Industrial transition
In the spotlight
The industrial transition is of high importance because it shapes the future economic resilience and social cohesion of regions, ultimately driving inclusive growth and sustainable development across Europe. Take a look at the content that our Experts have hand-picked for you.
Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is redefining the industrial sector thanks to the adoption of new digital technologies, new materials, and new processes. For policymakers, the concept of Industry 4.0 is at the top of their agendas as it could spur huge productivity gains, redefine the whole industrial production model and also potentially have a major impact on manufacturing employment. The European Commission is implementing ambitious industrial policies to address many policy challenges hindering the diffusion of Industry 4.0 technologies such as the low adoption rate from SMEs and increased competition from outside the European Union.
In this novel industrial paradigm, regions are ideal spaces for policy experimentation and Interreg Europe projects provide an opportunity for interregional policy learning. This policy brief features six policy recommendations using the experience of Interreg Europe projects dealing with Industry 4.0 to offer regions relevant lessons to enrich their own transformative efforts.
Digital ecosystems and digital transformation
The Policy Learning Platform received a policy helpdesk request to acquire more information on digital ecosystems, digital transformation, remote working and co-working spaces. Explore the answer provided by Research and innovation Thematic Expert, Arnault Morisson.
Policy insights 1: Digital Innovation Ecosystems
Two Interreg Europe projects are particularly active in promoting the effective delivery of policies to support digital innovation ecosystems, namely:
- NEXT2MET focuses on policies and measures to increase the uptake of soft digitalisation measures.
- CARPE DIGEM aims to promote Digital Innovation Ecosystems in peripheral and less- advanced European regions.
The two Interreg Europe projects have generated many good practices, discover the NEXT2MET good practices and the CARPE DIGEM good practices.
In NEXT2MET, the good practice on multi-fund development of digital hubs/co-working spaces in rural areas could be of interest to you. The good practice focuses on a multi-fund approach (local, national and European funding) to address the lack of digital infrastructures in the Midland Region (Ireland) by providing co-working spaces with fully equipped amenities. European funds (WiFi4EU) were used with regional funds from the Department of Rural and Community Development to establish WI-Fi into public spaces. At the same time, LEADER Program provided other funds to develop digital/co- working space in the areas selected for the Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) initiative. The good practice shows that the creation of physical digital infrastructures and co-working spaces can be a lever of economic regeneration for towns and villages located in rural areas.
In CARPE DIGEM, the Mission Numérique PNM - Lormes Rural Digital Hub offers a fab-lab, digital service, and co-working services in a rural village in France. The good practice will be featured in our webinar on rural innovation on Friday 15 July 2021.
Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform organised a webinar on digital innovation ecosystems on Tuesday 25 February 2021. Sandro D’Elia, DG Connect, presented the current EU digital policy priorities, especially with regards to digital innovation hubs. Cristian Gotia, West ARD Romania, presented the good practice concerning the Monitoring of the Arad City Digital Strategy. Claus Zeppelzauer, from ECOPLUS Austria shared the good practice House of Digitalisation.
Our policy brief on
could be of interest to you as skills are essential for digital innovation ecosystems. On July 2020, the European Commission presented the European Skills Agenda, a five-year plan that drives Covid-19 economic recovery focusing on human capital, employment and social policies to help individuals and businesses develop new skills for the twin transition toward digital technology and climate neutrality. The necessity of telework and virtual- learning due to Covid-19 pandemic is currently accelerating the process of digital transition. On the other hand, it is accentuating the gap related to digital skills, creating new inequalities for accessing job and education and compromising career opportunities for many people.
Policy insights 2: Co-working spaces and remote working
Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform has written two articles on co-working spaces featuring two good practices. One article takes the example of SPARK Demo in Tartu, Estonia. The other article titled, how to foster collaborative spaces in rural areas takes the example of the good practice KIKŠTARTER in Slovenia.
The article on collaborative spaces in rural areas highlights that when planning such spaces and strategies in rural and peri-urban areas, practitioners and policymakers should consider the following three points:
- The creation of a space like KIKŠTARTER to promote entrepreneurship is more relevant for towns with 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants that do not already possess such innovation infrastructure.
