REDICT · Regional Economic Development by ICT/New media clusters

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.