REDICT

Regional Economic Development by ICT/New media clusters

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'This proposal brings together 6 regions and clusters (17 partners), which share a strong R&D presence in the field of ICT and New media and the sense that this position has to be exploited for maximal economic and social benefit. They see that the factors that influence the transfer of knowledge to SME’s are complex and often badly understood and want to exchange experiences and best practices to better understand these factors and to make use of them to boost compositeness and economic performance. ICT/New media has been a driver for scientific and economic change in the past. The impact of ICT and new media technologies for the acceleration for productivity growth is commonly recognized. In comparison with other sectors the ICT/New media sector is quite R&D intensive, however a further increase in R&D investments will be crucial for future competitiveness. This project will contribute to the favourable conditions to achieve this. The objective of the project is to map, analyse and exchange all critical issues in the field of ICT/New Media cluster-development in the regions involved, in order to compose the best strategy and related practical Action Plans to strengthen the economic competitiveness, with a clear focus on role and potential of SMEs. The project will assess several existing practices for innovation systems and regional knowledge flow to SMEs, will confront this with a framework of reference and will identify a practical, tailor-made strategy and action-plan for RTD-related measures, which are linked to economic development policies. The results will address five action areas, and will be presented by Joint Action Plans (JAP), a funding strategy, a Business Support Measures Package and guidelines and recommendations for other innovative research-driven clusters.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An in-depth analysis of what makes technology clusters successful will help ensure that Europe's regions develop powerful media and information and communications technology (ICT) clusters to raise competitiveness and stoke the economy.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The field of digital media is rapidly growing and represents an important pillar of the European economy. Most companies in ICT are small, counting on national and EU policies and initiatives, such as the establishment of regional ICT clusters, to flourish.

In this context, the EU-funded project 'Regional economic development by ICT/new media clusters' (REDICT) aimed to advance the emergence of such clusters. The project looked at how to improve the innovation potential of the regions in relation to ICT and digital media. It designed strategies to reinforce the region's competitiveness with particular emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In parallel, REDICT evaluated existing mechanisms used to boost innovation and knowledge flow to SMEs in different regions.

An important project achievement involved the creation of a framework to identify the conditions that make clusters successful. In addition, team members worked on articulating customised strategies and joint action plans to strengthen research and development in the ICT field.

To achieve its aims, the team studied the dynamics of cluster development, focusing on the three stages of incubation, launching and growth. It also looked at why abundant knowledge transfer didn't translate into new products and services. Other key areas examined include manpower planning, business support for SMEs and effective stimulation of knowledge transfer.

Another key part of the project focused on preparing a SWOT analysis of the digital media sector in different regions. It documented strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in detail, highlighting overall conclusions and emphasising best practices that could be emulated in other regions.

Participation in several conferences and the organisation of workshops helped ensure that these valuable findings were disseminated to stakeholders. REDICT workshops were organised in several EU cities, paving the way to enhanced ICT and media clusters that stand to strengthen Europe's knowledge economy considerably. The project's recommendations will help further this ambitious vision.