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“A network that responds to a complex innovation ecosystem: Knowledge, Innovation and Territory

Platform, a case study”

Josep M. Vilalta, Josep Alías and Alicia Betts

Association of Public Universities of Catalonia

ABSTRACT

It may seem obvious that universities and higher education institutions play a key role in human capital development and innovation systems, as is equally decisive the role that industry plays, as well as the one that public administration has. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon in innovation systems around the globe that there be no joint space where these three actors communicate, discuss and work together for the benefit of the region. As the OECD pointed out in the study “Higher Education and Regions: Globally Competitive and Locally Engaged” (2007), through their research teaching and community engagement, universities can be key actors fostering and supporting regional innovation. However, successful regional cooperation is reliant on the ability of all three key organizational players (universities, government/public authorities and business) to establish strong and feasible partnerships. The Platform for Knowledge, Territory and Innovation (Plataforma CTI) is a strategic project that aims to strengthen the economic and social development of Catalonia (Spain) by working as a cooperation forum for regional innovation. It promotes an interaction and stable cooperation between universities, industry and the government striving for social progress, economic competitiveness and the cultural vitality of the region. This initiative works as a horizontal network that seeks to create the necessary environment and space to allow universities, the industrial and business sector and the public administration to enhance co-operation and long-term dialogue and allow for joint initiatives, discussions and specific actions to be created in the context of regional innovation.

Keywords: innovation, network, university, regional development

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Universities for regional development and innovation

We are witnessing the transformation of the role of state in academia, the role of corporations in innovation and of the university in the economy (Etzkowitz 1983 and 1995). Universities, and higher education institutions in general, play a key role in human capital development and innovation systems in their regions. Higher education institutions are increasingly recognized as being stimulators of the economic and social innovation systems in their region. In addition, there is growing awareness on how universities can contribute to regional innovation through collaboration with business, local and regional governments and other local actors which are closely linked to the concept of the universities’ third mission. Universities are encouraged more and more to fulfill their third mission engagement in the region’s innovation system (Josep M. et al, 2010).

The triple helix model is often used to explain the actors of innovation systems and/or ways of knowledge production. In this model, universities (and other knowledge-producing institutions) acquire prominence, acting in partnership with industry and government and even taking the leadership in joint initiatives in a balanced model (Etzkowitz & Ranga, 2010). At the same time, the government encourages, but does not control, these relationships through its regulatory capacity, financial assistance (like a venture capitalist) and/or via new actors. Finally, industry benefits from this situation as it is easier to establish collaborative R&D projects with knowledge-based institutions providing the opportunity to work with scientists (Josep M et al., 2010). Figure 1 below illustrates the three actors and the way they interact. The places where they overlap is where interaction occurs.

Figure 1 A Triple Helix configuration with negative and positive overlap among the three subsystems by Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff (2012)

The Quadruple Helix Model adds the social dimension, the citizens, society into the equation of actors that interact. The Quadruple Helix type of innovation activity enables a larger variety of innovations than the Triple Helix model does. The Triple Helix type of innovation activity focuses on producing high-tech innovation based on the latest technology and research knowledge. Because of this, the Triple Helix model is considered to lend itself better for science-based high-tech companies than for other kind of businesses while the Quadruple Helix type of innovation activity focuses on producing other kinds of innovations and applying existing technology, research knowledge and user knowledge (Arnkil et al., 2010).

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Figure 2 Regional Innovation System (Tödtling, 2006)

According to Tödling (2006) Higher education institutions can have several roles in regional in innovation systems and clusters of knowledge based economies, such as:

1. “Antenna” for adopting external knowledge and mediator for local knowledge circulation Universities serve as entities that link global knowledge communities, networks and key actors via their activities (research, conferences, seminars, etc.) and serves a variety of different actors in the innovation systems. A well-functioning innovation system requires local circulation of absorbed knowledge through various mechanisms.

2. Source of highly qualified labor The universities traditional mission of teaching is becoming key for knowledge economies as the importance of human capital in knowledge economies is critical. Having a highly skilled labor force is the most powerful mechanism for knowledge transfer.

