White Spaces Innovation in Sweden - Innovation policy for ... - Vinnova

WHITE SPACES INNOVATION IN SWEDENmies that became too dependent upon the single sector of financial services and especiallyfinancial securitisation have had catastrophic experiences, the repercussions ofwhich were still being felt years later in the revolutions occurring in North Africa.These and the earlier sovereign debt crises of Greece, Ireland and Iceland and severedownturns in economic activity in many OECD economies were testimony to the occlusionof the neoliberal experiment that lasted from the 1980s to the present day. Europe2020 has been the EU‟s response and appeal to make European Union member-stateeconomies more connected to real-world needs in terms of Sustainability, Energy,Healthcare and Demographic Ageing, the inputs for which demand domestic as well asreduced overseas sourcing that it is hoped will, nevertheless, enhance opportunities forEU businesses to penetrate new overseas markets in Cleantech, Renewable Energy,Sustainable Cities, Efficient Healthcare and various related Digital Applications. Thismeans, to repeat, exploring „white spaces‟ at home to innovate abroad.Östsam Regional Development Agency, ÖstergötlandIn the case of Östsam this means some reflection upon its central idea of market shapingand possibly taking bolder steps to assemble critical mass to engage in „strategic nichemanagement‟ of innovations in areas that hitherto have been largely left alone. Strategicinnovation implies more collective, even collaborative knowledge-sharing and innovationexploration than was the case in the earlier less-regulated regime characterised byglobal free trade and neoliberal „light-touch‟ regulation. A good example is the generallypoor efforts made by governments to secure strong voluntary regulation of ClimateChange influences in the shape of greenhouse gas emissions and associated globalwarming. In brief, more must be done at the lower, faster reaches of the multi-levelcomplex adaptive system scale to speed up the workings of the larger, slower upperreaches of complex system adaptation. One way in which Östsam conceives of this is toface up to its previously sceptical view of their role as cluster-builders and recognisethat, for example, it has a significant Cleantech cluster involved in manufacturing biofuels,biogas reactors and turbines (Siemens, Alstom turbines) and waste-for-power recycling.Linköping supports biogas buses, taxis and car pools with free parking. But becauseÖstsam focused on technology push largely based on academic excellence theGrand Challenges concept of evolving demand-driven innovation platforms was overlooked.This, and disappointing experiences with PEA and HMV technology push hascaused a partial re-think. Reliance largely on big firms to elaborate demand throughtheir value-chains or value-stars for university-initiated innovation has been difficult.Indeed the Triple Helix model itself has been put in question because two-thirds of thepartners can contribute so little on innovation.Accordingly, Östsam and its few clusters have to demonstrate resilience in the faceof such difficulties. As noted, PEA now faces medical and biotechnology as a marketmore than packaging, while HMV after many management turbulences has had to devoteattention to communicating a narrower vision focus in its mission to the market it66