The innovation policy in Bulgaria: trends and challenges

Assoc. Prof. Teodora GeorgievaApplied Research and Communication Fund

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The ARC Fund’s mission is aimed at concerted development of knowledge-based societies in the countries of Southeast Europe.

• In 2006 ARC Fund was contracted to develop the country report for DG Regional Policy of the European Commission Bulgaria: Strategic Evaluation on Innovation and the Knowledge-based economy in relation to the Structural and Cohesion Funds, for the programming period 2007-2013.

• ARC Fund was also commissioned by the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy to develop the Annual Reports on the Bulgarian National Innovation Policy for the years 2006 and 2007.

• ARC Fund is the national correspondent for the ERAWATCH Network, and recently finalized the work on the ERAWATCH Analytical Country Report on Bulgaria 2008.

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Innovation.bg 2008

Innovation.bg analyzes the development dynamics of the national innovation system during the past year and the growth opportunities in five groups of indicators:

– Gross innovation product– Entrepreneurship and innovation networks– Investment and financing of innovation– Human capital for innovation– Information and communication technology (ICT)

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Innovation firms by number of employees

Source: Eurostat, 2008; New Cronos, CIS 4

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Bulgaria Hungary Czeck Rep. Germany Finland EU-27

10 - 49 50 - 249 > 250

Number of EPO patent applications per million inhabitants

Source: Eurostat, 2007.5

Number of patent applications at the Bulgarian Patent Office

Source: Bulgarian Patent Office, 2008. 6

Bulgarian applicantsForeign applicants

R&D intensity – percentage of R&D expenditures in GDP

7Source: NSI, 2007.Bulgaria EU-10 EU-25 EU-15

Number of PhDs (Higher education and R&D organizations)

8Source: NSI, 2007.

New PhD graduatesStudents

The population aged 20 to 29 holding higher education degree in technological fields (1000)

9Source: Eurostat, 2007.

EU-27Bulgaria

Student mobility to/from Bulgaria, (1000)

Source: Eurostat, 2007. 10

Foreign students in BulgariaBulgarian students abroad

Information and communication technologies

• The computerization of the Bulgarian firms reaches its plateau of 90% during 2007.

• Only one third of firms has their own website.

• Although all Bulgarian enterprises, except for micro businesses, have computers, most of them use them only as a means to reduce costs and for information search (60 % of the enterprises) rather than for the introduction of innovative management and administrative solutions (10 %).

• In 2007, 90 % of the computers in 90 % of the enterprises will have access to the Internet, which is an important prerequisite for making these companies more innovative.

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• The last place of Bulgaria by number of innovative firms and by level of interaction between them in EU

• Serious barriers towards the entrepreneur ideas of Bulgarians

• Lack of adequate and sufficient financial instruments supporting innovation

• Lack of specialized high quality personnel

• Continuing drain of the intellectual capital from the country

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The main challenges for the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy

Recommendations for policy action

• The Bulgarian government should develop an integrated innovation policy, which incorporates research and technological development, as well as coordination mechanisms to other economic policies such as SMEs, investment, etc.;

• Review and update the legal and regulatory framework underpinning the national innovation, technology and research policy;

• Open and focus national innovation and research prgrams towards attracting European and international and reintegrating Bulgarian talent in the Bulgarian innovation system;

• Develop public-private partnerships for increasing investment in R&D and innovation, including providing direct public support and guarantees for Bulgarian organizations, which have successfully bid for projects under the EU framework programs.

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Thank you!

teodora.marinova@online.bg

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