3. Knowledge provider in university-industry linkages Universities have become important partners innovation partners for industry in knowledge based economies. We find an increasing variety of relationships: R&D contracts, R&D collaborations, innovation partnerships, joint use of facilities, informal knowledge exchange. There is a shift from simple knowledge transfer towards knowledge sharing and interactions (Mode 2 knowledge production).

4. Incubator for academic spin-off companies

A relatively new route for commercialization of academic inventions are the creation

of spin-off companies. In this sense, Europe is clearly behind the US due to many

barriers (i.e. venture capital, incentives, organizational rules, work culture…). Spin-offs

are more frequent in high tech industries and clusters such as ICT or biotech.

The regional dimension of innovation is therefore crucial to promote long term economic

growth and competitiveness. Since universities provide knowledge, human capital and global

connections they are key actors in the process of developing regional specialization strategies

and are key for supporting innovation. Higher education institutions, rather than “ivory

towers” devoted to the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake they are increasingly seen as

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instruments for knowledge based economic development and change by a growing number of

industrial-economy and developing-economy governments. From a regional policy perspective,

this is often put into practice, for example, by the formation of regional partnerships,

stimulation of cluster development, creation of regional attractiveness and multi-sector policy

initiatives (Lindqvist, 2012). Catalonia and its Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform is

an example.

The University-Business collaboration ecosystem According to The State of European University‐Business Cooperation report (Davey et al., 2011) despite there being some exceptions, cooperation between higher education institutions and the business/industrial sector in Europe is still in the early stages of development. Figure 2 is a good illustration of the University-Business cooperation ecosystem that includes the impact, the outcomes and the action levels. Although it only takes into consideration bilateral agreements between institutions and businesses, the ecosystem can be applied to the context of the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform initiative.

Figure 3 The University-Business ecosystem

The report concludes that there is a general movement toward longer-term strategic partnerships between higher education institutions and the business/industrial sector. The report also highlights that despite the efforts from the top level of the higher education institutions to coerce relationships between the sectors, these relationships often begin from a more personal interaction involving a researcher around mutually beneficial topics of interest (Davey & Galán-Muros, 2011). Owing to the importance that university and business relations are taking in the current context, there has been an increase in creating tools and methodologies for university-business partnering. One of these tools is the Stairway Model to Strategic Partnership, developed in 2007 (see figure 3 below). The model proposes an overall strategy for managing

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cooperation with business centered on the principle that cooperation between universities and businesses are at one of the stages of development. For each stage there is a corresponding set of strategies and actions (Davey & Galán-Muros, 2011).

Figure 4 The Stairway Model to Strategic Partnership

This model is focused on relationships between one university and a specific business/company. The Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform has a different approach since it gathers a set of companies that represent the business sector and a group of university institutions. Despite the different approach, this model can be useful to understand how institutional ties become tighter and more strategic involving, on each side, more senior representatives at higher management levels, e.g. at the strategic partnership stage, a president on behalf of the HEI and a CEO on behalf of the business as time passes and the relationship intensifies and consolidates (Davey et al., 2011).

Context of the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform

The European context With this said, and now looking at the context of the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform, at a European policy level, first the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, then the Modernisation Agenda for Higher Education, and now the EU2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth have focused their attention on the need to strengthen the ‘knowledge triangle’ of research, innovation and education: “Knowledge is the engine for sustainable growth. In a fast-changing world, what makes the difference is education and research, innovation and creativity” (European Commission, 2009). This policy focus encompasses improving the quality of education, strengthening research performance, and fostering innovation and technology transfer throughout the European Union.

To implement the Europe 2020 strategy, the EU flagship initiative Innovation Union and Regional Policy Contributing to Smart Growth in Europe 2020 launched the concept of smart specialization which supports interaction between policymakers, the business sector, higher education and research institutions at the European level, as well as at the national and regional levels.

