Catalan Agreement On Research and Innovation

Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation
October 21st, 2008
Government of Catalonia. Ministry of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise 3th edition: January 2009 Legal Deposit: B-51144-08 Design and layout: Icnica, www.iconica.cat For further information on the process for the Agreement, reference documentation and participation processes visit: http://www.gencat.net/diue/departament/CARI/index_en.html
From left to right, top row: Josep Maria Pujol, Josep Vilarasau, Ramon Roca, Leopoldo Rods, Joaquim Boixareu, Joaquim Coello, Nria Basi, Albert Bou, ngel Cunillera, Josep M. Vila dAbadal and Llus Comas Martnez. From left to right, centre row: Josep Argem, Josep Llads, Joan Vias, Esther Gimnez-Salinas, Antoni Gir, Josep Samitier, Llus Ferrer, Josep Joan Moreso, Anna M. Geli, Francesc Xavier Grau, Assumpta Fargas and Josep Maria Alsina. From left to right, bottom row: Jose M lvarez, Jaume Bosch i Mestres, Joan Puigcercs, Artur Mas, Josep Llus Carod-Rovira, Jos Montilla, Josep Huguet, Manuela de Madre, Alcia Snchez-Camacho, Joan Rosell and Josep Gonzlez.
Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation After a long coordination process, the Government of Catalonia and representatives from all the universities, parliamentary groups and the main business organisations and trade unions sign the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation. This Agreement has brought into existence an initiative, reached by consensus, to make Catalonia a leading country in research and innovation in order to guarantee high levels of productivity, quality employment and an advanced and cohesive society of wellbeing that lives within environmentally sustainable limits. To have available the best scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial talent and to maintain an elevated capacity for generating and valuing cutting-edge knowledge; to systematically innovate as a foundation for productive activity and public and social action; to think, be and act globally in research and innovation; and to ensure that the Catalan society be infused with science, technology and innovation are the five strategic challenges outlined in the Agreement. To facilitate that these challenges be met, it is necessary to focus on and prioritise research and innovation, to adopt a governance of the research and innovation system that is intelligent, efficient and effective and to make more and better investments in research and innovation in the public and private sector; three motor challenges in which we the signatories also share and which we want to answer to through the commitments established in the Agreement. We the undersigned commit ourselves to fulfilling the objectives of the Agreement and to monitoring, via a Steering Committee, the execution and evaluation of the measures agreed upon. Palace of the Government of Catalonia. Barcelona, 21 October 2008.
Most Honourable Mr. Jos Montilla i Aguilera President of the Government of Catalonia Honourable Mr. Josep Huguet i Biosca Minister of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise
Universities Mr. Josep Samitier Mart Rector of the University of Barcelona (UB) Mr. Llus Ferrer i Caubet Rector of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) Mr. Antoni Gir Roca Rector of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia Mr. Josep Joan Moreso i Mateos Rector of Pompeu Fabra University Mrs. Anna M. Geli Ciurana Rector of the University of Girona Mr. Joan Vias i Salas Rector of the University of Lleida With the support of the presidents of the Social Councils: Mr. Joaquim Coello i Brufau (UB), Mrs. Rosa Cullell i Muniesa (UAB), Mr. Joaquim Boixareu Antol (UPC), Mrs. Nria Basi Mor (UPF), Mr. Albert Bou Vilanova (UdG), Mr. Ramon Roca Enrich (UdL)
Universities Mr. Francesc Xavier Grau Vidal Rector of Rovira i Virgili University Mr. Josep Maria Alsina Roca Rector of CEU Abat Oliba University Mr. Josep Argem i Renom Rector of the International University of Catalonia Mrs. Assumpta Fargas i Riera Rector of the University of Vic Mr. Josep Llads Maslloren Representing the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) Mrs. Esther Gimnez-Salinas Colomer Rector of Ramon Llull University With the support of the presidents of the Social Councils: Mr. ngel Cunillera i Zrate (URV), and of the presidents of the Board of Trustees: Mr. Llus Comas Martnez (as representation, UAO), Mr. Josep Maria Pujol Artigas (UIC), Illustrious Mr. Josep M. Vila dAbadal (UViC), Mr. Josep Vilarasau Salat (UOC), Mr. Leopoldo Rods Casta (URL).
Most Representative Socioeconomic Agents Mr. Jos M lvarez i Surez General Secretary of the General Union of Workers of Catalonia (UGT) Mr. Josep Gonzlez i Sala President of PIMEC Mr. Joan Rosell i Lastortras President of Foment del Treball
Parliamentary Groups Honourable. Mr. Artur Mas i Gavarr President of the Parliamentary Group Convergence and Union (CiU) Her Excellency Sra. Manuela de Madre Ortega President of the Socialist Parliamentary Group Citizens for Change (PSC-CpC) Honourable Mr. Joan Puigcercs i Boixassa President of the Parliamentary Group of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) Her Excellency Mrs. Alcia Snchez-Camacho Prez Representing the Parliamentary Group of the Popular Party of Catalonia (PPC) His Excellency Mr. Jaume Bosch i Mestres Spokesman for the Parliamentary Group of the Initiative for Catalonia Green Party United and Alternative Left Party (ICV-EUiA)
Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation (CARI)
Contents
Preamble .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Summary.................................................................................................................................................. 7 1. Framework
1.1. The reasoning behind the CARI................................................................................................. 20 1.2. Scope of the CARI ............................................................................................................................ 21 1.3. Guiding principles of the CARI .................................................................................................. 24
2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. 2.5.
