Guide to Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation

Science parks provide the advanced infrastructure on which research intensive enterprises
rely, besides the location factor, being often in close proximity to a university. They provide
the necessary infrastructures for research, such as advanced ICTs, and are expected to create
also proper conditions for informal exchanges between firms, creating a specific social milieu.
They can also provide complementary services and support to local firms. Spin-offs and
SMEs can o find in science parks wider support services that allow them to better focus on
their core business and on research for the development of innovations. They are usually
associated with strong networking effects and high levels of social capital. They also provide
the visibility and hence attraction to wider local strategies aiming at the creation of conditions
for high-tech industries to prosper.
Sectoral excellence centres can be split into two categories: sectoral centres targeting specific
industries (providing a range of specialised services, directly to firms) and cross-sector centres
concerned with generic issues (such as product development, work in partnership...).
Business and innovation Centres (BICs) are support organisations for innovative small and
medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and entrepreneurs. The BICs are recognised by the
European commission through a quality certification theme, which enables them to obtain the
European 'EC BIC' label.
Operating in the public interest, they are set up by the principal economic operators in an area
or region in order to offer a range of integrated guidance and support services for projects
carried out by innovative SMEs, thereby contributing to regional and local development 62 .
The BICs are grouped together within the European BIC Network (EBN). Lessons from the
'Living Labs': by engaging user groups or at least by looking on innovations from the
perspectives of user groups, the strengths and weaknesses of the eco-innovation system could
be identified and addressed.
Barriers and Challenges
First, there is still a lack of a consistent strategy of Europe’s regions and MS by setting their
own priorities and developing their own roadmaps. Nevertheless a dynamics is in place,
stimulated by the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and EC
work, which should not be hindered by a lack of European consolidated vision in the near
future.
Member States, which constitute the convergence and outermost regions, do not often have
ambitions to host the site and/or to coordinate a large multidisciplinary infrastructure. They
are involved almost exclusively through participation in construction and exploitation of the
new infrastructures localised in the EU15 MS, and/or by setting-up components of distributed
infrastructures again coordinated by the EU15 MS.
As a consequence, the distribution of research infrastructure facilities in Europe is still as
disproportionate as ten years ago. Except The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI;
http://www.extreme-light-infrastructure.eu/), The Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing
62 The Smart Guide to Innovation-Based Incubators (IBI), European Union - Regional Policy, February 2010.
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