- As illustrated by KIKŠTARTER, leadership and quadruple helix arrangements are a good way to rally local actors around a common vision for the town.
- Spaces like this could include, spaces for fabrication, 3-D workshops, FabLabs, and Makerspace, as lower rents in rural and peri-urban towns can offer a competitive advantage for setting such relatively large fabrication spaces for entrepreneurs.
You could also be interested in our online discussion on FabLabs and makerspaces and the presentation of Tomas Diez on Fab Lab Barcelona, Fab City Initiative, and the Fab Academy. Cities have lost the capacity to create products and to grow food. Fab Lab Barcelona contributes to rediscovering how to produce and consume in cities. Fab Lab Barcelona participates in multiple European projects. Fab Academy teach students how to make (almost) anything without going to MIT in Boston, United States. Tomas Diez points out that 'FabLabs are not aimed to replace industries but to accelerate the transition towards local production using existing industrial capacities'.
In Interreg Europe project P-IRIS, the project partners have discussed about the lessons learnt when establishing co-working spaces in rural areas. They note, for instance, that rural coworking spaces create stronger and committed local community and because of new remote-working and studying culture rural areas can benefit in the future.
Follow-up opportunities with the Policy Learning Platform
Finally, we encourage you to follow-up with us when addressing your policy challenges. For instance, we could organise a matchmaking session with you and your regional managing authorities. A matchmaking session lasts around 1,5 hours and is a thematic discussion hosted by Interreg Europe and moderated by an expert in the field. The discussions are designed around the policy needs and questions that you put forward. These meetings can be organised in person and online. They are a great opportunity to meet like-minded peers and get inspiration from good practices in other parts of Europe.
Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) – A European Priority for Industrial Modernisation
Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) are an EU policy concept that was introduced in 2009 to stimulate critical mass for research and innovation in novel and complex technologies, to boost industrial competitiveness, and to promote European re-industrialisation (European Parliament). KETs have been central in Horizon 2020, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2014-2020, with an allocation of about 30 billion EUR. The European Commission sees KETs as a non-sectoral, strategic, and integrated approach to the development and deployment of new technologies to promote industrial modernisation.
Definition of Key Enabling Technologies (KETs)
KETs are knowledge intensive [technologies] associated with high R&D intensity, rapid innovation cycles, high capital expenditure and highly skilled employment. They enable process, goods and service innovation throughout the economy and are of systemic relevance. They are multidisciplinary, cutting across many technology areas with a trend towards convergence and integration. KETs can assist technology leaders in other fields to capitalise on their research efforts (European Commission)
KETs are generic technologies that, alone or more often in combination with other Industry 4.0, form the basis of a range of new products and processes used in manufacturing (see our policy brief on Industry 4.0). In Horizon 2020, six KETs were strategic, namely, nanotechnologies, photonics, advanced materials, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing. In the current framework programme 2021-2027, Horizon Europe, the following six KETs are being prioritised, namely, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, life-science technologies, micro/nano-electronics and photonics, artificial intelligence, and security and connectivity (European Commission).
Five Interreg Europe projects are particularly active in promoting and delivering better policies regarding KETs, they are:
- INNO PROVEMENT supports SMEs to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies.
- NMP-REG helps diffuse nanotechnologies and advanced materials to regional manufacturing companies.
- P2L2 aims to improve the delivery of public policies to support innovation in advanced materials.
- SMARTPILOTS supports shared pilot facilities in biotechnologies and the bio-economy.
- STEPHANIE aims to promote space technologies based on photonics.
Interreg Europe projects have identified many good practices to promote KETs and can inspire European regions to deliver better policies to develop and deploy new technologies to promote industrial modernisation.
Centres of Competence (CoCs) can facilitate the adoption of KETs. In NMP-REG, CeNTI - Centre of Nanotechnology and Smart Material is a centre of competence, with a multi-sectoral orientation and equipped with cutting-edge technologies, that promotes research and innovation in smart and functional materials and systems in Norte Portugal.