2. Shared foundations
New foundations for socioeconomic development ......................................................... 26 Diagnosis and context for research and innovation ....................................................... 27 Positioning and vision of research and innovation ......................................................... 29 Challenges.......................................................................................................................................... 30 Long-term commitment to a shared vision.......................................................................... 31
3. Challenges and commitments
Challenge 1. Talent. To have the best scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial talent ....................................................... 34 Challenge 2. Push. To develop and maintain a high capacity for generating and valuing cutting-edge knowledge.......................... 40 Challenge 3. Pull. To innovate systematically as a basis for productive activity and public and social action............................ 45 Challenge 4. Internationalise. To think, be and act globally in research and innovation .............................................................................. 51 Challenge 5. Socialise. To ensure that Catalan society be infused with science, technology and innovation ................................................. 55 Challenge 6. Focus. To focus and prioritise research and innovation ..................... 58 Challenge 7. Facilitate. To adopt a governance of the research and innovation system that is intelligent, efficient and effective........... 63 Challenge 8. Invest. To make more and better investments into research and innovation in the public and private sectors.................................. 75
4.1.Public and private investment scenario ................................................................................. 82 4.2.Instruments and priorities for the implementation of the CARI ................................... 84 4.3.Monitoring the CARI ........................................................................................................................ 86
4. Implementation of the agreement
Appendix. On the resources allocated to R&D and universities ............................................................................................................................ 87
Preamble
The preservation and betterment of the prosperity and wellbeing of Catalan society in a globalised world can only be guaranteed if Catalonia is capable of transforming its traditional industrial and service economy into an economy based on knowledge and the production of goods and services with added value and, at the same time, of using research and innovation to respond effectively to social and environmental challenges. For this reason, all those involved in research and innovation should make a commitment to dedicating their best efforts to this area in the coming years. The Government of Catalonia should better the level of RDI spending and investment, with the Spanish Government accepting joint responsibility, and it should also reform the governance of the public innovation system to make it more efficient. Enterprise, the public sector and trade unions should make innovation a priority to guarantee competitiveness and effective collective services. And the universities should manage the public resources they receive as efficiently as possible to excel in the three missions with which they are entrusted: to train talent, to generate knowledge and to transfer knowledge. This commitment must endure long enough so as to ensure security and stability in research and innovation policies, independently of the composition of governments and management of the institutions involved, and to enable action by all stakeholders towards a common vision. Catalonia must aspire to become a leading European area for research and innovation by the year 2020, to the benefit of all citizens. This agreement represents our collective desire to attain this goal.
Summary
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CATALONIA
Catalonia is facing important challenges in the context of complex and rapid changes of a political, social, economic and environmental nature that have a local and global dimension
Great new opportunities will also open up if we can respond solidly to these challenges with responses that are well directed, shared, long-term in vision and that produce results within an acceptable timeframe

An agreement between the Government of Catalonia, the political parties with parliamentary representation, the Catalan universities, the business associations and trade unions most representative of Catalonia and other agents adhering to the agreement PREMISE: a new model of socioeconomic progress for Catalonia based on education, research and innovation, which are to become the highest structural priorities on the political, social and economic agenda of the country and of its agents. PURPOSE: to generate high levels of prosperity and to progress towards a society of great wellbeing that lives within environmentally sustainable limits. COMMITMENT: a shared roadmap in research and innovation for the coming years that sets the strategy, challenges and objectives as well as the commitments of the agents willing to dedicate themselves to carrying out a synergic joint action that is stable on the long term. STARTING POINT: Catalonias historically proven capacity for transformation; quality human capital; growing excellence in scientific research; public sector with innovation potential; diversified production activity, with strong export industry and quality services; a highly creative and attractive environment in a geographically strategic position.
SHARED VISION
Catalonia 2020: international reference area for research and innovation
Environments of excellence that train, capture and retain the best scientific and innovative talent. Cutting-edge research in universities, hospitals and research centres that is effectively valued. A large number of enterprises that systematically integrate innovation into their activity. Innovative administration and government agencies that boost research and innovation. Cooperative knowledge and innovation communities that generate added value. Regulatory, socio-cultural and financial environment that facilitates research and innovation. A territory structured around and cohesive in the knowledge society and economy. An Internationalised presence, link to and action within research and innovation. A research and innovation system that is strategically oriented and operationally effective. Research and innovation are prioritised in public budgets and private investments.
Shared challenges and objectives

5 STRATEGIC CHALLENGES AND 3 MOTOR CHALLENGES
3 CENTRAL ELEMENTS
In order to develop the full potential of Catalonia and to meet the challenges and exploit the opportunities successfully, this country must have a broad-based innovation strategy in: Purposes: economic, social, environmental Objectives: business/social models, products, services and processes. Origins: scientific and technological advances, interaction with consumers-users-citizens, creativity, learning from cooperation and networks. Actors: workers, business owners, scientists, entrepreneurs, public managers, investors. Knowledge: hard sciences and technologies, human and social sciences, creative arts.
Broad-based innovation
Quality research is the key to transforming Catalonias future as, among other things, it: Increases the stock of knowledge and the capacity to tackle complex problems. Generates the knowledge-rich learning environments needed for the highest levels of training. Favours the creation of new enterprises and increases the competitiveness of existing ones. Improves the capacity to develop public policies: health, education, environment
Cutting-edge research
Talent is the essential base for making Catalonia an international reference in research and innovation: People with suitable creative, scientific, entrepreneurial and innovative skills. Professional profiles that meet social and economic needs. An environment that facilitates creativity, science and innovation, able to attract and retain people.
Human capital the priority
Shared roadmap: 26 objectives to achieve the vision of the future

CHALLENGE 1 To have the best scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial talent
By 2020, Catalonia aims to be among the leading countries in terms of the quality of the skills, the suitability of profiles and the relative number of scientific, innovation and entrepreneurial personnel, as well as in terms of the capacity of public, private and service-sector organisations to exploit this talent to their benefit and to the benefit of the research and innovation system in general.
1. To have an education system and a professional environment that provides, promotes and
maximises scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial skills.
2. To attain a critical mass of enough qualified professionals with creative and scientifictechnical and knowledge- and innovation-management profiles.
3. To recruit, recuperate and retain more and better scientific and innovative talent in the
research and innovation system and to promote the mobility of this talent.
CHALLENGE 2 To develop and maintain a high capacity for generating and valuing cutting-edge knowledge
In the coming years Catalonia must make an ever greater effort to broaden its knowledge base and research capacity, with the aim of moving ever closer to the leading countries in scientific quality and scientific production per inhabitant, while at the same time converting the valorisation of knowledge into a key factor for socioeconomic prosperity.
