At the WIRE2010 (Week of Innovative Regions in Europe – http://wire.econgresos.com/), held at 15-17th March in Granada, Spain University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology participated in the Category 3, Connecting Research Centres from all over Europe (REGPOT) with the poster presentation No. 49 entitled: : Unlocking the Croatian Textile Research Potentials.
The event was organized jointly by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Commission, under the auspices of the Spanish EU Council Presidency. The conference focus was on „how to move from synergies of policies to synergies of actions for the optimal use of EU instruments, with the objective of making regions full protagonists in building the knowledge-based society“.
WIRE 2010 was a high level forum for discussion of stakeholder’s good practices and ideas on how to make the best of European, national and regional funding for R&D and innovations and more efficient ways to conduct future actions.
Opening Conference words were held by Montserrat Torne – Director General of International Cooperation and Institutional Relationships, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain and Robert-Jan Smits, Director of European Research Area: research programmes and capacity, DG Research, Innovation and Science.
During the first and following days several Round Tables were held. Their topics were:
- Synergies of action: are they possible?
- Regions of Knowledge: Lessons learnt and next steps
- Clusters: a policy or a tool for a policy?
- Research Potential: Lessons learnt and next steps
- A regional policy for the Outermost regions and REGPOT
- Issues between the RTD, Governance and Instruments
- Coherence between regional, national end EU instruments
- Instruments
- Evaluation and Impact
- Final reports and discussion
REGPOT and REGION programmes (funded under the FP7 Capacities scheme) have crucial role in national and regional funding of R&D and therefore the second day of the Conference was dedicated to these topics in two parallel sections. Within the Conference 70 posters, funded under the FP7 Capacities, REGPOT or REGION scheme were presented.
According to the words of Mikela Landabasoa, head of the Unit Thematic coordination and Innovation of DG for Regional Policy of European Commission, the role of the regional policies should be more stressed and lead to more support for R&D and innovation.
According to Commission’s Communication Europe 2020:A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, EU needs a new strategy, based on an enhanced coordination of economic policies, in order to deliver more growth and jobs. Elements of the new strategy will be formally adapted in June 2010. It will focus on the key areas where action is needed: knowledge and innovation, a more sustainable economy, high employment and social inclusion.
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