Joint cross-border projects can accelerate the uptake of KETs. In STEPHANIE, the Regional Collaboration on Key Enabling Technologies (ROCKET) is an initiative to foster Dutch-German cooperation to diffuse KETs to SMEs. The initiative aims to facilitate joint cross-border projects by supporting stakeholders moving-up the Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) as well as to overcome collaboration barriers related to cultural, legislative, and language differences.
Roadmaps can help SMEs identify technological bottlenecks and opportunities. In INNO PROVEMENT, the Technology and Industrial Modernisation Roadmaps promote the uptake for SMEs of Industry 4.0 technologies in the Czech Republic. The initiative offers support to identify bottlenecks and opportunities for SMEs to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies and KETs to increase their productivity and overall competitiveness. The technology roadmap defines the technology needs, stages and specific steps leading to SMEs’ industrial modernisation.
The simplification of application procedures for public calls accelerates technological deployment. In STEPHANIE, the Institute of Applied Physics 'Nello Carrara' (IFAC) and the Regional Government of Tuscany have introduced policy changes to promote the aerospace and photonic sectors: besides the inclusion of the aerospace and photonic sectors in its S3 with a dedicated technology roadmap, the Tuscany region has introduced new calls for projects in the aerospace and photonic sectors and technologies. The new calls for projects foresee simplified procedures that were developed following some inspiring examples discovered in STEPHANIE partners: the Regional Collaboration on Key Enabling Technologies (Düsseldorf, DE) that offers fast-track procedures for project funding, and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), a Dutch programme to support innovative business in a fast, simple, and flexible way. The simplified procedures encourage the use of certified external controllers for SMEs when applying and in the monitoring phases thus reducing public administration burdens and reducing the time for projects’ approval (45 days instead of 90).
Image credit: Photo by Alexandre Debiève on Unsplash
From S3 to S4+: smart specialisation strategies for sustainable and inclusive growth
The European Green Deal with its mission-oriented approach, Horizon Europe’s five missions for Europe, the COVID-19 crisis, and the policy alignment with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) imply a new directionality of sustainability and inclusiveness in European innovation policies. Mikel Landabaso Álvarez, director for 'Growth and Innovation' and director of the Seville site of the EC Joint Research Centre, points out that 'deepening Smart Specialisation [in the next programming period 2021-2027] also means encompassing the sustainability dimension, which is of key importance to deliver on the agenda of the European Commission and achieve competitive sustainability'.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) has recently published a report written by Philip McCann and Luc Soete titled 'Place-Based Innovation for Sustainability', which is the outcome of the expert group 'linking smart specialisation and mission-oriented policy for sustainable development'. The report highlights that the regional policy focus must be on transformative changes. Innovation must not blindly follow competitiveness logic but must respond to broader regional societal challenges and be an 'intermediate step towards the longer-term goals of fostering sustainability and inclusiveness' (McCann & Soete).
As a result, the report proposes an evolution of the policy logic from S3 to smart specialisation strategies for sustainable and inclusive growth (S4+). S4+ means reinforcing the S3 mission-oriented policy approach with non-neutrality, direction, and system approach to engage regions in European initiatives dealing with missions. S4+ implies a policy shift in the way regions may consider setting policy priorities to push technological innovation and their responses to regional societal challenges. Some European regions such as Northern Netherlands, a partner in BEYOND EDP, have already started to design their smart specialisation around missions and societal challenges.