4. To strengthen the public research system. 5. To attain and profit from leading scientific and technological infrastructures. 6. To reinforce the capacity of research agents to value knowledge.
CHALLENGE 3 To innovate systematically as a basis for productive activity and public and social action
Catalonia would like to exploit its solid industrial and service base, the scientific quality that it has achieved and its human capital to create a confluence of different types of innovation so as to produce a greater economic, social and environmental benefit.
7. To facilitate the development of the different types of innovation. 8. To generate favourable contextual conditions for innovation. 9. To encourage the growth of an innovative and knowledge-intensive business ecosystem. 10. To have an innovative public sector as well as public administration that boost innovation.
CHALLENGE 4 To think, be and act globally in research and innovation

In the coming years, Catalonia would like to attain the solid integration of its system of science, technology and innovation on an international scale, while at the same time cooperating, influencing and being actively present at all levels and in all spheres and geographic areas worldwide that may be useful to the country and where it can also contribute to resolving global problems.
11. To orient and implement a joint coordinated action to internationalise research and
innovation.
12. To strengthen the role of Catalonia as an international player in research and innovation. 13. To establish international strategic alliances and platforms for research and innovation.
CHALLENGE 5 To ensure that the Catalan society be infused with science, technology and innovation
Catalonia aims to place science, technology and innovation in the foreground of Catalan society in the coming years and to help the people recognise and understand the importance of research and innovation for the country, so that they become involved in the system as intelligent and active citizens, users and consumers.
14. To orient and implement a joint coordinated action of socialisation of science, technology and
innovation.
15. To introduce science, technology and innovation into close contact with the people. 16. To place science, technology and innovation in the foreground of the political, social and
economic arenas in Catalonia.
CHALLENGE 6 To focus and prioritise research and innovation

Catalonia must have its own strategy to focus on and prioritise research and innovation that is solid and sustained over time, based on its socioeconomic and scientific-technical needs, challenges and opportunities and implemented through public policies aligned between the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government. Moreover, it must exploit EU policies and establish synergies with private initiatives. A strategy for focusing on research and innovation in Catalonia must be defined.
17. To define the strategy for focusing on research and innovation in Catalonia. 18. To design and develop the regional strategy for specialisation in science, technology and
innovation.
19. To specify the fields that are strategic priorities for research and innovation in the coming
years.
20. To direct instruments and resources towards the focused and prioritised areas of research and
innovation.
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CHALLENGE 7 To adopt a governance of the research and innovation system that is intelligent, efficient and effective
Catalonia aims to have an efficient and effective organisation and governance of research and innovation, where agents cooperate actively and have clearly established responsibilities. A system is needed that is expert at decision making and in implementing policies, that systematically assess all the activities carried out and that has a high capacity for learning. This is a system that has a shared long-term vision and the capacity to respond to changes, one that facilitates the actions of research and innovation agents, in the public, private and service sectors.
21. To establish a solid organisation and link among agents in the Catalan research and
innovation system and to strengthen their cooperation.
22. To develop a dynamic model of governance that strengthens strategic capacity and coherence
in decision making and in the design and implementation of research and innovation policies.
23. To maximise the efficiency, the effectiveness and the learning capacity of the research and
innovation system.
CHALLENGE 8 To make more and better investments into research and innovation in the public and private sectors
Catalonia is aware that investment into research and innovation is the basis for prosperity and wellbeing and that it is a priority for the future. Therefore, the public and private resources allocated to RDI and business innovation must be increased over the coming years so as to provide the foundations for a competitive economy and a society with a high level of wellbeing that can meet environmental challenges.
24. To increase spending on R&D to 2% of GDP and business spending on RDI 3.75% of GDP in
2010, with the aim of reaching 3% and 4.5%, respectively, in 2017.
25. To focus public spending on R&D and in supporting innovation on the objectives of the
Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation.
26. To improve the economic and taxation framework for RDI spending in Catalonia.
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Main commitments
TALENT THE PRIORITY
The Administration of the Government of Catalonia, the universities and the agents of the education system will Promote and develop, in a coherent and coordinated manner for all students at all educational levels, the scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial skills (knowledge, abilities and attitudes) needed to place Catalonia among the most well-positioned countries. Give impetus to the promotion of vocations, the improvement of teacher training and learning methodologies and the attainment of specialised profiles needed in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The Administration of the Government of Catalonia, the universities and the public research organisations will Progressively improve working conditions and remuneration for research personnel so that they are competitive with those in more advanced countries and will adopt the European Charter for Researchers as a reference framework on rights and obligations. Strengthen the policies on the incorporation of research personnel into universities and public research organisations, with the aim of attaining ratios similar to those in leading countries. Promote and apply strategic planning and improvement of management of human resources dedicated to research so as to maximise efficiency, effectiveness and their development. Design and apply gender equality plans to redress the loss of female talent in the Catalan RDI system. Prioritise and strengthen policies and actions to detect, retain, recuperate and capture the best scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial talent. Become involved, together with enterprises and the public sector, in increasing the number of research personnel in these areas, especially PhD graduates, until ratios comparable with those in reference countries are attained, and in the establishment of effective systems of mobility within the RDI system. The business associations and the trade unions will Become actively involved in the improvement of professional training on the basis of the framework established in the Strategic Agreement to Promote the Internationalisation, Job Quality and Competitiveness of the Catalan Economy. Prioritise, together with the Government of Catalonia, the funding for lifelong learning to establish a national training programme for innovation and the innovative ability of workers that is adapted to the different sectors and professional fields. Promote measures that lead to the inclusion of the innovative and entrepreneurial abilities of workers into job descriptions and human resources management.
CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH
The Administration of the Government of Catalonia will Strengthen, with the necessary collaboration of the Spanish Government, the Catalan public research system, increasing funding for research and the socioeconomic valorisation of knowledge in the universities and hospitals; boost Catalan research centres; establish a stable cooperation framework with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); and promote mixed units with research agents from other areas. Develop, with the cooperation of the Spanish Government, a strategy for science and technology infrastructures and e-infrastructures/services to create a first-rate environment for research and innovation in the public and business sectors. Promote that the social and economic valorisation of knowledge be incorporated for all purposes as one of the missions of the universities and the public research agents and encourage the development of operators and environments that facilitate the creation of value.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation The universities and the public research organisations will Develop a solid strategic and operational plan for research and knowledge valorisation activities associated with the programme contracts by objectives and with accountability and rigorous assessment systems directed at improvement. Plan, optimise and valorise the use and exploitation of infrastructures dedicated totally or partially to research. Promote, with the participation of the Government of Catalonia, a strategy for the management of the intellectual property involved in knowledge-transfer activities that implements the recent recommendations of the European Commission. Promote the creation of knowledge-intensive enterprises, in all fields, based on the research and entrepreneurial activities of research personnel.
BROAD-BASED INNOVATION
The Administration of the Government of Catalonia will Define and implement, with the support of enterprises and the public sector, new metrics for the measurement of innovation tied to the broad-based vision defined in the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation (CARI). Reinforce the impetus to business R&D by increasing resources for cooperative projects and encouraging the introduction of knowledge-intensive activities in multinational enterprises and large Catalan enterprises that act as motors for large projects with SMEs. Promote a renewed strategy for technology centres to support the different production sectors and strengthen the knowledge-intensive services necessary for business competitiveness and the improvement of public services. Define and implement, with the support of business associations and innovation networks, a transversal strategy to promote non-technological innovation: design, new business/social models, marketing Implement, with the participation of research and innovation agents, a service innovation strategy that provides for both technological and non-technological innovation and the creation of singular spaces for interaction between users, researchers, technologists and entrepreneurs. Promote, within its powers and with the collaboration of the Spanish Government, where appropriate, environmental conditions that facilitate innovation: regulations and legislation, taxation treatment of R&D and its application, administrative simplification Develop a strategy to make both public procurement and the innovative services provided by the Catalan government agencies a motor for driving research and innovation. The Administration of the Catalan Government, the research agents and the enterprises will Define and participate in the development of a strategy for globally connected knowledge and innovation clusters. Develop innovation environments directed at the social challenges and opportunities in Catalonia. Promote, with the socio-economic agents, structured and planned regional innovation synergies according to different circumstances and opportunities. The business associations and the trade unions will Incorporate research and innovation into the agenda for collective negotiation, as key elements for the competitiveness of enterprises and job quality. Promote, with the support of the Government of Catalonia, the systematic incorporation of innovation by enterprises into all activities as a key element for competitiveness. Local governments will Develop and participate actively in the development of synergies and local and regional areas of innovation with social, economic and environmental purposes, effectively aligning their actions with those of the Government of Catalonia and other administrations. Implement service innovation plans and encourage innovative public procurement. Promote environments that facilitate innovation with economic and social objectives. 13
INTERNATIONALISATION
The research and innovation system agents will Define and implement a joint coordinated internationalisation strategy for the Catalan research and innovation system. Develop internationalisation plans for their research and innovation activities with alignment between the system agents. The Administration of the Government of Catalonia will Establish international research and innovation alliances with leading countries and regions, or with those that are strategic from a geographic viewpoint or in cooperation with developing areas. Restructure the more than 40 international export delegations of the Consortium for Commercial Promotion of Catalonia (COPCA) into enterprise-innovation-talent interaction nodes. Promote strategic landing platforms in worldwide hotspots with the greatest scientifictechnological and innovative density. Implement a network of connections with public and private international decision-making centres for research and innovation in order to bring activities to Catalonia and influence decision making.
SOCIALISATION
The research and innovation system agents will Define and implement a joint coordinated science, technology and innovation socialisation and communication strategy. Include communication and dissemination of science, technology and innovation within their planned activities. The Administration of the Government of Catalonia will Promote, with the support of the Parliament and the political forces, an action plan to boost the presence of science, technology and innovation in political activity. Support, together with the cultural agents and the cultural industry, the incorporation of science, technology and innovation into cultural products. Define an action plan, together with research and innovation system agents and tourism agents, to boost programmes that bring citizens, students and tourists closer to the research and innovation agents. Reinforce a programme of actions to encourage scientific communication so that Catalonia becomes an international reference for this field. The business associations and the trade unions will Promote, with the support of the Government of Catalonia, action plans to emphasise the importance of industry as a source of prosperity for the future and of the significance of science, technology and innovation for business competitiveness and the quality of public services and employment. The media will Develop action plans to socialise science, technology and innovation, to report on successful cases and to transmit the values of their those involved in them, the researchers and entrepreneurs. Promote the improvement of the professional capacity for scientific communication and for the generation of interesting content for the dissemination of science, technology and innovation.
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FOCUSING AND PRIORITISATION

The agents who are signatories of the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation (CARI) Agree on the strategic framework for focusing and prioritising research and innovation. Agree that, in the coming months, the Government of Catalonia will promote a process to define the fields for focus and prioritisation with a methodology agreed on by the signatory agents. The CARI Monitornig Committee will ensure that the result of the process is compliant with the agreed methodology. The final decision will be taken by the Government with a political consensus to guarantee the necessary stability. The Administration of the Government of Catalonia will Create a programme for strategic research and innovation projects in the fields chosen in the focusing and prioritisation process. Define and draw up a map of specialisation by geographical area in science, technology and innovation on the basis of the different socioeconomic and scientific-technological needs and circumstances that exist, the decisions taken in the past years, territorial balance, and viability and opportunity. The research and innovation system agents will Use the results of the focusing and prioritisation process to align their research and innovation strategies and/or take them into account when developing these strategies.
