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The event is organised by ERIK, the Innovative Actions Network of European Knowledge based Regions, in collaboration with Malopolska Region and IRE, the Network of Innovating Regions in Europe.
The event on ‘Technological innovation and regional cohesion in a wider Europe’, provides the opportunity to further debate the crucial role that regions can play in relaunching the Lisbon strategy and on achieving the expected goals that have been recently reconfirmed during the European Council meeting held on 22nd-23rd of March 2005.
During this recent occasion, highlight was placed on the need to re-focus policy priorities on growth and employment, to renew the basis of European competitiveness, to increase EU growth potential and productivity with special emphasis on knowledge, innovation and human capital optimisation.
Furthermore, the third Cohesion Report and the Proposal for the Council Regulations have laid down the general provisions on Structural and Cohesion Funds and have set economic and social development patterns based upon innovation and knowledge. Thereby, the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives have been completely integrated into the EU Cohesion Policy and fully inserted at the top of EU policy agenda.
The event will take place in the form of a Conference, a study visit and a thematic Workshop. The Conference and the study visit are co-financed by the European Commission, DG Regional Policy in the framework of the activities promoted by the ERIK Network.
There are three working sessions: “Innovation and competitiveness in an enlarged European Union”, “Regional policies to foster innovation and successful experiences developed“, “Building strategic alliances for innovation in the enlarged Europe“. The Conference offers the delegates the opportunity of discussing and exchanging good practices concerning regional innovation policies with a specific focus on the analysis of New Member States and Accession Countries constraints and opportunities related to the adoption of a knowledge-based regional profile.
The event will be closed by the IRE Workshop on innovative business incubators with the aim to assert the role of innovative business incubators as important policy tools at European regional level. More specifically, the incisive role of business incubators activities has been widely recognised as contributing to the reconversion of declining industrial areas, the development of clusters of technology-based firms, research commercialisation, job creation and entrepreneurship promotion. These fundamental activities comply to the spirit of Lisbon and entail the commitment to the EU social-economic cohesion and growth goals.
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