Urban and Regional Innovation

Transcription

1 Urban and Regional Innovation R e s e a r c h & S e r v i c e s

2 R E S E A R C H A N D S E R V I C E S URENIO research and provision of services focus on the technological development of cities and regions; the overall research effort of URENIO concerns the ability of cities and regions to create environments supporting R&D, innovation, human skills and intelligence. In particular it focuses on the following four closely related themes: Cities and regions of technological innovation, with emphasis on the internationalisation of cities, knowledge-based regional development, typology of territorial systems of innovation, and application of new technologies to cities and regions. Clusters, technopoles and science parks: Planning innovative clusters, technology and science parks, innovation centres, technology districts, high-tech estates, incubators, and spin-off support. Regional innovation strategies: Management of regional systems of innovation. Evaluation of regional innovative projects. Regional foresight. Dissemination of innovation technologies (benchmarking, technology watch, product innovation). Measurement of innovation at the regional level. Digital innovation spaces and intelligent cities: Design and development of digital innovation spaces (regional intelligence, online product innovation, virtual clusters, innovation e-communities). Digital cities. Dematerialisation of city infrastructure. Integration of physical and virtual innovation spaces. 8

3 Cities and Regions of Innovation 1 Urban and regional development at the beginning of the 21st century is characterised by a shift towards technology, innovation and selective urban development, similar to the shift, immediately after the Second-World-War, towards mass industrialisation and intensive urbanisation. Interest in the contribution of technological innovation to urban and regional development peaked after It was further aroused by economic geography research conducted on the industrial districts of central Italy and the west coast of the USA, and the planning of large technopoles in Japan. These new industrial and technological complexes, situated on the outskirts of cities or in entirely new locations, brought to light a series of factors which were of particular significance for development at the end of the twentieth century, such as, the geographical polarisation of innovation, production flexibility, research and technology dynamics, spin-offs, just-in-time delivery systems and productive co-operation networks. Since then, technology and more specifically technological innovation have been a fixed point of reference in the analysis and planning of cities and regions, with rapid developments not only in the theoretical field (regional innovation systems, learning regions, and intelligent cities) but also in the field of regional policy and urban and regional planning. The contradiction between the leading role of technological innovation in regional development and its geographical polarisation sustains the gap between core and peripheral regions, and guides the contemporary efforts of regional policy and planning. 9

4 Clusters, Ôechnopoles and Science Parks This research orientation covers projects dealing with the development and planning of clusters, technology poles, science and technology parks, innovation centres, incubators and spin-off support policies. A number of planning and policy models were based on the industrial district theory, seeking to create physical spaces that can reproduce the favourable conditions of technology districts in terms of inter-firm co-operation, innovation and technology development. These attempts include (1) providing support for clusters in traditional or new industries, (2) creating knowledge-intensive clusters in central-city areas that host producer services, financial services, company headquarters, new tertiary activities like software and multimedia, (3) constructing science and technology parks that host R&D institutes, innovative firms, and technology transfer organisations, and (4) supporting larger technopoles combining science and technology parks, industrial districts, and clusters of producer services. These physical spaces favour the spatial agglomeration of technology-based companies, R&D institutes, and other facilities, and provide a good environment for communication, networking and technology co-operation. The real challenge of science parks and planned technopoles is to create selfsustained innovation processes such as those found in technology districts. Four types of relationships sustain innovation within these spaces: (1) the spatial agglomeration of activities, (2) the links with the universities or research institutes, (3) the venture capital funds supporting spin-offs and new start-ups, and (4) the technology partnering between firms. 2 10

5 Regional Innovation Systems and Strategies 3 This research orientation focuses on the initiatives of European regions to develop innovation strategies for the creation of regional competitive advantage based on knowledge and technological learning. At the beginning of the 1990s, the European Commission introduced a new family of policy schemes having a strategic view on technology and innovation at the regional level. Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Infrastructures and Strategies (RITTS), Regional Technology Plans (RTP), and Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) provide co-finance and guidance to regional governments to undertake an assessment of their regional innovation potential, and define strategies that promote the cooperation and capabilities of the small firm sector, the research and technology community, and the public authorities. Typical deliverables of RIS are: (1) the description of strengths and weaknesses of the regional innovation system, both at the supply and demand sides, (2) the definition of a plan for regional technological development based on the consensus of the main actors in the public and private sector, to be implemented through the Community Support Framework, Community initiatives, and other investments from the public and the private sector, (3) the organisation of a system for continuous monitoring and evaluation of innovation and the new economy at the regional level. 11

6 Digital Innovation Spaces and Intelligent Cities Digital spaces have opened a new strand in the theoretical thinking and practice of innovation. The fact that basic innovation processes and functions can be carried out on digital space has actualized the creation of a series of virtual innovation environments. An extremely rich literature focuses on the procedures of innovation and their digital transcription. Here, the interest lies on how fundamental processes of innovation can be triggered on a virtual space and be used by the most distant organisation and technology user. Intelligent cities are spatial entities that on-the-one-hand, offer a real environment for technological innovation based on clusters and institutions for R&D, product and process innovation. On-the-other-hand, intelligent cities are 4 endowed with a digital capacity to manage and diffuse knowledge and technology. This may be a technology park having developed an information technology interface to sustain technology transfer; or it may be an industrial district with infrastructure supporting virtual relationships and inter-firm transactions. Also it may be a technopolis or a regional innovation system in which certain functions are transferred to digital spaces. In this sense, an intelligent city is an environment of learning and innovation, on physical, institutional and digital levels: " At the physical level, intelligence is linked to communication and institutional interaction of a community of people for learning, experimentation, knowledge and technological development. " At the digital level, it is the capacity of the same community for knowledge management, technology diffusion, and innovation based on digital interaction. T h e i n t e l l i g e n t t c i t y c o n c e p t 12