GOVERNANCE
The agents who are signatories of the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation (CARI) Agree on the foundations for the regulation and interconnection of the research and innovation system agents, with a broad vision of who the agents of the system are and defining, among other aspects, the framework for cooperation between the universities and the research centres by assigning these centres to the universities, thus promoting the establishment of public-private research and innovation partnerships. Agree on a governance model for the Catalan research and innovation system based on the separation of functions between the political arena, policy advisory and analysis, policy implementation (agency) spheres and the agents that perform research and innovation. Agree on the foundations for learning and assessment in the research and innovation system, emphasising the instruments for analysis and decision-making support as well as a system of evaluation that extends throughout system as a key element for improving efficiency and effectiveness. The Administration of the Government of Catalonia will Incorporate RDI into all departments and ministries of the government as a transverse element directed at the improvement of social and environmental policies and the boosting of economic activity in all sectors. Strengthen the horizontal coordination of government RDI policies and their connection with those of the Spanish Government under a stable and bilateral framework. Create the Catalan Research and Innovation Council as the high-level advisory body for the Catalan research and innovation system made up of experts from the academic and business world. Promote the strengthening of the implementation of policies for competitiveness and RDI support through the creation of the ACC1 agency (merging the current CIDEM and COPCA) and the research funding agency based on the current Agency for the Administration of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), with a close functional interaction with the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), dedicated to the recruiting of talent, and the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI), dedicated to socialisation and patronage. Create the Agency for the Research Centres of Catalonia using existing resources with the purpose of responding to the specific and singular needs that emerge from the structural development, monitoring and funding of Catalan research centres.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation Develop, in research and innovation, systematic instruments for the analysis of information and policies and promote prospective thinking. Reinforce the assessment and meta-assessment instruments of the public research agents, agencies and the whole Catalan research and innovation system.
RESOURCES
The research and innovation system agents will Develop the policies and actions necessary to achieve the objectives of dedicating 2% of the GDP to R&D in 2010 and to achieve 3% in 2017, while business spending is to reach 3% and 4.5% of the GDP respectively in these years. Agree to channel public resources towards the objectives set in the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation (CARI) under the principles of assessment of use, results and impact, clarity and accountability. The Administration of the Government of Catalonia will Progressively increase the RDI budgets of the Government ministries to levels sufficient enough to enable them to tackle the challenges in their jurisdictions (education, social services, health, immigration, environment, energy, transport and mobility, etc.) and to promote business activities tied to their departments. Progressively increase the budgets of the specific R&D support programmes of the Government of Catalonia for the coming period of 2009-2013, so as to favour the attainment of the proposed global spending objectives tied to GDP. With this aim, a significant part of the increases will be destined to promote business R&D as a way of drawing in more private spending. Promote the involvement of the Spanish Government in R&D investment in Catalonia based on a stable framework agreement, the improvement of the coordination of programmes and investment in infrastructures. Promote the reinforcement of the market for investment and financial products for knowledgeintensive enterprises and innovation activities. It will promote a Catalan public-private venture capital fund, a foreign venture capital capture plan and will encourage the improvement of existing financial products for business RDI projects. Reinforce the actions that facilitate access to projects in European programmes and other international programmes and that capture foreign private investment in R&D. Promote an R&D patronage plan and align the resources obtained with the priorities of the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation. The financial system agents will Promote, through business activity and the foundations, the actions necessary to strengthen the Catalan research and innovation system, with special involvement in entrepreneurial initiatives and risk ventures that favour innovation.
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Contributions from the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation (CARI)

1. The definition of a specific vision and shared roadmap for research and innovation in the coming years that will enable stable policies and synergic action between system agents and that will reinforce interaction with the Spanish Government through the CARI strategy. 2. The incorporation of three shared central elements that become the core nucleus of future action: broad-based innovation, cutting-edge research and talent as a priority. 3. Emphasis on winning behaviours: cooperation between system agents, internationalisation, excellence and commitment. 4. The strengthening of the key players in the system, enterprises and universities, incorporating the important role of the administration and public services as motors for research and innovation, as well as the promotion of the active role of people such as workers, citizens, consumers and users in innovation. 5. The reinforcement of the strategies and policies that have been successful in recent years, such as the capture of scientific talent, the Catalan research centres, and the science and technology infrastructures, among others. 6. The production of a substantial change in the mechanisms and instruments for the governance of the research and innovation system, giving it more strategic and operative capacity to increase efficiency and effectiveness. 7. The establishment of the foundations for regulating the Catalan research and innovation system, favouring the effective interaction between its agents: the assignment of research centres to the universities, technology centre consortia, new policies for knowledge and innovation clusters as co-creation and co-innovation environments, among others. 8. The address of the need to define and develop new strategies and programmes for action, such as the need for research and innovation in services and for intellectual property. 9. The incorporation of scenarios with significant increases in public and private investment in research and innovation, reinforcing strategies to capture foreign resources and the role that public-private venture capital must play. 10. Provides a solid overall vision of what Catalonia intends for the future, positioning it as a cutting-edge and forward-thinking country.
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Implementation
Basic instruments: information system and new metrics for research and innovation, transformation of governance, definition of the fields for focus and prioritisation of research and innovation, legislative changes and increases in public and private resources. Planning: research and innovation plans of the Government of Catalonia (Research and Innovation Plan 2009-2013 and Research and Innovation Plan 2014-2020) and plans of other agents that are signatory to or adhere to the CARI. They must plan actions that are linked to the commitments of the CARI in which they are involved. Definition of strategies: scientific and technological infrastructures, knowledge transfer model, plan for research and innovation in services, intellectual property, internationalisation of research and innovation, research and innovation clusters and a Catalan territorial map of science, technology and innovation. Facilitating agreements: strategic agreement between the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government and the sector agreements between the Government of Catalonia and the production sectors (sector clusters), socioeconomic agents (financial system, communications media, etc.) and the other administrations (local and provincial). Monitoring: CARI Monitoring Committee, with representatives of the signatory agents of the CARI and chaired by the President of the Government of Catalonia.
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1.
FRAMEWORK
1.1. The reasoning behind the CARI
The current model of social and economic development in Catalonia does not provide a mediumto long-term guarantee for the progress and wellbeing that the citizens of this territory have historically had access to as a result of their capacity and ambition. In a highly competitive, globalised context with large-scale economic, social and environmental challenges, it is essential that Catalonia act decidedly to drive a solid transformation towards a knowledge-based society and economy to guarantee a firm foundation for progress. The Government, in accordance with the action plan that has been established for the coming years and in alignment with other instruments, such as the Strategic Agreement to Promote Competitiveness has promoted the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation, conscious that a broad political and social consensus will be needed to make this change possible. The CARI is based on the premise that research and innovation are essential to the social and economic prosperity of Catalonia and to the quality of life of the people, as well as to a dynamic and creative society that is capable of meeting the challenges, exploiting the opportunities and thinking and acting in a local and global manner.
The Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation is designed to make Catalonia a leading country in research and innovation with the purpose of guaranteeing high levels of productivity, quality jobs and a cohesive society with high levels of wellbeing that lives within environmentally sustainable limits.
Reserach and Innovation as strategic priorities for Catalonia
Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation: The agreement is a long-term commitment to develop, based on a shared vision of the future, an action by the whole country that will enable excellence in research and innovation to be attained. It follows in the footsteps of the most innovative countries, which are in turn, the most socioeconomically advanced; however, it also takes into account Catalonias potential areas for differentiation and its great ambition for reaching the essential milestones. It configures the stable framework for Catalonia in research and innovation for the coming years and explicitly states the commitments made by the agents of the system to meet the challenges. It is created with the desire to seek the close ties needed, firstly with Catalan society in general, and secondly with the policies of the Spanish Government and European Union, always taking into account a worldwide context for social and economic action.
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1.2. Scope of the CARI
The CARI must address the elements that influence the capacity to undertake research and innovation and how this research and innovation can be translated into social and economic value. The CARI adopts a broad framework for the research and innovation system that in turn includes various other systems and environmental conditions.
SME: small and medium enterprises. NTBE: new technology-based enterprises.
Taking this schematic into account, the scope of the CARI includes the political system, where decisions are taken that affect research and innovation, the education system, which trains those who perform research and innovation, the public research system, innovation intermediaries, the business system and the public or collective services sector. This last includes the third sector, meaning non-profit-making organisations, which generate services, products and processes that respond to the demands or needs of the citizens, users, consumers and society in general, including specific needs relating to the environment. In parallel, environmental conditions, infrastructures and other supports are also within the scope of the CARI, given their significant influence on research and innovation processes.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation However, some conditions must be described to mark out the limits of the scope of the CARI: Territorial scope. The CARI is focused on Catalonia and affects the Catalan system of research and innovation, but it is certain that this system and the agents that form it are not isolated units, and therefore we must always keep in mind national and international interactions. Thematic scope. The CARI addresses most of the aspects of the prior scheme, except those linked to the organisation and development of training systems (primary, secondary and higher education) and other aspects that affect business competitiveness or the quality of public services not directly linked to research and innovation. Scope of responsibility. The CARI implies the involvement and participation, to different degrees, of many and very diverse agents, from those that have a central role in research and innovation to those that are indirect facilitators or moderators.
AGENTS INVOLVED IN THE CARI

The agents that are mentioned below are involved, to a lesser or greater degree, in the different actions and commitments that are explained in this document. The universities, political parties, enterprises, business associations and unions, together with the Government of Catalonia, are the core agents for the implementation of the CARI. Research system, innovation intermediaries and education system Universities Catalan research centres (including hospital-based research institutes) Technology centres and other innovation intermediaries Science and/or technology parks Agents of the education system, professional training and lifelong learning Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) Others: Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC), etc. Productive and public system Enterprises (large, SME, new technology-based enterprises) Public collective services sector (health, education, social services, etc.) Third sector (NGOs, etc.) Economic and social agents Business associations that are most representative Trade unions that are most representative Socioeconomic agents Economic Chambers of commerce Financial system agents Professional Professional associations Social The media The Administration Government of Catalonia Spanish Government European Union Local governments Agencies and other public sector entities and the different administrations responsible for implementing policies or providing support for them Political system Political parties in the Catalan parliamentary system Parliament
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LINKING AGENTS IN THE CARI

Signatory agents of the CARI: the Government of Catalonia, political parties, universities, business associations and trade unions. The signatories are aware of the need to link and involve the greatest part of the necessary agents in the commitments specified in the CARI and in those that may arise in the future. Agents adhering to the CARI: Other agents necessary for the implementation of the CARI that formally adhere to it and formalise the commitments assumed to advance in meeting the challenges and objectives of the CARI.
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1.3. Guiding principles of the CARI
The five guiding principles that shape the CARI are as follows:
1. The CARI promotes research and innovation as motors of transformation towards a knowledge-based society and economy that will contribute to progress and wellbeing. 2. The CARI sets a stable framework for long-term action that includes the challenges and objectives to strengthen, renew or extend research and innovation and that guides strategic decision making. 3. The CARI details the transformational changes that must be promoted on the short term to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the RDI system and the scenarios for public and private resources necessary to meet the challenges set. 4. The CARI strengthens the cooperation and coordination of all the agents in the research and innovation system as an essential element for the achievement of long-term goals. 5. The CARI supplies Catalonia with the institutional instruments necessary to strengthen the role of research and innovation in the political, economic and social system.
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2.
SHARED FOUNDATIONS
2.1. New foundations for socioeconomic development
SHARING A NEW MODEL OF SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR CATALONIA THAT HAS FOUNDATIONS IN EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
In order to generate wealth and wellbeing in a context of sustainable development, it is essential that Catalonia be capable of overcoming the challenges and exploiting the available opportunities at all times. This is the only way that we can achieve high levels of competitiveness and quality occupations, social and regional cohesion and sustained progress. This requires that the country and the agents working here have capacities, both tangible (e.g. creation of new products and services) and intangible (e.g. circulation of ideas, confidence), that are developed to the highest level on a continuing basis in order to face an ever more complex and changing environment, where strength is based on the differentiating abilities and capacities of individuals, organisations and society as a whole. The level of development of these tangible and intangible capacities depends to a great degree on excellence in education, research and innovation and on the connection they have with existing needs and future challenges. Consequently, education, research and innovation become the foundations for the model of socioeconomic development in Catalonia, and the direction of human and economic resources towards these bases will determine the progress of the country.
