cliqproject
The municipality of Gävle’s participation in the CLIQ project has conveniently coincided with the regional innovation strategy process initiated in the regional development programme of 2009. The region of Gävleborg and the municipality of Gävle have therefore decided to join forces in the parallel and mutually dependant processes.
For this purpose, the Region of Gävleborg has entered the CLIQ project as an associated partner. As such the Region of Gävleborg has taken part in many of the CLIQ activities, such as study visits and master classes concerning innovation strategies for regional development in Brighton (UK) and Pau (FR).
We also have an on-going local-regional process concerning methodology and the alignment of our innovation strategies. This work is coordinated by the CLIQ project in Gävle, and consists of innovation strategy meetings where among others the following partners are important participants:
- Gävle kommun (The municipality of Gävle)
- Region Gävleborg (Gävleborg Regional Development Board)
- ALMI (National/regional company for financing and business development of SME:s)
- Teknikparken Gävle (Gävle Technology Park)
- Högskolan i Gävle (The University of Gävle)
- Movexum (The Regional Incubator)
- Etablera (Public organisation, advise for start-ups)
- Nyföretagarcentrum (Private organisation, advise for start-ups)
The regional strategy
In late November 2010 the first version of the regional innovation strategy was presented, containing a summary of European, national and regional policies, a description of the situation in the Gävleborg region today and some methods for assessing the future potential of the regional competitive areas. This is a first version of the strategy, mainly positioning the Gävleborg region in a European perspective.
The conclusion and proposition parts of the strategy were purposely omitted, in order to include more stakeholders in the conclusion and proposition process. Though, the strategy document presents and specifies assessment methods for evaluating our regional competitive advantages, and the maturity and innovative capacity of our cluster initiatives and competence centers.
Next steps
The next step in the process will be to foster a structured assessment process utilising the methods presented in the strategy document. This process will involve major stakeholders in the innovation policy area, and beginning January 2011 we will focus on utilising the methods presented in the regional strategy document in a broader regional context, drawing conclusions concerning the future strategic priorities of the Gävleborg region.
In this process it is important that European, national, regional and local innovation strategies and priorities are fully aligned and compatible. It is also of outmost importance that all regional stakeholders feel involved in the process, and that the conclusions and propositions are relevant and well known by all stakeholders in the regional innovation system.
The connection between the regional innovation strategy process and the CLIQ project
Participating in the CLIQ project has been very valuable for the regional innovation strategy process. As an associated partner in the CLIQ project we have both been able to exchange experiences on innovation policies as a tool for regional development on a European level, but we also have been given a better opportunity to align the regional and local innovation strategy processes.
We look forward to the next step in this important work during the year 2011.