Strategic RTD policy for regional catching up in the

ERA

Stanisław Kubielas

Warsaw University

“Building the future in an enlarged and more integrated Europe”

the Trentino Foresight Exercise as a contribution to the European Research Area

8^ Provincial R&D Institutional Conference

Trento, 6. October 2003

Barcelona Target and the Era in an Enlarged Europe

Further falling behindIncreasing regional divergenceDilemma – concentrate or diffuse RTD

effort in the Era (duplication vs returns?)

Supply or demand forces at play? (Creating demand – absorption)

Spatial and temporal clustering of innovations – principle of insularity

Because - not in spite of - the lack of correlation between innovations;

Barriers to diffusion, limited transmissibility Low spillover, clustering, time and place

specificity of technical know-how Rationale for regional RTD policy – silicon chips

or potato chips? Focus on microeconomic environment, not too

aggregated, support regions rather than countries

Conditions for diffusion crucial to regional catchup

Transmissibility – dissemination policies Capacity to absorb – infrastructure, education

and training Matching demand for innovations with R&D

supply push Demand factor of special relevance for accession

countries

Barcelona objective can not be viewed purely as a supply push of diverting more resources to R&D. Any supply push has to be coupled with equal efforts to generate a demand pull for such R&D.

Solow paradox of decreasing returns to R&D for countries close to world technological frontier might be repeated in catching up countries with R&D effort not matched by corresponding increases of demand for that new technology.

The indirect cost of the Barcelona objective – that of creating the absorption framework conditions – might be much higher than raising R&D by 1%.

Multi-layer strategic RTD policy – ERA, nations, regions

Overcome fragmentation, duplication, scale effects, concentration

Adjustment of research priorities (easy in absence of priorities)

Creating supranational linkages/networking, support for infrastructure

RTD for innovative or absorptive capacities Regional differences: mission vs dissemination oriented

policies Regional specificity of innovation systems – open method of

coordination instead of harmonization since Lisbon Crowding out (revenue trap) or crowding in (additionality)? Mobility of researchers – a way to spillover

Use of modern tools for regional strategic intelligence

Identify comparative advantage – benchmarking (SWOT, taxonomy)

Identify demand for R&D and innovations – foresight

Setting local priorities – evaluation, technology assessment

Analytical search for priorities (not voting) as against available competences

Conditions for regional strategic intelligence to emerge

Awareness of common (encompassing) interest Relative autonomy of regions – moderate level of

centralisation Threshold level of funding – reasonable

management costs Size and relative integrity of the region

Experience from an accession country - Poland

Ample evidence of demand pull mechanism (however insufficient) Inverse relationship between GERD/GDP and GDP growth (Solow

paradox) Great challenge – to match RTD supply and demand at the micro level Need to identify demand for innovations (both in enterprises and local

communities) Important step to couple structural funds with foresight (obligatory?) Structural funds to realign domestic to foreign technology systems Strategy for less advanced to grow: coupling traditional products with

inputs of advanced technology; no need to be technology leader to grow Twining, foreign consultancy, pooling of EU experts, aid from EU funds University as a champion for regional development in poorly developed

infrastructure

Debated issues - suitability of modern tools

Performance monitoring trap – procedures vs essentials (Columbus syndrome)

Foresight for advanced, imitation for less advanced regions, Poland A, B, C

Benchmarking: Barcelona target and equilibrium level of R&D (Warsaw contra the provinces)

Foresight or capabilities of system adaptation (abstract science, high culture, human capital)

Major examples of emerging regional strategic intelligence

Warsaw district – strategic development plan Motorway A4 (agreement of four voivodships) –

silicon valley Association Aircraft Valley in South-East Poland Integrated Operational Programme for Regional

Development Pre-accession programme: Improving institutional

cohesion for innovativeness (consultancy of MERIT).