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According to Innovation Union, the biggest challenge for the EU and its member states is to adopt a more strategic approach to innovation, whereby innovation becomes an overarching policy objective (Lindqvist, 2012). The aim of the Innovation Union is to:

- make Europe into a world-class science performer; - remove obstacles to innovation – like expensive patenting, market fragmentation,

slow standard-setting and skills shortages – which currently prevent ideas getting quickly to market; and

- revolutionize the way public and private sectors work together, notably through Innovation Partnerships between the European institutions, national and regional authorities and business.

To maximize the effectiveness of universities in contributing to regional growth, at an European level, the Directorate General for Regional Policy has prepared a guide “Connecting Universities to Regional Growth: A Practical Guide” that provides an analysis of their possible role and presents a range of delivery mechanisms. It explores how to overcome barriers, to build capacity and to implement partnerships and leadership processes to interconnect the partners in regional innovation systems. The European Union has adopted the Open Innovation theory as one of the important components for the implementation of the foreseen European Innovation System. Also, according to this theory all stakeholders need to be involved in a Quadruple helix innovation model. This model outlines user-oriented innovation models and can create the seamless interaction and mash-up for ideas needed in (regional) innovation ecosystems. Open Innovation takes full advantage of the cross-fertilization of ideas and drives for experimentation and prototyping in real world, to speed up and increase the potential for innovation. It is a catalytic, positive approach for innovation which helps solving key European challenges by embracing change (Digital Agenda for Europe, 2013).

According to the Open Innovation 2.0 promoted by the European Commission there are 5 key elements in the new innovation process:

- Networking - Collaboration involving partners, competitors, universities, and users; - Corporate Entrepreneurship, enhancing corporate venturing, start-ups and spin-offs; - Proactive Intellectual Property Management: to create markets for technology; and - Research and Development (R&D): to achieve competitive advantages in the market.

The starting point is the Quadruple Helix innovation model which involves institutional bodies, the research sphere, the business sector, and citizens in the process. This new generation of open innovation aims at leading to a stronger economic impact and better user experience in Europe. In this context, universities are seen as suppliers and employers, becoming strategic organizations with a high impact on regional economy.

The Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform is, as will be explained in more detail in the coming sections, an example of Open Innovation aiming at creating the space for cross-fertilization of ideas and increasing the potential for the innovation system in Catalonia.

The context in Catalonia Catalonia has 7.5 million inhabitants (similar to Switzerland or Denmark), a strong distinct national and cultural identity and a language of its own. It is a very entrepreneurial society and tops all Spanish regions contribution to GDP with almost 19% in 2013, followed by Madrid (18%) and Andalusia (13,5%). This contribution is significant given Catalonia has 16% of the

