Poly4EmI

Submitted by Alina Danieles… on 30 June 2016

Targeting structural change from a polymer to a biopolymer based industry, Poly4EmI project plans to develop a joint platform of regional clusters to promote new business solutions stemming from the use and transformative power of advanced polymer materials and technologies. Emerging biopolymer sectors show strong potential in the fields of medical devices, renewable sources based on biomass, agriculture, food production and packaging.

Information on the project

Poly4EmI [poli-for-emi] – Polymers for Emerging Industries

Programme: Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP)

Call identifier: Clusters and Entrepreneurship in support of Emerging Industries (64/G/ENT/CIP/13/C/N04C02)

Project full name: Polymers for Emerging Industries

Acronym: Poly4EmI [poli-for-emi]

Duration: February 2014 until May 2016

Consortium composition:

Participant No

Participant Organisation Name

Country

1 (Coordinator)

Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (MIZS)

Slovenia

2

Centre of Excelence Polymers and Polymer Technologies (Polimat)

Slovenia

3

Polymer Competence Centre Leoben (PCCL)

Austria

4

Automotive Cluster of Slovenia (ACS)

Slovenia

5

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (CCIS)

Slovenia

Objectives

The Poly4EmI project addresses the challenges of Slovenia's innovation policy through developing a new policy model for a more systemic approach to stimulating the transformation of the industrial structure, based on cross-cutting technologies.

The aim of the project is to develop a joint platform of existing regional clusters to promote entrepreneurship and the application of new business solutions. The platform will be based on the use of advanced polymer materials and technologies as they hold great potential to fundamentally change the industrial structure and lead to globally competitive industries in Europe. The platform will be designed to promote cross-sectoral spillovers that foster the development of emerging industries and will provide opportunities for mutual, national and international learning.

The strategic objective of the project is to reshape existing and create new value chains based on the transformative power of advanced polymer materials. By strengthening the competitiveness of the industry and promoting the creation and growth of innovative SMEs, the project will contribute to job creation, higher resource efficiency and a better quality of life.

Specific objectives of the project are to:

- enforce mutual transnational policy learning on how to better execute regional policy and implement

instruments to support entrepreneurship in the emerging biopolymer industry in Slovenia through clusters;

- enhance cluster collaboration and networking to stimulate cross-sectoral and transnational cooperation as a driver for radical innovation based on cross-cutting issues;

- strengthening entrepreneurial support activities to shape a fertile environment that will support implementation of new business opportunities and help further develop and strengthen the biopolymer industry.

Sectoral/industrial focus:

Advanced polymer materials and technologies are identified as one of the most important fields, presenting one of the key technologies most relevant to the regional economy, with the highest cross-cutting effect on the most industrial sectors. Major sectors linked to polymers represent 70 % of the total industrial export and more then 2/3 of overall business investment.

A sustainable growth of the biopolymer industry requires a dedicated and balanced approach addressing specific common research and innovation challenges, while integrating and demonstrating cooperation between stakeholders over different disciplines and value chains. Mastering biopolymers transformative power (as raw material and advanced material) means being at the forefront of managing structural change from polymer to biopolymer based industry and strong contribution to the development of bio- based industry in Europe. It is a complex challenge, which apply systemic approach, commitment of regional national policy makers, drivers of industrial change, different industry and clusters to facilitate cross-sectoral spillovers, SMEs and entrepreneurs to explore radically new business solution.

Executive Summary

Targeting structural change from a polymer to a biopolymer based industry, Poly4EmI project plans to develop a joint platform of regional clusters to promote new business solutions stemming from the use and transformative power of advanced polymer materials and technologies. Emerging biopolymer sectors show strong potential in the fields of medical devices, renewable sources based on biomass, agriculture, food production and packaging.

Poly4EmI has implemented several important activities during its project duration (February 2014 – May 2016), such as:

- transnational policy learning: Stress Test and Peer Review of innovation policy,

- foresight and roadmapping analysis (done by Austrian partner PCCL),

- benchmarking according to the ESCA (European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis) approach,

- the open collaboration space: a platform in which clusters, research organisations, SMEs as well as industry actively participated in a form of focused workshops for developing cross-sectoral matchmaking and biopolymer related projects, and

- Call for Proposals (Poly4EmI voucher scheme), Challenge call and COINVEST.

As part of the transnational policy learning, the most notable exercises were two rounds of Stress Test and Peer Review. In the first round, the project consortium carried out a Stress test and Peer Review among 5 selected regions (Bavaria, Lower Austria, Saxony-Anhalt, Flanders) in Europe with a well developed cluster policy in the field of bio-economy. The second round was done among CIP partner projects and resulted in comparative analysis of supporting emerging industries in these partnering regions.

Furthermore, to shed greater light on the capacity and readiness of Slovenian cluster organizations in the development of an emerging industry, benchmarking of cluster organizations was conducted among 6 cluster organisations (ACS, Polimat, CO NOT, TECES, COBIK and ICT Technology Network), according to the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) approach.

By identifying potential partners from Slovenia and Europe for future cluster collaborations and networking, an objective to establish an empirical basis on key areas and dynamics in the field of biopolymers in Slovenia, Europe and globally was set. The roadmapping and foresight results that were gained by establishing such a basis were essential for discussing, mapping and analysing value chains.

The consortium also actively engaged with SMEs by organising focused workshops within the open collaboration space of the project. The open collaboration space enabled Poly4EmI to be a strategic partner of a joint investment platform (CO INVEST) where startups were also encouraged to submit projects in the field of bio-based technologies and materials.

All in all, the final result of the project was the award of 25 vouchers to SMEs and startups working in the field of bioeconomy - through a specific call (Poly4EmI voucher scheme), carried out by Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through CO INVEST platform and a specific Challenge Call.