TOWARDS A NEW SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MODEL NEW SHARED FOUNDATIONS FOR CATALONIAS FUTURE
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2.2. Diagnosis and context for research and innovation
SHARING THE GENERAL DIAGNOSIS OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Catalan society has always been dynamic and open and has known how to adapt itself to changes, leading the way with many social and economic transformations. With a size that is comparable to many countries and regions that are currently leaders in competitiveness and innovation, and situated in a geographically strategic position, Catalonia currently faces significant social, economic and environmental challenges simultaneously, which require actions across all fields. Catalonia is economically diverse, which gives it strength, and in recent years it has been one of the first regions in the OECD to increase both work places in industry as well as services to industry. In spite of this, it needs to transform the production sector towards niches with greater added value and to adapt productive processes to a new changing context. The education and training system, the cornerstone of the research and innovation system, has significant weaknesses in the areas of professional training and lifelong learning that must be addressed as a matter of course. Moreover, the Catalan university system needs to change significantly to meet the challenge of generating qualified people with profiles and abilities that enable them to respond to the needs of the social and economic environment. The scientific production of Catalonia has grown significantly in recent years, so that in 2006 it made up 0.85% of production worldwide, and it has also improved in quality. The Catalan research system has become, in a relatively short time, competitive in an international context, but it still has weak points relating to funding, internal coordination, a growing lack of scientific and technological vocations, and the scarce social and economic valuing of the knowledge generated, among others. Catalonia is one of the European areas with the greatest business sector creativity. In spite of this, the most commonly used innovation indicators rank Catalonia in a position far behind the leading regions and countries. (The regional European Innovation Scoreboard indicators for 2007 place Catalonia in eighth place, a position that does not correspond to its socioeconomic status and that will significantly weaken its future competitiveness if it is not improved.) Moreover, at this time, R&D is not a common component of the business sector. The number of enterprises that systematically perform innovation in Catalonia is very small, which distances it comparatively from the most competitive countries and regions that have a significant number of large enterprises driving business sector R&D and innovation, an advantage that Catalonia does not currently have. In particular, we have to reveal the existence of innovation that often escapes the current measurement and analysis mechanisms, known as hidden innovation, which other countries have also recently highlighted. It must also be noted that the public sector and the administration still have some distance to travel to become RDI motors, as well as innovative organisations influencing the needs that arise in the areas of health, education, sustainability, immigration, etc. The governance of the Catalan research and innovation system has significant deficiencies in planning, coordination, organisation and alignment among agents. It is essential to address these deficiencies rigorously and urgently to enable better decision making and more efficient and effective action. In regard to the resources assigned to research and development, the sum of public and private investment in Catalonia has increased substantially in recent years, but the proportion of the GDP spent on R&D (1.42% in Catalonia in 2006) is still far behind leading Spanish regions (1.98% in Madrid in 2006, for example) and also the average of the 27 European states (1.84% in 2006). 27
SHARING THE CONTEXT FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

In terms of the European research and innovation context, as a reference framework, the Lisbon Strategy ties research and innovation policies to those for socioeconomic development and employment. An important element of the European context has been the establishment of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme 2007-2013 (CIP), which foresees both technological and non-technological aspects of innovation and is designed to address the interests of SMEs and environmental innovation. The European Union Seventh Framework Programme 2007-2013 represents a qualitative and quantitative leap in RDI: it emphasises cooperation between enterprises and public research bodies, strengthens the mobility of research personnel, and reinforces policies on large science and technology infrastructures, among other provisions. Catalonia has still not exploited all the potential of the European programmes, taking into account its economic and scientific base. Also on a European level, the European Research Council has been established to promote basic leading research based exclusively on scientific excellence and on the approval of what will be the future European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), designed to configure Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) in fields where there are important challenges. The creation of the Council sends the message that it is just as necessary to promote information designed to reap socioeconomic benefits, as it is to notably strengthen the capacity to generate new knowledge. Both of these actions are fundamental for generating wealth and wellbeing on the long term and they require cooperation between public and private agents. Catalonia has achieved very remarkable results in the first rounds of competitive funding allocations by the European Research Council, a fact that highlights the importance of policies to retain and repatriate talent as a key tool for the future. The Spanish Government has translated the Lisbon Strategy through the National Reform Programme, which will serve as a framework for the following Ingenuity 2010 Plan that, through the CENIT and CONSOLIDER programmes, respectively, promotes the strengthening of the interaction between the agents of the system into order to provide incentives for innovation in the production sector and the capacity to develop first-grade research. Catalonia has always figured largely in these plans and also in those for large-scale science and technology infrastructures. However, its presence is still less than that to which it corresponds, if taken into account the fact that Catalonia represents more than 25% of Spains scientific production and business innovation capacity. Furthermore, research and innovation have and need to have an ever more global dimension, as currently exists in markets, with the circulation of talent, ideas and capital. Catalonia is still not exploiting existing global opportunities enough, even though it is quite open to these opportunities. This question must be an important element in the future of research and innovation in the territory. Open innovation changes the existing paradigms, since proximity is not as important as the network of connections used and the differentiating abilities offered in these cooperative and competitive communities. This is an important challenge for companies and especially SMEs, as it touches upon their capacity for knowledge management. Paradoxically however, the globalisation of innovation and research brings the parallel appearance of a geography of knowledge and innovation in which the places that are physically attractive for the generation of knowledge and the production of socioeconomic value are ever more important. Catalonia and its regions need to be able to seek a global position based on their own uniqueness and potential. At this time enterprises, the public sector and universities are the key actors in the socioeconomic transformation. The generation of spaces for close-knit and complementary work, with new forms of cooperation that go beyond the concept of knowledge transfer to that of co-creation and co-innovation, become keys to the future. In this sense, scientists and entrepreneurs and also the people, as workers, users, consumers and citizens, become agents forming part of complex networks of the interchange of ideas and knowledge that generate added value.
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2.3. Positioning and vision of research and innovation
SHARING AMBITION AND A VISION OF THE FUTURE
Catalonia aspires to achieve high levels of social and economic development. In order to make this possible, research and innovation must become a structural and permanent priority on the political, social and economic agenda of the territory and the agents working here...
...with the goal of making Catalonia an international reference area for research and innovation, placed among the best in Europe and regarded as a benchmark in the Mediterranean region by 2020.