From the report, McCann and Soete propose the following intervention logic table to support the evolution of smart specialisation strategy (S3) to embrace smart specialisation strategies for sustainable and inclusive growth (S4+):
| Intervention logic | S3 | S4+ |
|---|---|---|
SWOT analysis |
| Strengthen S3, and … S4: Position the SWOT analysis in the ecological and digital transitions of the energy, manufacturing, agri-food, housing, and mobility systems |
Governance |
| Strengthen S3, and … S4: Role of the state goes beyond being facilitator and catalyst to co-create system transformation. This requires management reforms and capacity building to work cross-domains, cross-departments, cross-sectors and cross-disciplines. |
Vision |
| Strengthen S3, and … S4: Vision goes beyond the R&I system. Could be a societal vision: 'Which is the future we want – here?' or an industrial vision: 'promising areas for the future'. The vision should be linked to overall target(s) set in time (medium-term) which is understandable, measurable, ambitious but realistic. |
Prioritisation |
| Strengthen S3, and … S4: If the priorities are aligned or in the same overall direction as the overall EU-level investments (and regulatory changes), then the potential of reaching critical mass and of crowding-in of private investment and of EU funds increases. |
Implementation |
| Strengthen S3, and … S4: The Implementation is driven by innovation but mobilises in synergy with other policy areas and investments, such as infrastructure, skills, etc. The scope is broader with systemic innovation and industrial transitions. Programmes create portfolio of projects and focus on development, testing or deployment of innovative solutions. Place-based experimentation and testbeds of local or foreign innovations are linked to user driven innovation, economies of scope and public procurement. The strategy for positioning in value chains is proactive in new value chains emerging from the transitions and they create a local articulation of EU alliances. S4: The local framework conditions to innovation are now also European. When local entrepreneurs detect barriers or resistance to innovation for sustainability this can be channelled in 'Green Deals' to the national and EU policy level. S4: Cooperation and mutual learning with other actors of change is facilitated by regional thematic network but the new network externalities are broader emerging from the reorientation of EU network of actors ( European technological platforms, European partnerships, industrial alliances, EIT Knowledge and Innovation |
Monitor and Evaluate |
| Strengthen S3, and … S4: The monitoring and evaluation goes beyond the R&I system; indicators and targets correspond to the granularity of the vision in the regional or urban strategy. A continuous policy learning dynamism is introduced. Particular attention is given to early detection of signs of trade-offs between sustainable/smart/inclusiveness. |
Read online the JRC report on Place-Based Innovation for Sustainability
Image credit: Photo by Polina Zimmerman from Pexels
Technology foresight for Research and innovation
Technology Foresight can be seen as “a systematic exercise aimed at looking into the longer-term future of science, technology, and innovation in order to make better-informed policy decisions” (Pietrobelli and Puppato). The speed of technological change and the emergence of disruptive technologies continuously transform regional industrial structures. As a result, Technology Foresight emerged to respond to this rising complexity to foresee, shape and direct potential future orientation of technological change. Technology Foresight involves a wide range of actors such as the public sector, experts, industry, and civil society to define and to prepare for a joint vision of the future.
Technology Foresight involves a wide range of activities such as panels, scenario workshops, brainstorming, consensus building, horizon scanning, trend analysis, anticipation, forecasting, systematic looking ahead, forward-looking activities, strategic intelligence, futures research, or technology road mapping (Pietrobelli and Puppato). The activities aim to predict the future, influence technology direction and hence to “make the future happen” through a participatory approach to ensure the inclusion of a wide range of actors to build legitimacy (Miles). This approach for collectively exploring, anticipating and shaping the future can be pursued at international, national, regional, local or sectoral level (Nesta).
Foresight can serve to provide guidance in shaping innovation policies and can be used as a tool to support measures such as prioritisation, networking and/or articulation of challenges (Nesta). Foresight exercises can reorient and update innovation policies while anticipating emerging technological changes and grand societal challenges. Technology Foresight exercises can, however, face failures. For instance, coordination and communication drawbacks arise when stakeholders have different knowledge and views on the importance of research and innovation on a given territory. Market and political failures can also happen due to short-sighted and short-term interests and gains compared to the long-term perspective needed in research and innovation policies (Pietrobelli and Puppato).
Many local and regional policy makers in Europe make use of technology foresight to develop innovation policies. Interreg Europe projects such as HIGHER, INNO INDUSTRY, S3CHEM and STEPHANIE allowed them to exchange on their approaches and to learn from the experiences of others. They have learned from successful initiatives with tangible and measurable results that have the potential to be transferred to regions, and in some cases their increased knowledge has brought to the introduction of policy changes in their own territory.
