About the project

Summary

The REGIS-NW project aims at an analysis of the innovating potential in the region, at the stimulation of the technological transfer between the research environment and the entrepreneurial one, and at the elaboration of a regional innovating strategy and of a future action plan, based on the information gathered and on the analyses made during the project.

The project involves relevant actors of the North-West region: County Councils, Town Halls, Universities, Research Centers, business environment representatives.
The North-West Region will have a reference document and a launching platform for future projects in the field of Research-Development-Innovation.
The pilot projects will have the possibility of being financed from the Structural Funds 2007-2013, respectively from the Regional Operational Programme and from the Sectoral Operational Programme “Increase of Economic Competitiveness”.

Objectives

  • Creating an organizational structure and a regional framework capable of coordinating and stimulating innovation in the North-West Region.
  • Reaching a regional consensus regarding the priorities and the strategic areas of the investments in Research – Development.
  • The regional awareness about the importance of introducing the concepts of innovation and technological transfer as permanent economic development framework.
  • The division of the potential innovating capacities in strategic sectors for the region: IT&C, university education and research, tourism, agriculture, food and consumer industry (furniture and clothing), automotive and equipment industry.
  • Stimulating the demand of innovation from the SMEs by developing their competitive and innovating potential and by stressing internationalization.
  • The involvement of regional research and technological transfer institutions and creating a permanent regional network, the enlargement of the know-how transfer channel at a regional, national and international level.
  • The growth of the innovation capacity of the human resources in the region.
  • The increase of the attractiveness of the region for foreign investments.
  • Identification of financial resources dedicated to the Research-Development-Innovation activities.

Results

  • The analysis of the potential and of needs regarding the technological transfer at a regional level.
  • Settling the regional priorities regarding innovation
  • Elaboration of the Regional Innovation Strategy
  • Identification of pilot projects
  • Elaboration of the Action Plan regarding the creation of support and transfer structures for the regional technology.

Budget

The budget of the project is of 440.819 Euro, of which 336.489 represent the grant from the European Commission; the rest of 104.330 represents the co-financing of the partners involved in the project.

Project implementation stages

With a total duration of 32 months, starting from June 2005, the project is structured in 9 successive stages/ work-package, grouped in 3 working stages, as follows:

  • Stage 0: will be carryied out during the first 12 months of the project, and it includes the following activities:

WP 1 - Establishment of the organizational structure, including the creation and integration of the management, monitoring and consulting system.
WP 2 - Definition of the Implementation Plan of the project and elaboration of the Economic Analysis and of the Regional Trends. Document for download: Economic Analysis and of the Regional Trends.
WP 3 - Building the consensus at a regional level through the mobilization and involvement of the relevant regional actors.

  • Stage 1: will carried out during the months 12-24 of the project, and it will include activities concentrated on the development of two general axes of the innovating system: the scientific potential / the technological offer and respectively the intermediary infrastructure. It includes the following activities:

WP 4 - the analysis of the needs of regional SMEs from the point of view of the demand of technological and innovation services: over 200 interviewed SMEs, 10 technological audits, organization of sectoral workshops.
WP 5 - the analysis of the offer of Research-Development-Innovation at a regional level: universities, research centers, organizing thematic workshops.
WP 6 - the analysis of technological and know-how transfer structures.

  • Stage 2: will be carried out during the last eight months of the project, and it encompasses the following activities:

WP 7 - the definition and implementation of a strategic framework, of an action plan and of a monitoring system; in this stage pilot projects proposals will be received, regarding the measures of stimulation and improvement of the innovation potential in the business environment.
WP 8 - the definition and implementation of the action plan at a regional level
WP 9 - the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation system support the regional action plan.

At the end of each stage, an annual forum will be organized, where there will be presented the objectives accomplished up to that moment and the strategy to follow for the next period. The Annual Forums will be large-scale events and they will be communicated to the target through the media.
The project also provides the organization of study visits in the partner regions, for the exchange of good practices, and for illustrating successful projects based on the Regional Innovation Strategy.