WHAT INNOVATION FOR WHAT REGIONS? Can benchmarking be a driver? Ronald POHORYLES

1. WHAT INNOVATION FOR WHAT REGIONS?Can benchmarking be a driver?Ronald POHORYLES The Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research in the Social Sciences, Vienna & Paris

2. The Aims of the Presentation • Far from being trivial: what is innovation; and how does it happen • Does benchmarking help? • The alternative: Getting analytical understanding of innovation processes • Comparing best practice and mutual learning Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

3. Why is innovation a complex concept? • The topic of the conference is in the subtitle: “Fostering competitiveness through innovation technologies, products and healthy communities” • But is this the main strategy for the economic change of a region? Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

4. The Agenda for the programme “Regions for economic change” • Making European regions more attractive places to invest and to work; • Improving knowledge and innovation; • More and better job; and • the territorial dimension of European Cohesion Policy • What we talk about is thus: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

5. Sustainable regional innovation Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

6. The Agenda for the programme “Regions for economic change” • Sustainable development calls for innovation, but is a broader concept than merely technological innovation. • It must meet the demand of the European citizens to bring Europe closer to their needs. • The governance concept calls for inclusion of all relevant stakeholders; insofar as regional development policies are concerned, not just the policy makers and the industries are stakeholders, but NGOs and citizens as well. Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

7. Does benchmarking help? • Benchmarking provides information, but does not provide knowledge • Benchmarking is based upon merely quantitative data • Quantitative data are very expensive to obtain, hence there are just quite few indicators • The quality of the indicators can be questioned, and the interpretation of “proxies” is quite arbitrary • Benchmarking risks to compare incomparable structures Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

8. The problem of benchmarking: • The big risk: One-size-fits-all… How can you be so similar? We are not similar!!! Xavier Gorce, La lettre du Monde, 20/9/2004 Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

9. A novel approach for policy assessment The"EUROCOOP“ project tries to overcome this problem “Impact assessment of regional innovation policies and benchmarking: European cooperation for sustainable regional innovation” The main objective of EURO-COOP is to develop a research and innovation policy impact assessment system at the regional level in order to improve the measurement of the various impacts of regional research and innovation policies. Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

10. How does innovation happen? • Supporting policies might help, but: Innovations is based on knowledge, not on guidance Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

11. Lessons to be learnt • It is huge misunderstanding to oppose marketable innovation to R&D research • Innovation needs creative environments and knowledge production • Academic research is relevant for innovation as it attracts investment from innovative firms • Academic research needs a balanced academic infrastructure – leading universities are not just leading in technology, but in the social sciences and humanities as well • Creative innovators need cultural infrastructures Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

12. How does innovation happen? • Innovation needs the mobilisation of capital, but of human resources as well • Innovating regions need to provide an innovative environment • The regions must be supported by national and European programmes, but… ... local knowledge is required for sustainable, hence successful innovation. Strategies that are seen as top-down approaches will not mobilise enough support. Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

13. Policy Analysis:Towards an Analytical Understanding of Regional Innovation Policies • The methodological challenge is obvious: • From quantitative (as measured in indicators & scoreboards) to more qualitative methods (intangible factors, processes & experiences) • From an analytic (taking the problem to pieces) to synthetic approach (putting together solutions). Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

14. RIPIA method and logical framework Source: Joe Ravetz, Kieron Flanagan / Elvira Uyarra, EUROCOOP: University of Manchester Team Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

15. The RIPIA approach: Knowledge for action • The RIPIA method contains a series of steps and information requirements, which will help regional innovation analysts carry out more effective impact assessments. • The RIPIA toolkit is a package of guidance, templates and resources to support the innovation policy, based on this methodology. Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

16. 4° The RIPIA approach I ‘From Indicators to Intelligence’: • How to move from performance measurement to policy impact assessment? • What use are existing indicators? • How are they used or abused? • What are the needs for new indicators? • How can we look behind indicators at what is really going on? Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

17. 4° The RIPIA approach II ‘A wider range of evidence’: • How are ‘soft’ processes best managed & „benchmarked“? • How best to manage institutional barriers and conflicts? • How can such processes & interactions be assessed and evaluated? Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

18. 4° The RIPIA approach III ‘From Assessment to Applications’ : • How can self-assessment & shared intelligence be built into the regional system? • How could a toolkit make a contribution to assessment & policy learning? • What kind of ‘toolkit’, if any, do regions really need? Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

19. 4° Policy Analysis: The Regional Impact Assessment Model Source: Joe Ravetz, Kieron Flanagan / Elvira Uyarra, EUROCOOP: University of Manchester Team Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

20. Regions have different needs Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

21. Mutual learning and qualitative comparison • Transdisciplinary approaches are needed • A good example how to work are foresight studies • Best practice models have to be exchanged on a deliberative base. This means that strategies have to be developed with all stakeholders on the regional level, but coordination with the national and European levels can frame the activities. Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007

22. Thank you for your patience! Contacts: Coordinator: Ronald J Pohoryles r.pohoryles@iccr-international.org www.iccr-international.org/eurocoop Task Officer: Jean-Pierre Lentz Jean-Pierre.Lentz@cec.eu.int Regions for Economic ChangeBrussels, 7 – 8 March 2007