Innovation Management under the Structural Funds in NRW – Today and in the Future

1. Innovation Management under the Structural Funds in NRW – Today and in the Future Martin Hennicke, Head of Managing Authority for the EU-NRW-Objektice 2-Programme Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

2. In North Rhine-Westphalia innovation management aimed at developing an innovative and knowledge-based economy is seen as an integrated task which centres on the following components: • innovation processes in specific fields of excellence with a strong technological orientation and in • regional fields of competence with potential for development • research and development in business enterprises • high-tech and knowledge-based start-ups.

3. The North Rhine-Westphalia government considers innovation to be a highly complex process which, in addition to technological developments, also covers organisational, logistic, financial, and human resources-, marketing- and design-related innovations. Promotional measures therefore focus on the various fields of the entire innovation system which comprises the actual innovations, i.e. the translation of new knowledge, technologies and know-how into marketable products, procedures and marketing methods and activities. The components are organised and arranged on the basis of experience gathered from a great variety of individual measures under the current structural funds promotion period which will now be consolidated into comprehensive and integrated measures in an effort to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. Under the heading "Local and Regional Clusters" we would like to explain in greater detail the following approaches:

4. Competition for excellence The government will stage competitions that are designed to provide targeted and concerted support for innovation processes in specific fields of excellence in a move to meet international quality standards in market-oriented research and development. In fields where North Rhine-Westphalia can boast outstanding strengths the initiative aims to promote internationally important innovations and interregional and international competitiveness of the firms and institutions taking part in the competitions.

5. The initiative centres on • North Rhine-Westphalia's special strong points with a potential for excellence and singularity • consistent and future-oriented concepts of integrated and market-related medium-term strategies for developing excellence in cooperation with business enterprises, research and development institutions, educational institutions and, where appropriate, public authorities • incorporating individual projects into a comprehensive development strategy • a wide range of promotional activities: joint R&D projects, cluster management, improving the technological infrastructure (setting up centres of excellence), broadening skills, developing knowledge-based services, transfer of knowledge, marketing strategies etc.

6. It is vital that participants demonstrate how the proposed individual projects fit into a comprehensive development strategy. Competitors therefore will be required to present integrated and market-related medium-term strategies for developing excellence in cooperation with business enterprises, research and development institutions, educational institutions and, where appropriate, public authorities. Regional competence and potential for development Many regional fields of competence provide a favourable framework which enables certain value-added chains to flexibly adapt to rapidly altering global economic conditions and regions to progressively cope with unavoidable structural changes in a sustainable manner. Such potential for development seems to be of major importance especially to regions facing serious structural problems. This is the reason why the second approach to promoting innovation processes focuses on the regions in North Rhine-Westphalia. A broad-based competition will be launched that is intended to support the setting up and/or development of particularly promising regional innovation clusters.

7. The initiative centres on • a wide range of subjects which covers more than just technology-oriented clusters • establishing and developing particularly promising regional cluster projects • cooperation between research and development institutions, business enterprises, educational institutions and, where appropriate, the public sector with the aim of jointly developing, producing and marketing highly competitive products and services.

8. A region's contribution to the competition must be based on a preliminary in-depth analysis of the regional potentials and value-added structures. The functional structure of the value-added chain, the institutional environment, the existing infrastructure, the incorporation of the cluster into the region, and the competitive stength and relevance of the value-added chain have to be demonstrated applying previously fixed criteria and standards.