Mountain Package – an ecosystem boosting innovation tourism Monika Jönsson

Academic Summit: Clusters as entrepreneurial ecosystems

4 September 2013

Mountain Package

-an ecosystem boosting innovation in tourism

Monika Jönsson, PhD, Regional Adviser

3

Overview of the study

• Out of a case Mountain package:– highlight a way of work, regional leadership and

innovations in service sector. – make some theoretical connections concerning

multilevel governance, cluster development and learning processes for innovation.

• The aim of the paper is to:– Present a case and relate some finding to

theoretical concepts of leadership and learning. – Suggest – how a cluster in the tourism sector

can take lead in an ecosystem to boost innovation.

4

Overview of the study

• Method:– Project plans – Interviews– OECD peer-review – Examples of theories – literature

• Result: – A suggestion of an ecosystem boosting

innovation in tourism – organized by a cluster

• Question:– Are we on the right way?

Destination Dalarna

Cluster in Dalarna

6

Cluster as a tool for regional development

Expected roles:

Highlighting the branchstrength and needs

Representing the branch in Regional strategic plans

Regional actor- Project portfolio- Commercialization- National connections

An actor for innovation and processes for changes- Applied research- International connections

7

Mountain Package – A World Class Destination

8

Project block: Local and municipal context

Project block: Regional context

Project block: National context

Coordinating team

Group of Project leaders from the tree blocks

Support from Region Dalarna expertsLocal, regional and national leadership coordinated

chairperson in Region Dalarna

• Housing and service• Environment• Competence supply• Local infrastructure• Water, drainage, electricity

and heating• Environmental testing• etc.

• Cluster Destination Dalarna• Visit Dalarna• Travel and tourism courses College

of Dalarna • Kurbits• Export maturity• etc.

• Travel centers• Operation & maintenance of

streets etc.• Signposting• Test arena E16• Railway• County transport plan• etc.

Efforts for local planning and business in the mountain area

Developing business in Dalarna tourism sector

Accessibility to the destina-tion of customer and gods

9

Campus Sälen

10

A biking product developed within the cluster

11

An upgrading of roads to the mountains

12

Innovation in a learning region

• Mountain Package shows:–Multilevel governance for strategic

questions:• To mobilize and organize public decision

makers on local, regional and national level• A regional actor takes the lead – Region

Dalarna

–Multilevel governance for operative solutions• Multilevel ecosystem of actors for specific

needs (SME)• A cluster takes the lead in learning

processes–Destination Dalarna

13

OECD - rekommendationsStrength and assets• Cultural and linguistic proximity• A common specialisation in tourism activities and some

potential in forestry-related industries• Attractive and pristine natural areas • Presence of knowledge and support institutions oriented

towards regional specialisations• Cluster policies to develop new knowledge-based niches

of activities

Opportunities• Growth of ‘nearby’ Oslo and Stockholm regions • Unique global brand for tourism based on sports, health and

green assets• Openness to cross-border co-operation with more knowledge-

intensive areas

14

OECD - rekommendations

• Reducing or removing border obstacles: – Cross-border public health and care; Cross-border

public transport; building and construction.

• Cluster activities: – Business development SME; Visibility and profiling;

Business development in National Parks.

• Infrastructure: – Airport planning in Sälen-Idre-Trysil;

• Facilitating innovations: – Education; research and building knowledge; Statistics

and databases; networks collaboration and service management for SME; test-beds and labs. Recommendations for a future innovation strategy for a learning region – Dalarna/Hedmark.

15

Smart specialization strategy

EMC