It is quite hard to make a region innovative but even harder to achieve international recognition for it. Our Thematic Network STRINNOP (as part of IRE) aims at strengthening the regional innovation profiles of its member regions by developing a proactive, holistic, and widespread approach. By integrating regional good practice tools and ideas into a common step-by-step model, the STRINNOP approach takes into account the specific framework and individual culture of every region.
Every step of the model reflects main steering wheels which influence the regional innovation system and thus the regional innovation profile.

1. Identification of Regional Competences and Potentials

The regional innovation competences and the regional innovation potentials form the basis for the regional innovation profile. Thus, without any knowledge about the existing innovation strengths of the regional firms and about the technology potentials of the regional research institutions, a region will not be able to form a conclusive innovation profile, let alone being able to strengthen the regional innovation profile.

2. Creation of Regional Knowledge

In addition to other factors, innovation capabilities of regional SMEs benefit from the technology competence and innovation potential of the regional (semi) public R&D and science institutions. Quality and quantity of regional knowledge is an important nutrient for competitive SMEs. If this (semi) public knowledge is missing, the regional decision makers have to foster public R&D in future oriented technologies and to install competence centres and science parks as well as to develop the educational system.

3. Stimulation of Innovation Activities

Innovation is always an active process. But in some cases established SMEs have problems to identify their own innovation potentials because they don’t reflect about themselves and are not aware of possible external help. Thus, to raise awareness about firms’ strength and weaknesses as well as about opportunities of external innovation support are essential tasks for the public innovation supporting infrastructure. This also includes the elaboration of business plans and (pre-) seed activities for potential future entrepreneurs after having identified economically exploitable ideas.

4. Implementation of Firms’ Innovation Activities

Innovative and competitive products are the result of concrete innovation projects covering research & development, financing, and market introduction. Several activities like technology transfer, market research, or project coaching / management should be part of the regional innovation supporting services. Setting up business is also an innovation activity and thus should be supported by e.g. providing infrastructure in form of incubators with associated start-up services.

5. Focus on Regional Strength: Clustering and Networking

Once the regional competences and innovation potentials are identified, complementary regional knowledge is created and individual regional companies are stimulated and accompanied in their innovation activities. All these existing competences and activities should be interlinked in order to gain the maximum of synergy effects on the way to becoming an innovative and competitive region.

6. Internationalisation

To confine themselves to the regional or national market means for innovative companies to miss business and profit on a large scale. On the other hand, only when entering into competition on an international market it becomes obvious if an allegedly innovative product is really innovative and competitive. Because of their limited resources, especially SMEs have to overcome serious obstacles when entering international markets. At this stage, essential support can be provided by helping to find appropriate contacts / partners in the framework of international networks, or by financially supporting the companies in the process of accessing international markets.

7. Marketing of the Regional Innovation Profile, Documentation of Innovation Success

It is quite hard to make a region innovative but even harder to achieve international recognition for it. The presentation of regional innovation competences and innovative products / services as a whole is part of the marketing activities, as well as the dissemination of individual success stories. The regional innovation profile is shaped not only by form and contents of the marketing activities; the general layout and an innovation friendly atmosphere, too, have a huge impact on the regional innovation profile.

8. Coordination of the Regional Innovation Supporting Infrastructure

The regional innovation support is influenced by very different players like technology providers, intermediaries, or financiers. The single actor may be an acknowledged expert in his area, but only when the interplay of all relevant forces is guaranteed the regional innovation support can gain a maximum of efficiency and benefit for the regional SMEs. Thus, the communication between all actors of the regional innovation supporting infrastructure and their coordination is a crucial task within the region.

9. Monitoring and Evaluation of the Regional Innovation Activities

The regional innovation supporting infrastructure is financed by a considerable amount of public money. Public money that should be spend as effectively and efficiently as possible. This is one good reason to monitor and evaluate regional innovation support. Even more important is the knowledge about the success factors and about the impact of innovation activities – a second good reason to monitor and evaluate regional innovation activities in form of evaluation interviews and questionnaires, studies, etc. The results of these surveys allow the refinement and further development of the regional supporting measures according to the SMEs’ needs. They are important steering wheels for the coordination of the regional innovation supporting infrastructure.

10. Financing

Innovation financing is crucial for the regional innovation support, for individual innovation projects, and even for products which might become highly profitable at a later stage. Especially the first STRINNOP steps rely on public money as initiator due to the fact that direct, short term economic return on investment is missing in most cases. Finance can be provided in different forms like loans, non refundable grants, or seed capital / venture capital, and be given to different addressees like individual companies, networks of companies, or innovation supporting infrastructure and intermediaries.