Role of Innovation Infrastructure in
Economic Development of EU
Accession Countries: The Croatian
Case
I. Nagy & A. Mamić
Business Innovation Centre of Croatia – BICRO Ltd.
Planinska 1 Ι HR 10000 Zagreb Ι CROATIA
ivana.nagy@bicro.hr Ι ante.mamic@bicro.hr Ι www.bicro.hr
Content
I.
How new technological revolutions challenge
economic policy makers
I.
The role of innovation infrastructure in addressing
economic challenges
I.
What type of infrastructure facilities are supported in
Croatia
I.
Biosciences Incubation & Technology
Commercialisation Centre (IPA-funded project)
I.
Conclusions, Q&A
Country background: CROATIA
Economic profile:
Surface:
56.538 sq. km
Population:
4,43 million
GDP at current prices:
45,4 billion €
GDP per capita:
10.245 €
GDP growth rate p.a.:
-5,8 %
Average inflation rate:
2,4 %
Foreign debt:
43,1 billion €
Unemployment rate:
9,1 %
R&D
WEALTH
KNOWLEDGE
INNOVATION
4 main goals of economic policy
THE
NEW
PARADIGM OF
DEVELOPMENT
Full
Employment
Price
Stability
Harvesting the benefits of
Technology Revolutions
Economic Growth
BP Equilibrium
Five technological revolutions in 200 years
1771
The ‘Industrial Revolution’
1829
Age of Steam and Railways
1875
Age of Steel, Electricity and Heavy Engineering
1908
Age of Oil, the Automobile and Mass Production
1971
Age of Information and Telecommunications
20??
Age of Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and Bioelectronics?
Each brings a different world of opportunities for innovation
and has a similar pattern of propagation
In theory…
THE LIFE TRAJECTORY OF A TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION
AND ITS TECHNO-ECONOMIC PARADIGM
Deployment
of potential
40-60 years
Previous revolution
exhausted and
declining
IRRUPTION
MATURITY
Next revolution
in gestation
Time
Initial radical
innovations
Techno-economic
paradigm defined
AN EPIDEMIC PATTERN OF DIFFUSION FROM IRRUPTION TO MATURITY
Source: Based on Nelson and Winter, Dosi, Wolf, Abernathy and Utterback, Arthur, etc.
Double nature of each technological revolution
NEW DYNAMIC
INDUSTRIES
A NEW TECHNO-ECONOMIC
PARADIGM
A powerful cluster
of new products and processes
and new infrastructural
networks
New all-purpose technologies,
new organisational principles,
different business models
and low-cost facilitating
infrastructure
NEW FIRMS
AND INDUSTRIES
BECOME ENGINES
OF WORLD
GROWTH
REJUVENATION
AND MODERNISATION
OF THE WHOLE
ECONOMY
A general leap
in productivity
Appropriately designed innovation infrastructure
can be a catalyst for innovation
Encourages research cooperation
•
IBPs encourage cooperation among university researchers,
companies and research institutions to develop new ideas
Promotes regional development
•
•
Help laboratories justify further R&D support
Have concrete impacts on jobs and growth that build support in
the community and the country
Builds public support for R&D
•
•
•
Facilitate firm creation
Generate critical mass for a regional economy
Encourage new and existing firms and the new jobs and growth
they bring
Innovation infrastructure in Croatia: Building block
of the National Innovation System
• Centres of Research Excellence
• University Technology Transfer Offices
• Centres of Competence for Emerging
Technologies
• Incubators for High Technology
• Science & Technology Parks
Rudjer Bošković Institute (RBI)
RBI is the largest Croatian multidisciplinary research institute in:
•
Physics
•
Chemistry
•
Oceanography (marine and environmental
•
research and geosciences)
•
Molecular Biology
•
Biomedicine
•
Computer science
•
Electronics/Engineering
Mission:
•
High quality basic research
•
Strong involvement in higher education
•
Leading contribution to the growth of the national economy
Vision:
•
Croatian EU Centre of scientific excellence
20,000 m2 area, 81 labs
Spin-off companies of RBI
Rudjer Innovations Ltd.
• Commercialization of innovations and technology transfer
Rudjer Medikol Cyclotrone Ltd.
