SPIDER
Increasing regional
competitiveness through
futures research methods
Millennium Project
2005 Planning Committee Meeting
July
Chicago, USA
Juha Kaskinen
Organization
• Coordinator
– Finland Futures Academy (Finland Futures Research Centre,
Turku School of Economics and Business Administration)
• Partners
• 1) Germany , Duesseldorf Region
– Z_ punkt GmbH Büro für Zukunftsgestaltung
– 2) Belgium, Wallonia
– The Destree Institute
Website http://www.spider-project.net
Goals
• The aim of the SPIDER project is to create
connections between regional actors and reinforce
their role as actors and creators of regional
knowledge-based innovation systems.
• Development of foresight methodologies on the
basis of good practices coming from the national
foresight exercises and e.g. the methodological
proceedings of the Millennium Project.
• Implement futures studies methods as a central part
of regional innovation systems
• Create regional vision for innovation system
Actions
• The main phases of the project are:
• 1) Designing the detailed networking strategy and the
inter-regional/ regional work plans
• 2) Carrying out the regional analyses and applying the
regional competitiveness model in the selected regions
(regional analyses & comparison)
• 3) Composing local actor groups with recommendations
given by the SG and in accordance with the local work
plans
• 4) Designing regional visions by using Delphi method
(with the internet based questionnaire and interviews)
• 5) Modifying region- and European –based policy
implications
• 6) Reinforcing connections / cohesions between
European regions and actors
SPIDER timetable and actions
Actions
SG BS
16-17.2
Turku
SG BS
(12.7.
Essen)
SG BS
(virtual)
More detailed
action plan
Detailed
action plan,
next steps
Regional analyses
Virtual environment
Networking
2004
Time
3
6
9
12
SPIDER timetable and actions
Actions
SG BS
SG BS
(virtual)
SG BS
Extended
workshop
Delphi-method
and tool
Expert
workshop
Brussels
Delphi analyses
Preparing reports
Regional visions
2005
Time
3
6
9
12
Evaluation model
(Ståhle & Sotarauta
2003)
EVALUATION OF A REGION’S COMPETITIVENESS
1. Human capital
2. Innovativeness
3. Focus
4. Infrastructure
5. Enterprises
6. Institutions
7. Quality of residential
environment
10.
I
M
A
G
E
competitiveness
Goals
Region’s state
attraction
Competitive factors
Goals
Challenges
8. Development networks
9. Creative tension
Identity & specific quality
Mutual benefit and dependence relations
Information flows & open dialogue
Exploitation of possibilities
Region’s state
Competitive
factors
Challenges
ability to
renew
Development
network’s state
Competitive
factors
Challenges
Goals
Components of regional analyses
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Human capital
Innovativeness
Concentration
Infrastructure
Firms and companies
Institutions
The quality of environment (nature, social and
cultural env.)
• Networks of developers
• Creative tension
• Image
Local Action Groups
• Idea: to be a regional network of networks
• Cover regional actors from various public and
private organizations
• Approximately 30 participants in each region
• Line of action: Future workshops, e-communication,
core experts of the delphi-questionnaire rounds
• Combinations differ from region to region due to
regional special features
Elements of the vision of the regional innovation
system
Entrepreneurship
Culture / attitudes / customs
(Regional characteristics)
Nature and build environment
Growth sectors (Cultural
products; BIO-sector, ICT-sector)
Infrastructure
Centralization/ Specialization
Globalization
Institutions (education, R&D)
Regional structures
and organizations
Human and social capital
Learning environments
Networking
Creative tension
Management
Growth platforms
Mapping the possible actions
Action
Obstacles
Actors
Resources
Expert seminar discussion
• “We want to improve the quality of life of people.”
• What became obvious in the course of the day is
that many of the issues tackled so far in the
project, coming from the work in the three regions,
are of central importance to other regions in Europe
as well. The question of how to support or even
generate a successful regional development into the
direction of the so-called knowledge society can be
seen as the core question here. This question and
the possible strategies connected to it are of key
importance to all the regions which were present in
the seminar.
Expert seminar discussion
• Problem of measuring
• “We need to think about indicators that ‘measure’ also social
and cultural aspects of regions.”
• The social and cultural aspects of regional development were
emphasized by all participants.
