1. Tools for strategic governance of industrial innovation policy in Flanders
Regions for Economic Change – Tools for smart regions
23 June 2011, Brussels
Jan Larosse, EWI - Flemish Government

2. OVERVIEW Background on Flanders Developments in innovation policy
Future strategy ‘Flanders in Action’
‘Spearheads’: focussing innovation policy on 6 thematic clusters
Recent developments in strategic governance
Towards a more targeted innovation policy
‘New Industrial Policy’: an integrated policy for transformation
Management Structure for NIP: new governance for targeted cluster policy
Exploration of ‘smart specialisation’
OECD-project for new methodologies to support design and assessment of smart specialisation strategies
Tools for designing smart specialisation strategies
Call for collaboration in a S3 project: benchmarking strategic governance

3. FLANDERS: Key Figures Flanders: a prosperous region
with an open economy in the core of Europe
Population: 6.28 million (= 57.6% BEL)
Language: Dutch (NL)
Surface: km² (= 45% BEL)
GDP: €194 billion
Export : 100.3% of GDP (BEL = 73.3%)
GERD: €4.15 billion (+- 2/3 of BEL), of which €2.7 billion BERD (2009)
% GERD/BBP: 2.12% (2009)
Total public budget STI policy: €1.7 billion of which €1.07 billion R&D
The region has constitutional competences on
research, innovation and economic policy

4. Why ‘smart specialisation’ is important for Flanders
‘Flanders in Action’: strategic framework for a new growth path because of weakening competiveness and de-industrialisation
Future project (starting 2006) of the Flemish government, supported by +100 stakeholder organisations (‘Pact 2020’),
Responding to competitiveness problem; aiming at a ‘top 5 region’ position in Europe = transition towards an innovation driven growth model,
Consensus that STI investments should be focussed on ‘spearheads’: domains that can position Flanders in future value chains with important societal and economic impact.
STI Advisory Council (VRWI) selected 10 ‘spearheads’ (breakthrough initiatives) in 6 Cluster domains (still mainly technology driven) in 2008.
The financial crisis imposed budget cuts. In 2011 the growth path resumed, but the budget constraint urges stronger prioritisation and focus.

5. Focussing on 10 spearhead initiatives in 6 ‘clusters’
Departure from pure ‘bottom-up’ innovation support policy
Focussing public S&T resources on 6 ‘clusters’ identified by expert consultation
Still large domains: how to make further choices?
SWOT Analysis of Flanders vs EU
EU Foresight Study with 15 key areas

6. NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY: an integrated framework
White Paper ‘New Industrial Policy (27 May 2011): Integrated policy platform for economic transformation
A new Productivity Offensive
Increase knowledge productivity in clusters (critical mass and specialisation)
Support ‘lead companies’ ‘lead markets’ and ‘lead clusters’
Factory of the Future
Transformational Sectoral Policy
Focus on transformation strategies based on value chains, clusters and grand projects

7. Governance model for NIP
Transformation needs new governance:
‘Innovation Direction Groups’ (R&I Advisory Council) to develop strategies for broad innovation areas (challenges)
‘Industry Board’ (international experts) will advise on targeted cluster policy to select lead clusters in these domains

8. ‘Smart Specialisation’: exploring new methodologies
Flemish innovation and industrial policy is in search of a method for making choices, to reach the targets of the Flemish ‘Pact 2020’, based on transformation of value chains, spearhead domains, lead-companies and open innovation, targeted cluster policy.
Own frontrunner experiences: e.g. FISCH (Flanders Initiative for Sustainable Chemistry)
Transformation strategy supported by broad mobilisation in sector
= Strategic research; open innovation infrastructures; new bus. models
Develop world-class industrial cluster via international benchmarking
International policy learning: lead-role in new OECD project ‘Smart Specialisation in Global Value Chains’
Use of strategic monitoring & case-studies for ‘discovery’ of smart specialisation
Aimed at criteria for identifying smart specialisations & design strategies
S3 Platform: Call for Working Group on benchmarking strategic governance for smart specialisation, linked with OECD project

9. Tools for strategic monitoring: specialisation profiles
1. Benchmark comparative strengths in S&T and economic performance

10. Another tool: FOCUS MATRIX for Smart Specialisation Strategies
2. Identify smart specialisations at cross-road of regional innovation competences and market opportunities/societal challenges
DEMAND-SIDE
SUPPLY-SIDE
SOCIETAL CHALLENGES
Energy/Resources/Health/Mobility/...
MARKETS
Value chain development
Solutions
Systems
INTEGRATION P1 P2
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS Py Pz
SMART SPECIALISATIONS
CLUSTERS
OPEN INNOVATION
Competence development
Education R&D Training
LOCAL ATTRACTIVENESS
COMPETITIVENESS
EXCELLENCE

11. Another tool: cluster maps for smart specialisations
3. Map eco-systems for smart specialisations
Idea Consult

12. Call for collaboration in S3 Platform
What is new? Smart specialisation = interactive development of focus strategies in a (interdependent) knowledge-based economy
Comparative advantage= a competitive and cooperative ‘positioning’
Joint ‘discovery process’, to align strategic partners in distinctive regional clusters (role of strategic intelligence)
Multi-level policy framework (shared objectives, road maps, indicators)
OECD project: design and assess smart specialisation strategies Discovery process, aided by strategic intelligence & adequate governance
‘Base-line’: measurement of specialisations and assessment of capabilities for developing smart specialisation strategies (templates)
‘Beyond the base-line’: real-life processes - case-studies on development of strategic cluster strategies; self-assessment tool for strategic governance
Call for joint S3 project: benchmarking strategic governance (‘RIS 2.0’)
Mobilising unexploited potential for value creation and productivity growth through complementarity of regions based on their comp. advantages
Assessing & upgrading regional innovation strategies

13. Interested? Please contact me! Thank you
Department of Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI) Koning Albert II-laan 35 box 10, 1030 Brussels |