Innova - "Complementarities between Regional, National and EU Support Instruments"

The need to enhance complementarities in innovation policy across Community, national and regional levels stems from an increasing segmentation and integration of markets, value networks and technologies. These processes call for better coordination of innovation policy not only between countries but also across vertical linkages, i.e. between community, countries and regions. This study explores the potential for vertical cooperation and outlines methods of vertical coordination in innovation policy and attempts to answer on questions of both where and how of vertical cooperation.

Summary

This study explores the potential for vertical cooperation and outlines methods of vertical coordination in innovation policy and attempts to answer on questions of both where and how of vertical cooperation. Which are the policy areas with the greatest potential for vertical cooperation? How could vertical cooperation be supported?

The methodology used in this study provides an analytical framework for better understanding whether a specific innovation policy instrument should be used at all three levels (EU, national and regional), thereby sharing responsibilities and requiring coordination, or on the contrary, whether the instrument should be just applied at one level.

Objectives

The approach proposed in the study recognizes that multilevel cooperation in the implementation of innovation policy instruments is based upon a particular constellation of interests and power structures. The added value of this approach lies in the fact that it goes beyond traditional static criteria based on market failures and spillovers which ignore this essential aspect, and recognizes that technological interdependencies, strategic interactions and collaboration to the realization of the European innovation area and Lisbon agenda.

The overall objective of the study was to formulate recommendations that can be summarized in 3 points:

the application of the proposed methodology as a framework for assessing the potential for trans-European synergies in specific policy areas
to continue with the existing mechanisms of horizontal cooperation which should be supplemented by mechanisms of supporting multilevel cooperation in innovation policy
application of OMC/INNO-Nets in issues of national, supranational, and/or regional cooperation as a mechanism of enhancing innovation cooperation

Authors:

Slavo Radosevic (University College London School of Slavonic and east European Studies)
Micheal White (Entreprise Ireland)
Aleardo Furlani (Innova Europe)

For the Pro INNO EUROPE-INNO LEARNING PLATFORM, June 2008

An electronic version of the study (in English) can be downloaded here.