Thriving innovation ecosystems: key learnings
On 19 November 2024, the Policy Learning Platform, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Labour and the Ministry of Education and Science organised its first capacity-building event on Thriving innovation ecosystems through university-industry collaboration in Skopje. Participants engaged in hands-on knowledge exchange, explored examples from Interreg Europe projects, and co-created policy tools to foster university-industry collaboration.
What was the workshop about?
Building successful (emerging) innovation ecosystems is a topic of great interest for the Interreg Europe community. The event was dedicated to exploring the main successful elements to build such an ecosystem: its governance, the ways to engage innovation players, the design of place-based policies and possible financing schemes. For each element, good practices from the Interreg Europe community were featured (see section 2 of the follow-up report). Two case studies were analysed and developed with the participants: setting up innovation vouchers and designing innovation challenges.
To learn more about this topic, explore the conclusions report our experts have prepared for you.
It contains insights related to innovation ecosystems and university-industry collaboration, as well as inspiring Interreg Europe good practices and policy recommendations.
Featured projects
Featured good practices
Discover the good practices from Interreg Europe projects that we explored during the event.
Innovation vouchers are small credits (€2,000–€20,000) provided by regional or national governments to SMEs (Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises) to purchase services from knowledge providers like universities, research centres, or consulting firms. Their goal is to help SMEs introduce new products, processes, or services. Zdeněk Hušek, RIS3 manager at Usti Region Authority (CZ) highlighted that vouchers must be integrated into a broader ecosystem rather than being treated as isolated actions. To achieve this, an ecosystem orchestrator, such as an innovation agency or technology transfer centre, should promote vouchers within a well-defined context. Active efforts like promotion, marketing, and key account management are essential to ensure their success. Vouchers themselves are an innovation and should be approached with strategies aimed at early adopters. Additionally, the process should include simple and efficient evaluation mechanisms, complemented by comprehensive impact assessments, such as those guided by frameworks like the World Bank.
Nicola Doppio, Hub Innovazione Trentino (IT), presented the Innovation Challenges in Trento that are initiatives organised by Hub Innovazione Trentino that use a prize-based approach to connect and encourage SMEs to collaborate with other entities. The goal is to drive innovation in business, products, services, or technology.
In these challenges, SMEs work directly with students, researchers, or other companies to address industrial problems. The solutions generated are typically practical, taking the form of new technologies, business ideas, prototypes, or insights derived from field testing. Like prizes, Innovation Challenges are usually framed as competitive opportunities, offering incentives to “solvers” who develop viable solutions.
Presentations
For more information on the good practices, download the presentations bellow.