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Spanish population and holding a GDP of around 27.000€ per capita, over the Spanish average. Catalonia, together with Madrid and Andalusia, contribute to more than half of the Spanish GDP. Business structure of the Catalan economy is, as most western economies, dominated by service sector (around 65% contribution to GDP), industry (around 20%), construction (around 8%) and agriculture (around 2%). Catalonia has more than 600.000 businesses, out of which 99% are SMEs. Almost 50% of these SMEs are micro-SMEs with less than 10 employees, 70% of the Catalan workforce is employed in these SMEs. The industrial tradition has led to a diversified industrial base, concentrated in medium-low and medium-high technology sectors. Industry accounts for 19% of the Catalan GDP and has a workforce of 542.000 professionals. The industrial sector is also based 99% on SMEs. While Catalonia is not always the top-performing region in Spain on several innovation-related indicators, given its size it accounts for a large share of Spain’s innovation activity and resources (OECD, 2010). Catalonia is responsible for 21% of Spanish research and development (R&D) investment and 33.7% of its patents. Catalonia contains 22.5% of Spain’s innovative firms, a far greater share than other regions, the next highest shares being Madrid (15.6%) and Andalusia (15%) (OECD, 2010). The main weaknesses are related to regulatory issues and rigidities with respect to universities and long-term researcher mobility, the fragmentation of public action (within Catalonia and in co-ordination with programs from other levels of government), and the lack of innovation culture, as manifested in the lower patenting rates and R&D intensity relative to other leading regions. Nevertheless, given its scale and performance, Catalonia is often the largest or second largest recipient region of R&D and innovation- related programs. Among the region‘s main strengths are its strong research infrastructure and regional attractiveness. Regarding the human capital structure, Catalan population is distributed as follows: 47% has primary (compulsory) education, 22% with secondary education and 31% holds a higher education level. Nevertheless, unemployment rates in Catalonia are slightly over 20% and over 40% among young people from 16 to 24. Even though Catalans with postsecondary education are less affected by unemployment (11%), it is more than twice the OCDE average (5%). Long-term unemployment already affects half of the unemployed. Whilst Catalan economy has strength in its exports (25,3% of Spanish exports and more over 14.000 businesses regularly export), the main concern in the Catalan economy for more than 15 years now is the need to foster productivity, efficiency and results. This has led to a focus on public policies that encourage human capital, research and innovation efforts for the benefit of the economy. Needless to say, the last 6 years of financial and economic turmoil have strongly hit the Catalan economy and public institutions budget’s, specially those focused on fostering and stimulating innovation. Catalonia has a long tradition of active regional government policies to promote its innovation system, even before Spain’s integration in the European Union in 1986. The innovation policy approach has been influenced by many factors such as the European Union policies, the devolution of competences from the national government to the regions, the political and governance context within Catalonia itself and an increasing recognition of the impacts of research and innovation for the economic development, competitiveness and well-being. Catalonia’s science and innovation policy over the last two decades has been focused mainly on improving public research (part of the knowledge generation sub-system). The strategy has

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followed an academic path given the dominance of academic and research institutions in the policies and funding. Over time, the region has had successive research plans that have focused on providing funding for universities and research centers to incentivize research and innovation. The first plans focused only on research (1993-96, 1997-2000). From 2001-04, both research and innovation plans were developed. The 2005-08 Plan was the first to include and combine science, technology and innovation support in one plan and integrate both supply and demand side policies. The Catalan innovation system has a wide range of innovation actors, many of them created in the last few years. The Catalan government has provided the necessary support for the creation of most of these organizations, in some cases to get round rigidities in the current higher education system. Other entities have been created with a variety of external financing resources. The multi-level governance framework, with Spanish, Catalan and local actors, as well as the European Union, is another factor that contributes to the wide range of actors related to innovation. Catalan policy for research and innovation has developed with a goal to maximize resources from Spanish and European levels through the competitiveness of its research assets. Although to a large extent the strategy has focused on research centres outside universities, the approach in Catalonia has also benefited some universities who have been able to generate the capacity to apply for such funds. EU research funding sources continue to increase, however, Spanish funding sources, which had grown considerably in the last years, are under pressure due to the economic crisis and the recent funding cuts. The outputs of these efforts have proven excellent in terms of research results but not so good in terms of innovation. This fact, and the analysis of its causes, influences the creation of the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform. On the one hand, the system of universities and research centers are placed in the fourth position in terms of fundraising of the 7th Research Framework Programme, and Catalonia has positioned fourth in the highly competitive grants from the European Research Council. Another example is the production of research papers: Catalonia, with a 1,6% of European population, produces 3% of European papers. On the other hand, in terms of innovation, the Innovation Union Scoreboard ranked Catalonia 103th in 2010 dropping to 142th position in 2013, of a total of 262 European regions. This is especially due to the alarming stagnation, if not a decline, of the public support for innovation for companies. Current transfers and investment in universities are also experiencing a serious decline. But it has also to do with structural issues, such as regulation and rigidity of the current university system. For instance, the professional career at the university is based upon results of research, but collaboration with business in innovation projects is not considered. The ministry that administers most of the funding for research and innovation is the Ministry of Economy and Knowledge (formerly Ministry of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise. This ministry accounted for more than 68% of R&D and innovation related spending in Catalonia. Under the ministry level, there are several public entities that play an important implementation role in R&D and innovation. Among them:

ACC1Ó: The result of the merger of the former Centre for Innovation and Business Development (CIDEM) and the Consortium for Commercial Promotion of Catalonia (COPCA) which were created in the 1980s. ACC1Ó is the main agency for supporting business development.

