International Innovation Policy News

Submitted by empirica on 28 November, 2011 - 22:52

INNO-Grips monitors international developments in innovation policy. A network of correspondents from more than 30 countries worldwide reports regularly about the launch of new initiatives and other relevant events in their country. Their news reports are published on the INNO-Grips website. This article features a selection of news from some of the countries covered.

Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Association of Consultants in European Programs (BACEP) has highlighted the need to speed up the evaluation process for innovative projects, and is focusing on the problems created by the long timeframe for project assessment. BACEP has delegated board members to participate in permanent working group meetings (MEET) established to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of innovative projects under the OP “Competitiveness” 2007-2013.

Canada. According to a new study by the University of Toronto’s Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, entitled “Canada’s Innovation Underperformance: Whose Policy Problem Is It?”, Canada should dramatically cut its generous tax breaks for research and development and plough the cash back into targeted grants for businesses. The single largest R&D programme in Canada is Ottawa’s flagship Scientific Research and Experimental scheme, which offers tax credits and refunds to companies that carry out R&D. Several provinces piggyback additional tax incentives on the federal plan. A radical overhaul is warranted because the nearly USD 5 billion (about EUR 3.7 billion) a year in R&D tax incentives which Ottawa and the provinces offer now are not functioning, according to the study, which was released in October 2011.

Czech Republic. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has jointly presented the new CzechInvest strategy, which aims principally to support innovation, trigger sophisticated investments and catalyse the development of the knowledge-based economy. CzechInvest creates new measures and services with the aim of putting the competitiveness strategy into practice. Among other things, it focuses on special economic zones, an approach which underlines the differences between regions. Special economic zones are those where special treatment is needed for their particular characteristics. The strategy will prioritize supporting less developed regions, so as to make those regions more attractive for foreign investors.

Denmark. The Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation conducted an impact assessment on the Innovation Network Denmark Programme (the Impact of Cluster Policy in Denmark of the Danish Agency of Science, Technology and Innovation 2011). One of the principal findings of the report was that the probability of being innovative is 4.5 times higher for companies participating in innovation networks compared to a control group of similar companies not participating in networks. Participants already became significantly more innovative in the first year. What is more, the year after participating in an innovation network, the probability of entering R&D collaboration was almost 300 per cent higher than for similar companies not participating in networks.

Estonia. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications decided to foster the Electric Mobility Programme within the domain of Technology and Innovation. The government contracted with the Mitsubishi Corporation for the sale of emission allowances worth 10 million AAU (Assigned Amount Units) to launch its Electric Mobility Programme, which has three phases. First, the Ministry of Social Affairs will order 507 Mitsubishi iMiev electric cars, acting as both a demonstrator and a driver of this type of development. Then the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications will develop a grant scheme to support the acquisition of electric cars. At the same time, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications will be responsible for building an infrastructure for electric cars covering the entire territory of the country. The Programme covers the period 2011-2012.

Germany. Germany ranks fourth in the “Innovation Indicator 2011“, a new international benchmarking study of the innovation performance of 26 leading economies. The study, conducted by Fraunhofer ISI, ZEW and MERIT, compares the innovation performance and skills of 26 countries, based on indicators related to economy, science and research, education, governance, and society. Switzerland is in first place, followed by Singapore, Sweden and Finland. The study is conducted every 2-3 years. Germany has improved its ranking from the previous study, conducted in 2009. According to the study, the improvement is largely a result of the increased public sector investment in science, research and development. (Ref. 1)

India. The Government of India has announced the establishment of a new development centre for sports-related textile technologies. The Indian government will also promote national R&D in the textile sector by supporting the establishment of a new R&D centre, the National Centre of Excellence (NCE) in Sportech, at the Mumbai-based Institute of Chemical Technology. The initiative has been strongly influenced by the concept of open innovation. Initial plans foresee the NCE in a cooperative partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd, the Mumbai-based Kusumgar Associates, and the Vadodarabased Kemrock Industries.

Latvia. The recognition of the importance of micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises gained momentum during a cabinet meeting in October 2011 which underlined the availability of 2.8 million euro available through the European Regional Development Fund for co-financing new product and technology development. The programme will support industrial research that promotes the development of new products or technologies and will also provide for intellectual property rights (e.g. industrial design, certification etc.). The European Social Fund is also providing support for micro firms and SMEs with the aim of fostering internal knowledge development through employee training and the promotion of in-house partnership activities.

Norway. A new study by Nordic Innovation warns against a lack of focus on innovation in Norway, both in government and business. It says that Norwegian policy makers and business leaders often display a narrow and traditional perception of innovation. At the same time, the identified weaknesses indicate that there is an untapped innovation potential in Norway, if the weaknesses can be addressed and remedied. Nordic Innovation, which is governed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, mapped the innovation focus of 100 Norwegian businesses, using the so-called “Innovation Radar” method, licensed from Kellogg School of Management.

Slovakia. The Slovak Ministry of Economy has assessed how the country could improve its innovation performance to improve on its current “moderate innovator” ranking in the European Innovation Scoreboard. The country’s innovation policy for 2011-2013, mainly under the authority of the Ministry of Economy, features increased efforts to fulfil the innovation-related priorities set out in the Strategy of the Slovak Republic for 2007-2013. These are: (i) high-quality infrastructure and an efficient system for innovation development; (ii) high-quality human resources; and (iii) efficient tools for innovation. (Ref. 2)

Sweden. The Swedish government is aiming to produce and then refine a new innovation strategy by the end of 2011. It is exploiting all available information and evaluation about innovation systems, and is also seeking foreign guidance. The OECD is expected to follow up on the developments and publish reports in June 2012. An extra EUR 3.5 million has already been earmarked for innovation through the strategy. The government is also making efforts to speed up the issue of patents, and has announced that it will be possible to file national patents for Sweden in English as from March 2012.

USA. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it will award a total of USD 74 million (55 million euro) for the creation of four interdisciplinary research and education centres as part of the third generation of NSF Engineering Research Centers. In addition to their primary focus on commercialisation and education, these centres will emphasise innovation, entrepreneurship, small business collaboration and international partnerships. For the first time, two of the centres will be co-funded by the Department of Energy. One, led by Arizona State University, will investigate quantum energy and sustainable solar technologies. A second, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will develop more reliable and efficient electricity transmission networks. Another, at Stanford University, will focus on research into urban water infrastructure, and one at the University of Washington will focus on mind-machine interfaces. (Ref. 3)