Technology Foresight can be used in the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) to select the right granularity of the regional Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3). In S3CHEM, the Roadmap for the Regional Agenda of Sustainable Materials for Asturias aims to prioritise activities in the sector of sustainable materials. The Economic Development Agency of Asturias (IDEPA) and the Association of Chemical and Process Industries of Asturias (AIQPA) launched a roadmap to draft the Regional Agenda for Research and Innovation in Sustainable Materials that included working groups involving the most relevant regional stakeholders to identify the main markets and value chains in sustainable materials.
Technology Foresight can rally a wide range of actors to work together on S3 priorities. In HIGHER, the Strategic Research and Innovation Partnerships (SRIPs) are long-term partnerships focusing on nine areas related to Industry 4.0, the digital economy, and the circular economy, that involve quadruple-helix actors—private companies, public institutions, universities, and civil society. The nine areas were selected according to the Slovenia Smart Specialisation Strategy (S4). The SRIPs work on each thematic area to coordinate R&D activities, network internationally, share capacities and knowledge, and develop human resources. Each SRIP, which is piloted by different institutions, must devise its strategic roadmaps to achieve a higher competitive position not only through technological foresight but also through identifying regulatory framework changes.
Technology Foresight can offer a systematic methodological approach for the strategic design of S3. In STEPHANIE, Strategic planning through stakeholders’ involvement describes the methodology adopted for the strategic design of Tuscany’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3). The design methodology has involved regional stakeholders through a 5-step model for strategic planning that included (1) a foresight exercise by innovation poles on regional, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to develop scientific and technological roadmaps, (2) external experts assessments of the roadmaps, (3) thematic workshops to validate roadmaps, (4) drafting the S3 with institutional contexts, priorities, and action plans, and (5) validation of the S3 by international peer regions. The S3 strategic design included many meetings, workshops, and sessions forming the core of the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP). The good practice highlights the importance to engage external experts to validate and legitimate strategic choices in the roadmaps and foresight exercises and limit vested private interests.
Technology Foresight can be used to identify future skills for innovation. In INNO INDUSTRY, the National project Sector Driven Innovations (NP SRI) is an initiative to monitor labour market needs, labour shortages, to identify how technologies will affect the labour market, to perform foresight exercises on future of jobs up to 2030 and the impacts on job functions, employment levels and skills. The initiative is piloted by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of Slovak Republic and is managed by the private agency Trexima Bratislava Ltd. The initiative also strengthens 24 Sector Skills Councils (SSC) to enable them to identify and anticipate relevant skills and human resource strategies in specific sectors. The good practice offers many insights for policymakers who aim to design an integrated strategy to perform foresight exercises on the future of jobs in specific sectors. Additionally, it also informs on a potential way forward to make evidence-based decisions on concrete strategic measures and actions to upskill or reskill workers such as with higher education institutions and vocational schools.
Technology Foresight can strengthen clusters. In REGIONS4FOOD, ART-ER introduced a policy change to strengthen the Clust-ER Agri-food. ART-ER, the regional development agency in Emilia Romagna (IT) coordinates the Clust-ERs, communities of public and private entities for interdisciplinary knowledge and strategic opportunities. Learning from Interreg Europe partners from REGIONS4FOOD—namely good practices such as the Masters in Digital Agriculture and Agri-Food Innovation from Andalusia, Spain, and the Agro Living Lab in South Ostrobothnia, Finland—ART-ER identified the need to foster collaboration between the Clust-ER Agrifood and other relevant stakeholders, such as the Clust-ER Innovate, to promote quadruple helix cooperation from the farm to the fork, and to identify multidisciplinary skills and profiles. ART-ER and the regional government introduced a call for Clust-ERs in July 2020 to promote inter-Cluster-ER collaboration, skill foresight analysis and multidisciplinary skills through training for quadruple-helix actors.
Image credit: EnvatoElements
A message from our expert
Are you looking for support on the industrial transition in your region? We have a team of experts ready to help you.
Get in contact through our policy helpdesk and we will put you in contact with the right people.
European industrial regions must design a robust policy-mix to foster both the green and digital transitions, enabling them to navigate the complexities of an era defined by poly-crisis and breakthroughs in emerging technologies. The Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform offers a valuable space to identify and contextualise such policy tools.