Talència: this organisation has integrated a whole set of funding measures in research and scientific talent attraction in Catalonia. Until now, these measures were shared between the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI) and the Catalan Institution for

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Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). ICREA focuses exclusively on talent (researcher) attraction and has been a very successful initiative so far.

The Catalan government has sponsored the creation of a series of independent research centres in the last several years as a vehicle to strengthen the region’s research capabilities. These centres are not controlled by the universities, although they involve one or more Catalan universities as well as other entities. The independence of the centres is reinforced by their own legal status, a private management model with external scientific committees, a talent-based recruitment policy allowing for dynamic human resource policies, and sufficient structural funding and investment in scientific equipment from the regional government. These centres are considered a major contribution to the research and innovation performance in Catalonia. The results of the Catalan R+D system are specially outstanding bearing in mind that the investment in R+D/GDP ratio is 1,68, far from the Lisbon strategy goal of attaining 3% and far from other reference European regions and countries such as Baden-Württemberg (4,3%) or Finland (3,7%). A small comment must also be said on the investment in human capital, another basic element of an innovation system. Catalan Government investment in public universities is slightly below 800 million €, after diminishing for the last few years. Not surprisingly, Spanish overall investment in education is 4,7% of the GDP (and descending), while Denmark assigns 7,8% of their GDP.

Efforts to consolidate an innovation system Catalan government has produced three research plans (1993-96, 1997-2000) and to research and innovation plans (2001-04, 2005-08). In 2008 the Catalan Agreement on Research Innovation (CARI) was signed and published. The process to develop this agreement actively involved universities in its development. Universities were therefore signatories to the agreement, along with the three political parties in parliament, trade unions and employer associations. The CARI sets the vision through 2020 of what the region should do through a series of 131 commitments. Many of these commitments explicitly engage universities to work towards the objectives set for addressing each of the eight challenges. This agreement sets a precedent for more active dialogue and clarity with regard to the university role in knowledge production, and increasingly, technology transfer. The process helped to build consensus on a vision. The last research plan, the Catalan Research and Innovation Plan 2010-13, is the instrument to implement the CARI priorities. The CARI indicates an increasing need for all public research actors to be held accountable to higher standards as well as to orient part of their research towards regional needs. The plan also promotes a broader view of innovation - including the role of social sciences and the public sector. It also advocates a greater territorial approach, including seven sub-regions within Catalonia. The next Catalan Research and Innovation Plan 2014-2020 (or Catalunya 2020) will be built upon the results of the ongoing RIS3 (Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation) process and the ECAT 2020 (Estratègia Catalunya 2020). The latter aims at establishing the tools for a long-term performance of the competitiveness of the Catalan economy and employment. ECAT 2020, inspired by the Europe 2020 Strategy, intends to define the roadmap to economy recovery preserving the social cohesion model.

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Another important actor in the innovation context in Catalonia is the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP). The eight public universities of Catalonia associated as a university cooperation that arises as a response to the massification of higher education in the last two decades and the increasing international competition of the higher education sector. In 2008, ACUP presented the White Paper of the University of Catalonia. This White Paper expresses the vision that the Catalan public universities have on their role in and for the Catalan society and is meant to be an objective in itself. The White Paper consists of eleven chapters, 64 strategies and 73 projects to achieve the goals outlined. The rationale behind the White Paper for the University of Catalonia is, according to ACUP, the call upon universities to play a pivotal strategic role in the changing of society and the knowledge economy through three main channels: university education, scientific research, innovation and social progress, and last but not least, collective welfare and competitiveness (ACUP, 2008). This new model proposes that the university should be research-intensive and stand at the heart of the scientific, technological and cultural system. All in all, the efforts to consolidate an innovation model has gone along with the need to find a governance model of the innovation ecosystem. This shows very complex in the Catalan context:

Figure 5 R+D+i system in Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2010)

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The Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform

Thus, the economic and social context has led in the past few years to an increasing

participation of higher education institutions in society. This, in turn is due, on the one hand,

to an urgent necessity for new resources as traditional income sources have been diminishing,

and, on the other hand, it is also related to the assumption that higher education institutions

need to enlarge their role in the economic and society spheres. All in all, we might be

witnessing a changing paradigm in the Catalan university system.