• Development and production of radionuclides
Rudjer Medikol Diagnostics Ltd.
• Breast and other genetic hereditary diagnostics
Initium Futuri Ltd.
• Innovative ICT technologies
BioZyne Ltd.
• Biotech company for R&D in the life sciences (cancer drugs)
Artes Calculi Ltd.
•
Innovative ICT technologies
University TTOs
THEIR ROLE:
They support researches in all stages of technology implementation from idea, invention, process of IP protection, to setting up a company
and commercialization of intellectual property.
The 4 University TTOs in Croatia, in particular help with:
• intellectual property protection
• education of researches and students in entrepreneurship
• writing business plans
• making of marketing plans
• setting up of companies
• establishing contacts with business partners
• other questions regarding the beginning of entrepreneurial
activity
Centres of Competence for Emerging
Technologies (COMETs)
BICRO supports development of
COMETs in sectors of strategic
interest to the Croatian economy.
COMETs are established in
collaboration between scientific
and industrial partners for the
purpose of conducting R&D for
the needs of the business sector.
So far, COMETs were established
focusing on
• Maritime industry
• Renewable energy
• Green technologies
• Translational medicine
Incubators for High Technology
Incubators accelerate
successful development of
entrepreneurial companies
through an array of
business support resources
and services:
•
•
incubation programme
R&D and/or production
facilities
•
•
Varaždin IT Incubator
Incubator in Čakovec
focuses on digital
technologies and
construction industry
Incubator in Nova
Gradiška has a focus on
production using CNC
technologies
•
Science & Technology Parks
Associated with higher
education institutions.
STP are encouraged by local
governments, in order to:
• attract new companies
• expand tax base
• increase employment
opportunities
• engage science base in
technology transfer and
commercialisation
activities that add value
to businesses
•
•
Science & Technology
Park of the University of
Rijeka
Technopolis University of
Osijek
BIOCenter project – IPA
BIOCentre project – making it real
The Biosciences Technology Commercialisation
and Incubation Centre – BIOCentre
BIOCenter project – IPA
Eligible expenditure:
16.376.410,70 €
IPA Contribution:
13.919.949,00 €
Gross floor area:
5.330 m2
Usable floor area:
4.457 m2
Central laboratory unit
Three main segments
of the BIOFacility Service::
Qualified laboratory spaces
Office spaces for tenants
Physical infrastructure:
Office
space, Laboratory
BIOCenter
project
–
IPA
space, equipped Central Laboratory Unit
Programme for business development, mentorship,
specified services and financial support for
academic
entrepreneurship,
start-up
and
incubation
BIOFacility
Programme
for technology transfer supporting
BIOIncubation
cooperative R&D projects between and research
institutions, with a focus on the up-scaling process
of new bio-products
BIOTransfer
BIOEducation
Business
and technical training courses for
specific know-how, methods and new technologies
BIONetwork
Programme for cooperation, regional networking
and international marketing of biotechnology and
life sciences in Croatia
Recommendations for designing
growth accelerating infrastructure
• Target the most strategic and rapidly
developing technologies
• Increase the capacity and capability of
critical national scientific assets
• Meet the most immediate business demands
• Improve physical facilities and services to
allow companies to conduct cost-effective
R&D
Conclusions
•
Technological progress and innovation play a central role in a
country's economic progress
•
As an economy advances to the global technological frontier
and narrows the technological gap, an innovation-based
growth strategy that focuses on investments in R&D and
technology creation offers the greatest potential for
economic growth
•
Investments in innovation infrastructure must be a part of
any economic growth strategy
•
Investments need to be coordinated on the national and local
level, involving a variety of stakeholders, in order to
maximize development effects and benefits to the overall
economy of the country
SCIENTIFIC
INSTITUTIONS
ADMINISTRATION
R&D
WEALTH
INNOVATION
INFRASTRUCTURE
KNOWLEDGE
INNOVATION
COMPANIES
ENTREPRENEURS
Thank you for your kind
attention!
Ivana Nagy & Ante Mamić
Business Innovation Centre of Croatia – BICRO Ltd.
Planinska 1 Ι HR 10000 Zagreb Ι CROATIA
ivana.nagy@bicro.hr Ι ante.mamic@bicro.hr Ι www.bicro.hr