – 1 year2 years1 – 3 yearsProject

duration

-Max 60% of gross annual salary

- Max 12,750€ (male)and 15,300€ (female)

via personnel costs amounting to part-time placement at university + 5000€ for consultancy services

Max. 50% funding rate for winning projectsFunding

through “heads”

through “heads”young graduates bring university know how into new firms

- joint projects - joint development- joint application of

knowledge

Know how transfer

SMEyoung start ups (pre-starting phase)

SMEs + research institutions, network

Target

IPTPFAUZukunftsWett-

bewerbRuhrgebiet

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Lessons from NRW

IPT:

The personnel transfer (IPT) can be seen as an instrument with a good cost-benefit ratio:

Good instrument for regions with structural change

For 40 % of firms the know how transfer was more important than the funding!

Most of the young graduates (60 %) remained in the firm after the project (and funding) ceased (one year after the project’s end)

Focus on SMEs23


Examples from Romania

The use of the European FP for building up networks (RoDi)

A national financing scheme for TT infrastructures

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FP6 Project: Romanian Days of Innovation RoDI

Partners:

• RO Ministry of Education and Research

• Research Institute for Automation Design (IPA), Bucharest

• University of Agricultural Sciences in Bucharest

• ZENIT

• gtz (German technical assistance corporation)

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FP6 Project: Romanian Days of Innovation RoDI

What was it all about?

• Building up of two networks: IST and biotechnology

• Promotion of FP6 and FP7 participation for RO researchers

• Training seminars on FP 7 in all 8 development regions

• National FP6/FP7 conferences

Sustainability and enhancement of the IST Network assured via a National Research Project: Prom IST PC7

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Programme of the National Authority for Scientific Research in support of TTI infrastructures (INFRATECH):

• Technology and Science Parks

• Business Incubators

• Technology Transfer Centres

• Centres for Technology Information

• Industry Liaison Offices

• Technology Clusters and Brokers

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2nd Example from RO


• 2 components:

- Institutional build up (1 year)

- Specific services (5 years)

• Budget: up to 500.000 EUR per project

• Network of Romanian TTI structures

Infratech

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Exploiting synergies between EU and national resources!

Networking is an important element for innovation. BUT: depending on the actual infrastructural endowment, the infrastructure up-grade must not be forgotten.

Refrain from too strict legal codifications. A law is not really needed. Can be an obstacle in the implementation.

Importance of a demand orientated approach. Not all > 60 TTI entities regard themselves as innovation service providers!

Financial sustainability is a problem

Lessons from Romania

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Innovation without Technology/Know how transfer is not possible!

TT represents a key element of innovation policy (different motivations of the actors)

We must not expect too much (financially, technologically)

Incremental but permanent flows of knowledge and subsequent application may not be so appealing but still they are very efficient

This has consequences for TT-schemes: smaller projects, broad approaches (technologically), involving people (transfer through heads, networks, local clusters, …)

4. Summary and Conclusions

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Most of the points discussed are general! They apply for Germany as much as for Montenegro

Legal framework is an issue! Transition states tend to codify too much (national law for incubators, national cluster law, …): Think twice before you issue a new law in the TTI-field

Networking (triple helix) versus bad-buddy-groups (closed shops, nepotism, cartels/trusts):Organise broad participation – even on the cost of efficiency. Identify project forms which create local/regional network (RIS, foresights, benchmarking workshops)

Specific Transition aspects?

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Thank you very much for your attention!

Contact:

Michael Guth

Phone ++49-208-30004-56

Mail: mg(at)zenit.de

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