This turn is expressed in different ways. At this point we will focus on the efforts to consolidate

an informal structure to bring businesses and universities closer for the benefit of society

called the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform (Plataforma Coneixement, Territori i

Innovació).

First, we should look at the genesis of the Platform for Knowledge, Territory and Innovation. As

stated above, university rectors created the ACUP in 2002 with the aim of being the voice of

the universities of Catalonia and combining efforts to promote initiatives, programs and joint

projects with the aim of improving the university system. In 2008 the Presidents of the each

public university Boards of Trustees – Consell Social - (an external advisory board to the

university representing civil society organizations) were added at the ACUP´s General

Assembly.

The creation of the ACUP is in itself a part of this changing paradigm as the need to collaborate

between universities and society organization became a necessity. Overtime, the role of the

ACUP has increasing specially in two areas: the promotion of the Catalan universities

internationally and the analysis and dissemination of the impact of university activity on

society and the economy of Catalonia.

In 2009, the ACUP collaborated in the “OCDE - Higher Education in Regional and City

Development. The Autonomous Region of Catalonia”1. Among other recommendations

proposed by the OECD advisors, there was a simple though astounding conclusion: there was a

need to set up a permanent organized space to foster interaction and collaboration between

businesses and universities to foster social progress, economic competitiveness and the

cultural vitality of the region. The overall idea was that such interactions would highly enhance

the creation of coherent system wide policies and initiatives.

Much is being done in Catalonia presently to overcome economic restrictions and to foster competitiveness. Initiatives such as clustering, smart specialization, concentration (facilities and institutions), etc. The Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform initiative places itself in this dynamic system by connecting the university-business-administration and seeks synergies with other organizations and initiatives. The thesis is that much more can be done in order to transfer the high position of higher education institutions, in terms of research, to the productive fabric. As seen before, the innovation performance of Catalonia lags far behind in research performance.

The founders of this platform have the conviction that overcoming the current crisis and the formation of a new social and economic scenario will largely depend on the level and characteristics of the collaboration between the three major players in the region: industry and business, universities and public administration. This initiative arises, therefore, at a

1 For full report see: http://www.acup.cat/estudi-ocde

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critical time because the strategies for growth and development made during the ‘good’ economic years have faded along with the budgets that made it possible. We know that this crisis is changing the economic model although we do not know which will be the next one, but it will certainly require a change of culture and a more social approach by the economy. In this sense, the Platform provides the ability to think and act on a social and economic long-term strategy for Catalonia.

The Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform has three main objectives: 1. To promote economic activity and knowledge-intensive innovation; 2. Encourage the exchange of ideas, discussions and to enhance the creation of projects

between universities, companies and public institutions; 3. To generate initiatives and projects strongly rooted in the needs of Catalonia based on

knowledge and innovation. The Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform is promoted by the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP), the two main employer associations (Foment del Treball Nacional and PIMEC) and has the support of some of the main organizations in Catalonia, both businesses and institutions. The Government of Catalonia holds a collaborative role.

It was officially launched in March 2012 with the first edition of the Jornades Catalunya Futura – a conference organized for a restricted and by invitation-only group of representatives from the industry and business sector, the Rectors and Presidents of Social Councils of the public universities of Catalonia and the invited speakers. The conference ended with the presentation of the Declaration of Poblet which the participants had elaborated during the conference to the President of the Government of Catalonia.

Since then the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform has engaged in a number of

projects and actions that include an international seminar on Knowledge and Innovation, a

series of conferences on knowledge and innovation and is preparing several projects among

which is a pilot project to connect the needs for innovation of specific companies to the

expertise of the member universities.

The methodology and working approach for the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform

is based on a theme every year that focuses on the links between university and businesses.

