The globalisation processes changed in a short period of time the framework of
the world economy competitiveness and bring new opportunities and challenges.
In this new scenario, the European enterprises can only compete by taking full
advantages of the new opportunity offered by knowledge-based economy. In fact,
Europe cannot compete on the base of reducing labour costs, polluting
environment or overexploiting raw materials. Indeed European economy
productivity and growth should be based on use of frontier technology and
ability to produce high-tech goods, manufactures and services (Lisbon Strategy,
2000). In this perspective, innovation is considered to vital importance, to
have in Europe enterprises able to compete on a global scale and to take fully
advantages of new market opportunities offered by ICT exploitation. EU expect
such a transition will boost fast economic growth, creates better jobs, while
at same time maintains and improve the European welfare model and the
environment protection (Lisbon Strategy, 2000). The thesis wants to compare
innovation policy programs in two Italian regions: Emilia-Romagna and
Friuli-Venezia- Giulia. The proposal of the work is to analyse how the Regional
Innovation Strategy of the two chosen cases were implemented in the last
program period 2000-2006. Which structures have been created? How the money was
allocated? What can we learn from the past? Which opportunities were missed and
what can be done? Are they really innovative? The last part of the thesis is
dedicated to compare the Regional Innovation Strategy of the chosen regions.
Which differences we can detect? What are the similarities between the two
cases? In order to understand this, I will study what characterize an
innovative region and which forces drives innovation in a particular region.
The thesis will be based on Lisbon Strategy (political perspective) as point of
departure to explain the role of innovation and innovation policies as peculiar
importance to European social, economic and environmental development.
Furthermore, regional innovation strategies (policy perspective) will be
discussed to explain how the two chosen European regions have implemented their
strategies to boost their development trough innovation. In particular the
Regional Innovation System theory (theoretical perspective) will be assessed.
The method used is to analyse economic data in the two regions, analysis of
documents from EU, national and regional level, comparative analysis of
innovation policies in EU, national and regional policy documents. Tables and
figures will be prese...