Expected results:

- Strength & Weaknesses Report: status of framework conditions and support measures

- commitment to support the strategy development process by critical mass of actors

- Stress Test Tool developed and implemented with at least 5 peer regions

- 2-days peer assessment with three peer regions conducted

- Outcome and impact assessment approach

- 3 road mapping and foresight exercises conducted

- 5 new value chains mapped, analyzed and identified, incl. key actors (value chain mapping report)

- Short list of 50 key actors (and respective clusters) from areas identified during value chain analyses and road mapping

- 10 different tools for initiating cross-sectoral cooperation within an open collaboration space

- 300 cooperation partners and stakeholders from different European regions matched and brought together within 10 focus discussions, workshops and other events

- 25 concrete cross-sectoral cooperation projects in different application sectors stimulated, validated and initiated

- Results of the matchmaking events presented at the stakeholder’s conference and prizes awarded to the best

- Review and validation of the efficiency of the implemented open space collaboration tools with other selected Model regions and international experts

- Benchmarking and action plan for improving actions of the participating clusters

- Improved cluster's management excellence

- Increased capacity of participating clusters for implementing new business support services

- "Good Practice Guide on Cluster Policy Excellence for Structural Change in Emerging Industries"

- key innovation barriers in biopolymer industries identified

- 10 new business support services designed and tested

- Voucher system designed, validated and implemented for at least one target group (innovation vouchers for SME involved in cross-sectoral innovation projects, preferably 20 vouchers issued)

- 10 transnational cooperation between clusters from the biopolymer or adjacent industries concluded

Events organized by the project:

- presentation to the Slovenian industry representatives on 14 April 2014 at MIZS,

- presentation to the Slovenian Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy on 18 April 2014 at MIZS,

- exchange visit to support and facilitate the cooperation between Slovenia and Emilia-Romagna, Climate KIC-RIS project (leaded by ASTER Bologna), in connection with international exhibition ECOMONDO, Rimini, November 2014,

- benchmarking of clusters, 4 December 2014 at ACS

- 1st Poly4EmI forum with involvement of several different types of stakeholders at CCIS on 11 December 2014,

- Consultation on the role of cluster facilitated instruments in Ljubljana (MIZŠ), 17 March 2015,

- Poly4EmI workshop on Advanced packaging (Ljubljana, MIZS), 10 June 2015, followed by focused workshops end of August and beginning of September 2015 at CCIS (open collaboration space),

- Poly4EmI R2B meetings and conference: Innovation Day and 8th International conference on Technology Transfer, Brdo pri Kranju, 16 September 2015

- Poly4EmI-BeWiser Joint Workshop “Towards Cluster Policy Excellence”, 11 February 2016 at MIZS

- Poly4EmI project final event on 22 April 2016 at CCIS

- Info Day BBI JU on 13 June 2016 at CCIS

- individual meetings with SMEs.

Coordinator contact details

Name: Luka Živić

Organisation and position: Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (MIZS), Senior Advisor Address: Masarykova 16, 1000 Ljubljana Phone number: +386 1 478 47 56 Email: infopoly [at] poly4emi.eu, luka.zivic [at] gov.si

Website: www.poly4emi.eu

Highlights:

  • Number, quality and expected impact of the new concepts, methods and tools developed and tested in the project:

The defined impact indicators include:

- contribution to the emergence of a new biopolymer based industry in Slovenia (job creation, competiveness of industry strengthened),

- new policy approach: a defined smart specialization strategy, new and advanced policy mix programs, number of partners involved in European policy development initiatives,

- cluster excellence: number of new partners/industries in clusters, new business support services/tools,

- increased innovation capacity of the economy: share of businesses introducing innovation related to resource efficiency; share of new for business and new for market products; added value per employee and

- Increased inflow and growth of innovative SMEs: number of new businesses; number of fast growing technology intensive SMEs, number of businesses created in emerging sustainable industries.

On the level of national policy makers, the capabilities for effective policy design and the implementation of the Smart specialization strategy will be improved which will contribute to an increased overall innovation capacity of the economy, higher added value and new jobs. The project shall importantly contribute to the awareness that radical innovation happens on the borderline between different technologies and industries and thus requires framework conditions that stimulate cross- sectoral cooperation and the creation of new value chains. Providing an opportunity for mutual learning and developing a new policy model, it will contribute to a better understanding of the needs and effectiveness of policy measures and thus a more systemic approach. The policy governance structure will be improved and knowledge and experiences in operating in an open space will be gained.

On the level of industry and clusters, the project will serve as a test bed for the development of policy in the field most relevant to the national economy, with the highest cross-cutting effect in the most important industrial sectors and a high leverage effect. Major sectors linked to polymer materials and technologies represent 70% of the industrial export and more than 2/3 of the overall business investment in R&D in Slovenia. Poly4EmI will contribute essentially to the enhancement of the overall technological and service competencies of the country and to the rejuvenation of existing and creation of new value chains, with competiveness being improved overall.

An important part of the project is dedicated to strengthening the role and capabilities of the participating clusters and networks with the objective to develop new skills for the implementation of the systemic approach and optimize the support for the development of emerging industries, thus allowing these clusters and networks to attain a new role in policy design and implementation.

On the level of SMEs and entrepreneurs, key constraints for establishment and growth of innovative SMEs lie in their access to knowledge and resources to enter the market. SMEs will gain the capabilities to enter value chains, to validate their innovations and acquire resources necessary for their implementation.

  • Number of SMEs benefitting from participation: 
  • Additional public and private funds mobilized in support of emerging industries: