Place-based Innovation Ecosystems: why context matters

Gabriel Rissola, Senior Scientist Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Motivation / Objectives

• Investigate territorial conditions on PIE, in particular non-tangible assets and proximity effects

• Understand key enablers of successful innovation ecosystems, despite differences in

• origins and varying starting conditions • 4H implementation levels

• interrelation with regional smart specialisation (RIS3)

Main Research Questions

• Which factors render place-based and integrated approaches more effective?

• Which contextual conditions and public interventions enable innovations to happen in a specific site?

Model for building innovation ecosystems. (Oksanen and Hautamäki, 2014)

Conceptual framework

• Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (Foray, 2015)

• Integrated approach (Oksanen and Hautamäki, 2014)

• Entrepreneurial innovation (Autio et al., 2014)

+ Entrepreneurial universities

+ Digital social innovation (DSI)

+ Science & technology parks (STPs)

+ Business-driven innovation

+ Strategic urban planning

Methodology Case studies series (5 PIEs) + Comparative analysis: • Espoo (Finland) Entrepreneurial University • Gothenburg (Sweden) Large Companies • Ljubljana (Slovenia) Science & Technology Park (STP) • Barcelona (Spain) Digital Social Innovation centres (DSI) • Boston (USA) Municipality Research activities • Definition of a conceptual framework • Desk research to collect innovation indicators and map ecosystem orchestrators and key actors • Study visits and structured interviews with a representative number of stakeholders

Case selection (Quadruple helix-driven)

PIE Case Study Gothenburg Espoo Barcelona-Mataró Ljubljana

RegionVastsverige(Sweden)

Helsinki-Uusimaa (Finland)

Catalonia(Spain)

Slovenia

GDP per Capita (2015) in € 44,700€ 50,200€ 27,600€ 18,700€

GDP per Capita as EU average (2015) 155% 174% 96% 65%

Horizon 2020 per Capita (in €) € 27.01 € 72.02 € 26.40 € 22.41

unemployment rate 5.6% 6.8% 15.4% 8.1%

R&D Personnel BES (% active population) 2013 1.30% 1.62% 0.54% 0.99%R&D Personnel GOV (% active population) 2013 0.05% 0.48% 0.25% 0.26%R&D Personnel HES (% active population) 2013 0.31% 0.69% 0.36% 0.28%R&D Personnel Total (% active population) 2013 1.66% 2.79% 1.15% 1.53%

R&D Expenditure BES (% GDP) 2013 2.71% 2.64% 0.86% 1.99%R&D Expenditure GOV (% GDP) 2013 0.09% 0.51% 0.31% 0.34%R&D Expenditure HES (% GDP) 2013 0.81% 0.73% 0.35% 0.27%R&D Expenditure Total (% GDP) 2013 3.61% 3.88% 1.52% 2.60%

A cultural shift towards entrepreneurship and risk taking are needed to turn Europe a more innovative, dynamic and

competitive economy in a globalised world.

Innovation Camps • address societal and economic challenges concerning local societies

• stimulate and enhance a culture of innovation on the ground

• activate the EDP through quadruple helix collaboration and co-creation

• bottom-up approach, rely on self-organising principles, but

• need political endorsement and a certain level of institutional governance

Ljubljana Start-up Ecosystem and the Technology Park Ljubljana

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Content

Ljubljana Start-up Ecosystem and Technology Park Ljubljana Slovenia / Ljubljana Innovation Ecosystem

• Technology Park Ljubljana • ABC Accelerator • Ljubljana University Incubator

Start-up scene supporting Youth Entrepreneurship:

• Platform: Start-up initiative • Self-initiatives of Young Entrepreneurs • Government Support: Slovenian Entrepreneurial Funds • Other relevant Innovation Ecosystem Activities

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Content

Technology Park Ljubljana (TPL) • 75,000 m2 of premises of high quality infrastructure w/high concentration of start-ups and

high-tech SMEs

• >300 companies providing employment for >9,000 people • Leading regional Innovation Hub for Knowledge and Technology Transfer • Provides consultancy services (free of charge if funded by government programmes for

entrepreneurship promotion)

• Includes a co-working space called "Tobogan" (hosts young entrepreneurs) + Geek-House, both being a part of Start:up Slovenia Initiative programme

• Extensive network, from cooperation with the government in designing appropriate entrepreneurship policy advices to internationalisation and cooperation with other stakeholders in specific projects & programmes

• Focus on Start-ups and Scale-ups (companies born in TPL) by provision of numerous support services

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ABC Accelerator

• Young initiative (1st call for potential investors issued in 2015)

• Supported by important local & international companies, incl. Univ. of Ljubljana and IBM

• Helped >100 Start-ups with entire financial resources from private companies and actively participates in the Start-up initiative

• Start-ups programme • M1-3 > selected start-ups taken under the wing of selected mentor(s) and receive

training and advice on where to take their business • M4-6 > mentorship offered to develop contacts with potential investors, distributors,

other support organisations and potential partners to access global markets. • In exchange for 8% share in the ownership, the new-born company receives

international mentorship, financial support and access to IT piloting infrastructures

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Start-up Initiative/platform

Programmes for talent activation • Motivational meetings, student competitions, start-up week-ends, accelerators for

idea's development

Programmes for accelerated launch • Geek House accelerator, Start:up roadshow events; Competition “Start:up of

the year", other workshops and events

Programmes for global growth

• Go:Global accelerator, 1:1 mentorship events, Entering accelerators abroad, other programmes for global growth

Slovenian Entrepreneurship Fund

• Start Up Incentives to young enterprises (start-ups less than 12 months old) in the first development phase < €52,000

• Seed Capital to young enterprises (less than 5 years old) in the second development phase and their entrance on the market < €75,000

• Venture Capital for the fast-growing innovative enterprises in the third development phase in the form of capital investments and mezzanine loans together with private investors through venture capital companies < €1.5 M

• Microcredits i.e. direct credits of the Fund at an affordable contractual interest rate < € 25,000

• Guarantees as collateral for bank loans with interest rate subsidy that represent the largest share of the approved funds of the Fund < €1.25 M

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Other facts

• 11 co-working spaces registered across Slovenia, providing facilities to start-ups

• Private companies launched own incubators, e.g. Kolektor‘s incubator, next door to Technology park

• Fund-raising events are taking place, some run by BIT-Coin firms!

PODIM • Biggest Start-up conference in the region

• >1100 participants in 2018, with 500 applications of start-ups for Marketplace

• 60 most promising start-ups from the region (South-East Europe & Western Balkans) presented in the catalogues, w/special Demo day to present their activities to potential investors.

• Attracted major global distributers like Amazon, Nital, Cylla, Blue Green Group, QoQa and many others

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Ljubljana Start-up Ecosystem and Technology Park Ljubljana Observations:

1) National innovation ecosystem: a fragmented landscape, with limited collaboration among 3H/4H actors

2) RIS3 as a palliative: EDP structured in 9 formal partnerships

3) Technology Park Ljubljana's – a sustainable model? 1) started by the biggest research centre (IJS) to support its spin-outs, partially

owned by the municipality

2) pursues a public goal but its budget is dependent on competitive funds

4) From spin-outs and spin-offs to start-ups and scale-ups, an articulated trajectory 1) supported with space, mentorship, networking and access to opportunities

2) codified experience in a model that is inspirational for Western Balkan countries

Ljubljana Start-up Ecosystem and Technology Park Ljubljana Key success factors:

1) Ljubljana Innovation Ecosystem contributes significantly to developing and shaping the national Slovenian ecosystem – one of the most vibrant & dynamic PIE in Eastern Europe

2) A bottom-up drive of various institutions in creating an open cooperation platform bringing together a complete “value-chain” of services to Start-up community proved essential

3) An important role in Ljubljana Innovation Ecosystem is played today by a lively young entrepreneurial class, which did not settle to wait for the completion of overall Innovation framework to embark on doing business globally

4) The system has not evolved instantly and some of its segments are still in the making

Barcelona

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Barcelona and its metropolitan area

• Leading hub for congresses

• Entrepreneurial and innovative culture

• 4th European City by volume of investment received

• 3rd world preferred hub by serial entrepreneurs

• 1st southern European Start-up Hub +1.300 Startups

Digital Social innovation (DSI) is …

Ideas, activities or solutions conceived collaboratively and empowered by digital technologies and social media, which explicitly address societal challenges in a new way

• Enabler of citizen innovation feeding up into Quadruple Helix Innovation

• Driver for entrepreneurship

… booming up in Barcelona: Citizens: community culture, “Indignados movement” (15M), immigration push, youth talent

Research & Technology Orgs. (RTOs): 28% Spanish universities placed in Barcelona

Public Sector: Regional and Local governments support (Investment & Policies)

Private Sector: +15.000 tech companies in Barcelona

+ Congresses , Tech-Business & Research Hubs

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Citizen Labs

FabLabs

Living Labs

Makers

Coworking Spaces

Labour Labs

University labs

Telecentres

Ateneus Digitals

Innovation hubs

StartUps

Library Living Lab

Networks

Programmes

Foundations

Findings

• Barcelona DSI ecosystem was born spontaneously

>> progressively structured in networks (Xarxa PunTic (Telecentres), Xarxa Òmnia)

>> now orchestrated by the Regional Government and the City Council of Barcelona

• Increasing number of business-oriented actors >> may compromise the functioning of 4H models (private vs ecosystem interest)

• Geographical agglomeration/“clusterization” of actors

• Actors' claim for more public investment, more flexible funding rules and engagement with local expert organizations (e.g. in public procurement)

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• Citizens should be better prepared (not ready yet)…

…through Education policies stimulating Entrepreneurship & Innovation • Public investment is needed…

…to empower DSI and to avoid silos in the ecosystem • Funding rules requires adaptation…

…to allow new practices, new actors, new dynamics • Greater political commitment and initiative is required…

…as well as coordination across policy areas and levels (regional & local)

Warning! Political initiative can easily boost the DSI ecosystem (e.g. through integration

with broader R&I ecosystem), but can also influence its (societal) goals

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DSI centres can help to develop a more innovative, entrepreneurial and risk-taking society, BUT…

Espoo Innovation Garden & Aalto University

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Espoo Innovation Garden & Aalto University Key success factors:

1) concentration of highly skilled human capital and research infrastructure 2) vision, political commitment and collaborative culture of Helsinki-Uusimaa

Regional Council and Espoo City 3) a strong orchestrating actor, Aalto University, who stimulated the synergistic

activities of the various actors, coupled with 4) the leadership, strategic and cross-disciplinary thinking of the university's

management 5) a local culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, cultivated through the active

support to bottom-up innovative activities in the university and the wider ecosystem

6) a focus on the potential and capability of people to inform policies and programmes

7) financial and policy support from the central government, including the innovation agency Tekes and private firms

8) the successful involvement of serial entrepreneurs in financing and mentoring further start-up activities

Thank you!

email: gabriel.rissola@ec.europa.eu¡ Smart Specialisation Platform: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu Twitter: @S3Platform, @grissola

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