1. Commitment 9: Set out EIT strategic agenda
By mid-2011, the EIT should set out a Strategic Innovation Agenda (SIA) to expand its activities as a showcase for Innovation in Europe. This should map out its long-term development within the Innovation Union, including the creation of new Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), close links with the private sector and a stronger role in entrepreneurship. It should also build on the EIT Foundation set up in 2010 and on the introduction in 2011 of the "EIT degree" as an internationally recognized label of excellence.

2. Institutional environment:
Commitment map
Commitment’s rationale
Solution
Main impact channels
Main areas of impact
Indicators
Outcome
Economic (+/-):
increased quality competition
more innovative SMEs
stimulation of R&D
focus on specific regions and sectors
labor market changes (incl. brain drain)
Focus on key societal challenges faced by Europe
Output measures: innovation counts, number of tech spin-offs, number of business creations and high growth innovative SMEs
EU innovativeness
Embeddedness:
shaping values and attitudes in European societies that trigger innovation (mobility, openness, cooperativeness, trust)
Integrating the knowledge triangle by supporting the KICs and the EIT RIS (Regional Innovation Scheme)
Synergies between innovation, research and education as the main drivers of the global knowledge economy
Economic growth (real GDP growth rate)
Institutional environment:
European regulations enabling creation of KICs (Regulation (EC) No 294/2008, Regulation (EU) No 1292/2013)
Limited capacity of the EU to convert knowledge into commercial use
Embedding entrepreneurship in the EU education and research through EIT labelled degree programs and EIT awards
Social (+/-):
enhanced equality treatment
positive effects on educational systems
increased social cooperation
Throughput measures: patents, publications, prototypes and inventions, number of collaborative projects
International competitiveness
Difficulties in promoting an innovation culture in research and education in the EU
Governance:
new management and control methods (KICs, EIT RIS, EIT awards, roundtable of entrepreneurs, EIT Performance Measurement System) + new business model for knowledge triangle
Embedding entrepreneurship in the EU industry through EIT roundtable of entrepreneurs
Difficulties in developing critical masses of resources in innovation in the EU
Environmental (+/-):
transport and the use of energy (more efficient energy use)
climate (increased ability to adapt to climate change)
Employment
Resource allocation:
(financial, human and physical) from EU and non EU countries/public and private sector
Input measures: R&D expenditures, R&D employees, number of industrial PHDs, number of graduates
Difficulties in rewarding excellence in research and education in the EU

3. The main relationship:
Theoretical frameworks for analyzing the contribution of EIT actions to innovation
The knowledge triangle concept (interaction between research, education and innovation)
I-U collaboration and knowledge transfer between universities and industry
Networked innovation approach
The main relationship:
the impact of collaboration (coordinated by EIT actions) between
higher education and research institutions and industry
(business firms) on innovation in Europe

4. Empirical evidence
See Table [pdf]: Empirical papers investigating the impact of collaboration between higher education and research institutions and industry on innovation in Europe.

5. Moving ahead Empirical research Direct impact – econometric study
H: There is a positive relationship between KIC participation and firm innovativeness (innovation counts, total innovation expenditures, ratio of sales of new products to total firm sales, degree of novelty of firm product, introduction of product and service innovations, product and process innovations, R&D spendings, R&D intensity, R&D productivity).
Data source:
EIT and KICs
CIS data
Indirect impact – influence on growth, employment, competitiveness (qualitative assessment based on interviews and case studies, data presentation from the EIT Performance Measurement System)