• The problem of indicators in measuring and foresight regional
development is apparent. New indicators are needed and
perhaps especially qualitative indicators. This question is
linked with the problem of the undervaluation of intangible
assets in the regional economics: lack of serious tools to
valorize knowledge, measurement of a qualitative driven
knowledge society, level of trust of the companies and
innovative products (“innovation climate towards confidence
climate”), pertinence of GDP indicator (“micro-changes of
today can not be observed but will become macro trends of
tomorrow”), etc.
Expert seminar discussion
• Participation
• “A region of knowledge has to be an open region.”
• A knowledge region is a region where regional decision-makers and
citizens – especially workers and students – have a good understanding
and ownership (these are closely linked) of what a knowledge society is.
They try to build long-term views to define what the final aims of their
own territory are in the global evolution and in the hypothesis of the
building of a global knowledge society. They should also share a real
confidence in the regional development plan, even if investments in
knowledge are long-term investments for long term re-conversion. We
also insisted upon three points: the territorial ability to give an access to
knowledge to all the inhabitants of the region; the need for foresight as a
common learning process; the importance of empowering the citizens to
use foresight tools (understanding of the concepts and of the building of
intangible assets, creativity, from benchmarking to learn-marking, etc.).
Expert seminar discussion
• Role of will and emotions
• “We need new champions in our regions.”
• A knowledge region is a passionate region, a region of passion,
with a real willingness to activate projects (“Knowledge is
following passions: How to attract/provoke passions?”). A
knowledge region deals with risks such as
• – Strong entrepreneurship with open-minded and curious CEOs;
a need for new mental schemes towards risk and security
• – Political risk, where political representatives are ready to
oppose movement to security. When the difficulty to manage
with harmony was discussed, the two trends and important
choices of life were stressed: developing performing sectors
beside stagnating old industry while avoiding social exclusion.
Expert seminar discussion
• High tech – low tech connection
• “The three T’s are central: Technology, talent and
tolerance.”
• A knowledge region is a region that develops science
and technology through innovation. It means that
intellectual as well as manual work is needed.
Talent is not only addressed to science but is also
needed to develop craft industry, which is also in
the heart of knowledge. In that field, it is important
to erase the cognitive barrier. One must also
remember that universities are one source of
innovations, but just one.
Expert seminar discussion
• Image of regions
• “We can affect the regional image through media and actions.”
• A knowledge region is an attractive region, with a clear image
and with an improving quality of life (infrastructure,
environment, culture etc.). A dynamic social climate oriented
towards innovation could keep the brains in the region and
attract the knowledge society's nomads from outside
(“economy becomes local while creativity is global”). The role
of the media in supporting regional innovation systems is a
great but still underdeveloped opportunity to improve regional
image.
• In conclusion, the question of what is excellence in a
knowledge-based society suggests new doors to open and indepth work to undertake within these frameworks of
Knowledge programs and initiatives.
Expert seminar discussion
• Methodological suggestions
• “Use methods with imagination.”
• ‘Not doing anything’- and ‘nightmare’-scenarios can
be used in regional development projects in order to
show the need of active future oriented action.
Strategic conversation could also be an applicable
method in this respect. A new way of doing cluster
analysis over sectors offers possibilities to tackle
regional strengths and weaknesses. In order to
engage, motivate and empower the citizens to
regional development, participatory methods are
needed.
Expert seminar discussion
• Learning, learning regions and lifelong learning
• “Learning should not only refer to learning in the traditional
sense, but also to social and cultural learning”
• A knowledge region is a region where all the citizens have the
possibility to receive an education and to go on with life-long
learning. Indeed, the concept of learning region would be
more adapted because it would be more oriented towards the
learning mobilization of all the stakeholders and the citizens of
the region (“knowledge creation must be linked to
temporality”). A knowledge region is a region promoting
excellence in education and in research that overcome the
hesitations of universities to deal with companies and regional
authorities for a common development effort.
Next steps of SPIDER
• Delphi-questionnaires and interviews
• A publication in English based on the
regional reports
• Analysis of Delphi-questionnaires
• Final report (March 2006)
Contact information
• Dr. (Soc. Sc.), Coordinator (International Affairs)
Juha Kaskinen
• Finland Futures Research Centre / Finland Futures
Academy
• Turku School of Economics and Business
Administration
• Rehtorinpellonkatu 3 20500 Turku, Finland
• Tel. +358 2 4814 528; Mob. +358 40 5439 645; Fax
+358 4814 630
• juha.kaskinen@tukkk.fi
• http://www.tukkk.fi/tutu
• http://www.spider-project.net