INVENTORY OF GOOD PRACTICES ON OPEN INNOVATION Competence Centres. Stuttgart, Germany

Transcription

1 INVENTORY OF GOOD PRACTICES ON OPEN INNOVATION Competence Centres Stuttgart, Germany

2 Table of contents 1. Good Practice Profile Good Practice General Description Good Practice Analysis Lessons Learnt Page 2

3 1. Good Practice Profile 1.1. Name of good practice. Competence Centres Localisation of the good practice. Stuttgart Region, Germany Promoter of good practice. Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation Sources of information (website): Further details on the several existing competence centres are available at their own websites. Respective internet links are available in the competence center portal (see link above) Contact details. Dr. Martin Zagermann Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation Mr. Bertram Gaiser Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation wrs.region-stuttgart.de Page 3

4 1.6. Policy area addressed. Networking and Collaboration. Human Capital and Entrepreneurship Culture. IP management and Technology Markets. Access to Finance. Knowledge and Science and Technology base 1.7. Role/s played by regional public authorities. Enabler. Director. Facilitator. Financier (as far as project-based support is concerned) Open Innovation Framework Conditions addressed. Capability: ability to exploit full potential. Network: interaction among actors in innovation systems. Institutional: Innovation system actors (universities, patent offices, ). Framework: regulatory frameworks, IPR regime, consumer demand. Policy: governance capacity Specific aspects dealt with in relation to the regional conditions conducive to better Open Innovation practices. Innovative coaching - Critical mass of high quality research. - Integrated approach on research valorisation: multidisciplinary team & high value services. - Clear incentives and policies to encourage research groups and departments to actively seek knowledge transfer opportunities. Page 4

5 - Creation of appropriate entrepreneurial climate in a university context. - Legal context with respect to exploitation of academic research. - Innovation systems available in the region. Research and technical development - Performing technological due diligence (assessing how unique the methodology/action is in the world / on the market). - Creating an appropriate IP strategy. - Developing a balanced innovation strategy (including R&D roadmap, balanced portfolio of short, medium and long term R&D objectives). - Identifying and providing access to specialised R&D equipment and facilities. - Identifying and relating to (global) networks of world-class scientists, experts, technical and/or industrial partners. Operalisation - Creating infrastructure for the valorisation or transfer process. - Manage tacit knowledge in relation to hard knowledge, in order to implement the full picture. - Developing adequate contractual arrangements related to IP/liabilities, partners and stakeholders. Management and organisation - Developing management capabilities (decision making skills, deal making skills, presentation skills, etc.). - Formation of a Board of Directors with management experience. - Formation and development of a senior management team with business experience. - Developing adequate HR administrative procedures and arrangements (incl tax/legal aspects). Page 5

6 2. Good Practice Description 2.1. Brief description (one page max.) The competence centres initiative launched by the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation (WRS) systematically pursues the approach to initiate and support effective cooperation and networking on a triple helix basis between business, research, education as well as politics. Focused on the region s main technologies, Competence Centres in the Stuttgart Region have a particular topic-driven approach (in contrast to cluster initiatives showing a rather branch-oriented networking approach). As the programme supports the initiation, set-up and daily networking of innovative players around the triple-helix model this not only creates network institutions with own legal entities that generate long-term benefits for the region; but it also encourages the exchange of knowledge and experience as well as the opening up of innovation environments. Since the regional initiative was launched in 1999, different technology-based competence and innovation centres have been established in the Stuttgart Region. In contrast to comparable approaches, the concept is firmly based on the idea of companies investing in order to reap tangible business benefits. In early 2010, the members of the legally independent centres included almost 500 (mostly small or midsize) enterprises, 50 university or private research establishments, several localgovernment partners within the Stuttgart Region, various chambers of commerce and trade as well as associations. The Competence Centres have a key role facilitating cross-sectoral activities. Main aim of this initiative is the set-up and the management support of regional networks, integrating possibly all regional companies, universities, research institutions working in a particular technology area. Main working areas are the promotion of cooperation between relevant stakeholders in order to foster technological development, a strong competitiveness of regional enterprises (and especially SMEs), the exchange of knowhow among participating institutions, and the initiation of innovative cooperation projects. Competence Centres make available the technological and business expertise for local firms, especially SMEs with limited R&D resources on their own, which helps them to increase the effectiveness of projects. Their service includes not only the initiation of innovative cooperation projects but activities such as the preparation and moderation of topic-based workshops and information sessions as well as get-together events, the organization of trade fairs, enabling SMEs to successfully take part in events of this kind in order to meet expectations of member institutions and provide added value. Page 6

