OPEN DAYS 2010 Final Programme - European Commission - Europa

Workshops
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Territorial planning as a competitiveness strategy
Competitiveness and innovation are the key factors to enhance the new Lisbon
Strategy, bearing in mind the 2020 objectives that will be set up in the near future.
At the local level, territorial planning is a well-known tool that has proven to provide
real indicators regarding these key elements. In that perspective, Local Intermediate
Authorities (LIAs), placed in between the regional and municipal level, have a central
position and competences regarding these issues, amongst which territorial planning.
LIAs have experience in this field and are eager to share it. This debate will focus on
putting together local stakeholders with European experts in order to shape a new
bottom-up approach that will try to tackle local competitiveness by confronting the
current European approach with the real local needs. The outcome of this debate
can help to show how the different actions set up by the LIAs can promote cultural,
innovative and economic resources as a motor for local development.
Regional innovation indicators: Evidence-based policymaking for Europe
2020 and for the European Plan for Research and Innovation
Against the background of the Europe 2020 strategy and the European Plan
for Research and Innovation, this discussion will focus on the local/regional
dimension of innovation and explore what indicators can best describe this
complex multifaceted phenomenon at a regional level. Regional case studies
will highlight the need for new regional innovation indicators capable of
accurately capturing the evolution of regional innovation systems and also of
shedding light on some important non-technology driven types of innovation
like organisational innovation, business model innovation, social innovation, rural
innovation etc. that are not necessarily associated with urban regions and hightech
industries. The workshop conclusions will be forwarded to EU and national
leaders in the framework of their discussion on implementing Europes 2020 goals
and the Research and Innovation Plan.
New investment models for regions to reach the Europe 2020 broadband
and NGA targets
The new EU digital agenda sets the target of 100% broadband coverage by 2013 and an
ambitions target for NGA coverage by 2015. The upgrading of the current broadband
infrastructure to NGA capacity requires a vast investment which the current market
mechanisms seems unable to justify, at least in terms of the speed and pervasiveness that
Europe requires to sustain its long term competitiveness, social and economic cohesion and
political participation. Over the past few years public funds (including EU funds) have been
used to provide access to broadband mostly in underdeveloped regions and rural areas
where the market players would not normally intervene. However, large public intervention
seems unlikely given the limits that the budget discipline imposes on public finances already
stretched by the current economic downturn. This difficulty is also evident within the context
of European cohesion policy where regions and Member States struggle to match EU funds
even for actions already planned within their current operational programmes. The workshop
will discuss possible alternatives to finance broadband and NGA deployment including long
term financial mechanisms set up at EU level with the use of EU funds.
05A18
11:15 - 13:00
Venue: Solvay Library
Organiser: Local Intermediate Authorities:
Mobilising Competitive Territories
Speakers: Jean Louis Destans, Member of
the Committee of the Regions, President of
the Regional Council of Eure, France; Marino
Fiasella, President of the Province of La Spezia,
Italy; Ida Vana, Province of Turin, Italy
05A19
11:15 - 13:00
Venue: Committee of the Regions, VM3
Organisers: Committee of the Regions,
EU2020MP and ERRIN
Chair: Christine Chapman, Member of the
Committee of the Regions
Speakers: Alessandro Fazio, European Regions
Research and Innovation Network, Errin,
Belgium; Thierry Fellmann, Regional Economy,
Innovation and Higher Education, Provence-
Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Region, France; Ben Gardiner,
Joint Research Centre, European Commission,
Belgium; Massimiliano Leoncini, Tuscany
Region, Italy; Ton Van Lier, Eindhoven Brainport
Development, The Netherlands
05A20
11:15 - 13:00
Venue: Centre Borschette, room 0C
Organisers: European Commission, DGs Regional
Policy and Information Society and Media
Speakers: Hélidéo Costa-Elias, Caisse Des Dépôts,
Deposit office, France; Detlef Eckert, European
Commission, DG Information Society and Media,
Lisbon Strategy and policies for the information
society, Belgium; George Hall, European Broadband
Portal, -EBP- European Regional Information Society
Association-eris@-; Dariusz Kowalczyk, Marshal's
office of the Malopolska region, Poland; Kate Lundy,
Senator, Parliament of Australia, Australia; Francesco
Totaro, European PPP Expertise Centre, EPEC,
European Investment Bank
22 OPEN DAYS 2010 – European Week of Regions and Cities