Innovative Flanders Innovation Policies for the 21st Century: Report of a Symposium (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Session I: Perspectives on the Flemish Innovation System
Session I: Perspectives on the Flemish Innovation System
Pages 37-45
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From page 37... ...
National Research Council THE FLEMISH INNOVATION SYSTEM AND ITS COMPONENTS Peter Spyns Department of Economy, Science, and Innovation The Flemish Government Dr. Spyns began with a description of Belgium's unique constitutional arrangements, which provide Flanders with significant autonomy in setting policies to encourage innovation.
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From page 38... ...
This includes strategic research centers like IMEC for semi conductor and nanotechnology, VIB for biotechnology, and VITO for environmental technologies; 11 competence poles to bring multidisciplinary focus to research in technologies related to food, logistics, materials, and cars; 15 centers for collective research that addresses the needs of traditional industries; and 5 university interface groups. In all, while Belgium's federal structure provides strong regional autonomy to shape Flanders's innovation system, sustained, high level attention to innovation policy by Flemish policymakers has been equally (if not more)
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From page 39... ...
• For IWT funding, the effect of €1 of additional funding leads to €0.85 to €1.34 in added R&D spending at the firm level. • The injection of public funds does not crowd out private investment, and the full amount of subsidies was spent for R&D.
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From page 40... ...
"It is working quite well and is accepted by project leaders." The evaluation system, he said, reduced reporting efforts, shortened follow-up time for IWT, and allowed easy identification of problems. In a next step of optimizing the reporting for the CINs, IWT asked such questions as whether they are hitting their target, what are the effects, and does the company use outside advice.
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From page 41... ...
Current EU Innovation Policy Challenges: From Lisbon to Louvain Luc Soete University of Maastricht, Netherlands & UN Univ-MERIT Professor Soete said that he would try to give an EU policy summary despite never having been an EU official. He reviewed some general features of EU innovation policy, saying that the EU framework for 2006-2007 had been launched with high expectations, including a new coordination mechanism called Open Method Coordination (OMC)
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From page 42... ...
The EU's productivity gains were lagging, as the industrial and services structure, encumbered by too many rules and regulations, had difficulty competing with emerging nations. The current rate of development in Europe seemed at present unsustainable, not just from an environmental perspective, but also because of the demands for social care and health care for an aging population.
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From page 43... ...
This target, he said, is "too narrow, too soft, and too passive." He did agree, however, that the core problem for the EU was one of private investment in knowledge, especially tacit knowledge. Reliance on public funds, he said, was justified in the continental and northern EU countries from the perspective of equal access and was consistent with progressive income taxation; higher education, for example, was virtually free.
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From page 44... ...
The Aho Commission, chaired by former Prime Minister of Finland Esko Aho, urged Europe's leaders to take radical action on research and innovation "before it is too late." In a report released January 20, 2006, it proposed a four-pronged strategy focusing on (1) the creation of innovation-friendly markets, (2)
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From page 45... ...
He emphasized the importance of supporting local science spin-offs and entrepreneurs, for which Flanders has created specific policies. Flanders also strengthened innovation by linking public research institutions, teachers, and local SMEs; embedding large multinational corporations in the public research infrastructure; and sponsoring public information projects to explain innovation.
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