7 2.2. Key features of the good practice. The programme supports the initiation, the set-up and the daily work of institutionalized, technology oriented networks. Technology oriented networks involving possibly all regional players from economy, science, research, politics and public administration. Institutionalized networks providing a legal body (associations) with human resources (general manager + back office) and a management board (representatives of partner institutions). Network members provide a major part of the annual budget on the basis of annual membership fees. The municipality, where the respective competence centre is located, usually provides financial support for a limited time in the set-up phase Base financing for the good practice. Financial set-up support for the Competence Centres was provided by the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation from 2000 until Due to a political decision, the financing support changed in the year 2003 from a general, institutional support to a project-based support meaning that since then Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation supports innovative cooperation projects within the networks Owner of the good practice. Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation 2.5. Background and prior references: is the good practice a spin-out? No spin-out. The initiative was started on the basis of a political decision of the regional assembly in the year of Maturity of the good practice. Initiative (as well as project-based financing support) ongoing. Against this background, a maturity of 11 years Competence Center Programme Stuttgart Region has been achieved. Page 7

8 2.7. Sustainability of the good practice. Competence Center initiative ongoing since 11 years. New Competence Centers started in the last years (without any additional institutional set-up support). Presentation of initiative to delegations from all over the world. Page 8

9 3. Good Practice Analysis 3.1. Criteria used to evaluate the Good Practice and main success factors. At the end of the institutional set-up support all existing Competence Centres were evaluated according to the following criteria in total more than 50 criteria grouped in 9 sections: - Basic criteria such as project management - Quality of the network such as involvement of the network partners, events for network members, communication within the network, management structure, member satisfaction - Qualification issues such as initiation of new qualification concepts - Financial criteria such as business model, revenue, product portfolio - Partnership such as number of network members, involvement of partners from the whole value chain - Projects such as funded projects, planned projects, cooperation projects between network members - Effects to regional economy such as start-ups, relocations, new jobs - Marketing such as press releases, paper and online based communication - Events such as workshops, fairs, 3.2. Good Practice Results and impact indicators. 12 Competence Centres established in the Stuttgart Region. New networks under preparation. Nearly 500 companies (global players and SME), ca. 50 university and research institutes as well as several chambers, NGOs and public players involved. With the help of the project-based support programme, more than 100 innovative cooperation projects were initiated and supported by the Stuttgart Region. Organisation and conduction of several big international events and congresses by the Competence Centres. Several Competence Centres involved in the federal initiative Kompetenznetze Deutschland. Page 9

10 3.3. Level of importance for Good Practice s success of (1-5 scale, 1 = low...5 = Very high) Please rate the level of importance of the following elements in their contribution to the success of the good practice. Element Building a partnership Ensuring contribution from the private sector Placing the project into wider policy context Ensuring political support Planning and formulating a proposal Administrative management Externalising management of activities Private financial resources Public financial resources Addressing a clear need/demand Filling a gap in the innovation infrastructure X 3.4. Stakeholders involvement - Description of Stakeholders involved: As the Competence Centres can be understood as institutionalized networks comprising possibly all (regional) actors within a certain field of technology, stakeholders are: Companies (global players as well as SME) Research and development institutions (public or private research facilities, institutions for applied research etc.) Institutions from the education sector (universities, universities for applied sciences etc.) Public and non-governmental sector (regional public authorities, local authorities, chambers etc.) Page 10

11 - Stakeholders who participated in the design of the good practice and level of involvement during planning stage: Competence Centre Programme (design of regional support programme) Stakeholder Regional public authority Regional agency Knowledge Institutes Companies Business networks National public authority National agency Other:... Competence Centres Stakeholder Regional public authority Regional agency Knowledge Institutes Companies Business networks National public authority National agency Other:... - Actors who participated in the implementation of the good practice and level of involvement during implementation stage: Regional public authority Regional agency Knowledge Institutes Companies Business networks National public authority National agency Other: Page 11

12 4.1. Lessons Learnt: Things you would do differently if you were to start again. 4. Lessons Learnt Competence Centres turned out to be a very suitable instrument for triple-helix networking and regional cluster management as well as regional business development support. Although there are only few things which would be done differently, there are some lessons learnt which are followed consequently when it comes to the set-up of a new Competence Centre: Ensure a critical number of founding partners for the network (at least founding institutions) Ensure financial contributions (e.g. annual membership fees in the range of 3.000,- to 6.000,- for companies depending on their size) of all partner institutions in order to provide stable financial resources from the start of the network. Thematic topic/technology of the network must not be too broad but broad enough in order to allow synergies and cooperation possibilities among the involved partners. Most important success factors: qualified staff and management resources employed by the network, intensive communication among the partner institutions initiated and moderated by the network management, institutionalization of the network in order to ensure financial contribution of all partner institutions, initiation and implementation of cooperation projects in order to provide added value for the network partners. Page 12