The Jornades Catalunya Futura proposes various approaches to the year theme (first year was

innovation uptake by firms, and the second year was “labor market and human capital”), so

the participants can start discussion and elaborate a list of goals, based on consensus upon

basic issues, that can be achieved through cooperative initiative among business and

universities.

Thus, Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform activities are two folded: on the one hand,

it organizes debates and thinking activities to encourage innovative thinking from a

cooperation point of view. On the other hand, the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation

Platform take over its member consensus approaches in order to turn them into strategic and

collaborative projects.

The first sphere of activities include benchmarking, seminars and participation in other forums.

These activities aim at providing a heterodox and cross-boundary landing to the traditional

debate of university-business cooperation. This includes tackling issues such as dual vocational

training, industrial Phd, corporate responsibility at the university and business, etc.

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In the second group of activities, the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform promotes

and leads strategic projects affecting the whole innovative Catalan system. For instance, the

set up of an online tool to assist companies when seeking knowledge from university research,

or supporting corporate venture between university spin-off and large firms. In this set of

activities, the Knowledge, Territory and Innovation Platform embraces actions to ensure the

participation in the RIS3 process for Catalonia, deploys resources for improving managerial and

entrepreneurial skills among university students, collects and disseminates case studies of

research cooperation between university and firms, etc.

Conclusion

All along this paper we have tried to show a case study on what is being done in order to

enhance an innovative ecosystem for the sake of economic growth and social development.

Albeit the Platform for Knowledge, Territory and Innovation is a young initiative, it has proved

to be a very useful tool to become a spearhead to consolidate an innovative ecosystem. This

effort is somehow based in the theoretical frameworks exposed in the first part of the paper.

To sum up, the Platform for Knowledge, Territory and Innovation is reinforcing the third role of

the university and bringing all the actors of the innovative system under a single roof. And,

since this effort has been launched by the Catalan public university system, we aim at scaling

up the university-business cooperation to achieve strategic partnerships.

The Platform for Knowledge, Territory and Innovation envisions a new paradigm on the

university and business link in the Catalan and Spanish context at the forefront of an

innovation ecosystem. The Catalan and Spanish innovation systems have been traditionally

based on two distant silos due to the social and historical context. In the last decades, thanks

to the European research policies, collaboration between the two spheres has dramatically

grown. But the Platform for Knowledge, Territory and Innovation is an expression that much

more can be done to increase productivity when bringing university outputs to businesses, and

to foster the “enterprenurial university”.

This new paradigm is based on several a priorities:

The need to consider every field of the university-business cooperation (project

research cooperation, knowledge transfer, human capital training…) separately.

Although all these fields and the overall relationship between university and

businesses cannot be untied, debate and analysis as isolated concepts can help to

reach consensus and common initiatives to be put into place.

Other regions efforts to consolidate the innovation ecosystem are very useful as a

benchmarking tool but cannot be imported. The Platform for Knowledge, Territory and

Innovation uses the analysis of best practices in order to enlighten the debate and try

to search for solutions.

This new paradigm is being built upon the reflection and analysis of the actual

situation of the members as well as their participation in the process of definition.

Thus, it is a live process where new data and insights help to enrich and design new

activities. For instance, evidence from best practices and studies on the impact of

Research and Innovation of Catalan Public Universities show the importance of former

university researchers now being in charge of R+D departments in private firms in

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order to engage cooperation research projects with university research groups. This

evidence may lead universities to reconnect with these professionals to explore new

opportunities.

Nevertheless, the process to shape the Platform for Knowledge, Territory and Innovation is not

exempt of challenges and difficulties. This is a long-term approach due to the difficulty to align

so many actors in a complex ecosystem, all of them with their own internal procedures,

context, history and goals, in difficult times for all of them. This proves specially challenging in

terms of goals settings and managing member expectations. Strategies to tackle challenges

have proved effective thanks to university system leadership and consistency base on

consensus upon few basic goals.

It is our belief that the culture of cooperation is here to stay. There is a belief of its need, there

is a shared diagnosis and we are working to consolidate a long-term model that brings all

actors together to implement the tools to make the model possible.

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