In order to achieve this positioning, looking towards the future, we see Catalonia with: 1. Learning environments of excellence imparting the necessary abilities to the best scientific, innovative, creative and entrepreneurial talent, with enough capacity to retain talent and to recruit it from all over as required. 2. An excellent higher education and research system that is outstanding internationally in its priority areas, that generates leading knowledge and that values it socially and economically. 3. A business structure with large Catalan enterprises and multinationals, new knowledge-intensive enterprises and SMEs that have incorporated technological and non-technological innovation at all levels of business and in all of their activities. 4. An administration and public sector that are leaders in organisational innovation and advanced services and that manage and generate knowledge to improve their work and that use public procurement as a motor to drive research and innovation. 5. An environment that facilitates innovation, by individuals, by organisations and by communities, where the culture of risk is assumed in a positive way and regulations and laws do not impede innovation but rather provide incentive for it, and where it is incorporated as an integral part of the workplace, with recognition and incentives for workers. 6. Cooperative public-private knowledge and innovation communities, where scientists, technologists, creators, entrepreneurs, professionals, users, consumers, and citizens can interact and generate social, economic, and environmental value. 7. A country that is cohesively structured regionally in terms of the knowledge economy, through systems of innovation adapted to different capacities and situations, which are connected nationally and internationally. 8. An internationalised research and innovation system that makes good decisions, that has planning and forward-thinking capacity in all fields, that is able to focus and to set strategic priorities, and that functions with high levels of efficiency and effectiveness. 9. Science and technological infrastructures and quality infrastructures that are within reach of all agents, and significant investments in research and innovation that are prioritised in the public and private fields with a financial capital that makes a decided commitment to innovative and risky initiatives. 10. A Catalan society that understands science, technology and innovation, that values them, and that actively participates in them.
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2.4. Challenges
SHARING THE CHALLENGES FOR ATTAINING THE VISION OF THE FUTURE

8 shared challenges for attaining the vision of the future: Challenge 1. Talent. To have the best scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial talent, with the necessary abilities and critical mass. Challenge 2. Push. To develop and maintain a high capacity for generating and valuing knowledge. Challenge 3. Pull. To innovate systematically as a base for productive activity and public and social action. Challenge 4. Internationalise. To think, be and act globally in research and innovation Challenge 5. Socialise. To ensure that Catalan society be infused with science, technology and innovation. Challenge 6. Focus. To focus and prioritise research and innovation where there is the greatest future value. Challenge 7. Facilitate. To adopt a governance of the research and innovation system that is intelligent, efficient and effective. Challenge 8. Invest. To make more and better investments into research and innovation in the public and private sector.
Motor challenges
Strategic challenges
CHALLENGES
FUTURE VISION
STRATEGIC CHALLENGES
MOTOR CHALLENGES
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2.5. Long-term commitment to a shared vision
THE SIGNATORY AGENTS AND THOSE ADHERING TO THE CARI

ACCEPT: That the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation has the mission of making Catalonia a leading country in research and innovation, with the aim of providing the territory and the agents working therein with the abilities with which to tackle the challenges and exploit the opportunities that will provide suitable levels of prosperity and wellbeing and create a society that lives within environmentally sustainable limits.
SHARE: The model of socioeconomic development for a Catalonia where research and innovation are the structural foundations. The diagnosis of the situation, the vision and the goal of research and innovation. The challenges that must be tackled in order to achieve the future positioning in research and innovation. AND COMMIT TO: Participating in generating and renewing the long-term commitment that this agreement represents. Directing their action in line with the challenges, strategies and commitments derived from this agreement and later revisions made to it. Cooperating with the other agents of the system and making this cooperation a core characteristic in order to achieve the desired objectives. Intervening so that research and innovation become a real and enduring priority on the political, economic and social agenda of the country. Disseminating a common vision and strategy that visibly demonstrate a clear desire to become a leading country in research and innovation.
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3.
CHALLENGES AND COMMITMENTS
CHALLENGE
1 TALENT
To have the best scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial talent
Research and innovation are processes that are based on the capacity to create, share and combine ideas in collaborative environments to pursue a scientific, economic or social result. The foundation for achieving this is people that have the appropriate scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial abilities (the knowledge, skills and attitudes) and organisations that are competent to exploit them and work together in networks. Moreover, the people who generate new knowledge, innovate and are enterprising, as well as the organisations where they work, are transformational and self-reinforcing, since the ideas and activities that they promote require other qualified people and organisations, with which they can establish relations that are rich and dense in knowledge, which in turn create new ideas and opportunities as well as systematic capacities. A society and an economy with an intensive use of creativity, knowledge and technology that must make entrepreneurial and innovative capacity into a structural element needs a growing number of qualified people at all levels, especially at the highest levels, incorporated into all sectors and all activities. We need more qualified technical personnel, university graduates, creators, researchers and technologists in order to reach a critical mass of professional profiles in line with social and economic needs and, in particular, for knowledge and innovation management.
CHALLENGE
By 2020, Catalonia aims to be among the leading countries in terms of the quality of the abilities, the suitability of profiles and the relative number of scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial personnel, as well as in terms of the capacity of public, private and service organisations to exploit this talent to their benefit and to the benefit of the research and innovation system in general.
OBJECTIVES
1.1. To have an education system and a professional environment that provides, promotes and maximises scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial skills. 1.2. To attain a critical mass of a sufficient number of qualified professionals with creative, scientific-technical and knowledge and innovation management profiles. 1.3. To recruit, recuperate and retain more and better scientific and innovative talent in the research and innovation system and to promote the mobility of this talent.
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OBJECTIVE 1.1
To have an education system and a professional environment that provides, promotes and maximises scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial abilities
The primary and secondary education levels are fundamental to the acquisition of the initial scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial abilities that are later needed to enable proper progress in the training system. Professional training has a critical role in the innovative capacity of organisations in the different activity sectors of the country, given the increasingly specialised and technical nature of work and the challenges of competitiveness that have emerged. In a similar way, throughout a career, lifelong learning must play a vital role in the innovative capacity of organisations in all sectors by maintaining and improving the abilities of the people, at all professional levels and in all fields. This is a key area where Catalonia has much ground still to cover. Higher education is a core element in a knowledge-based society and economy. We must train degree-qualified people with the best abilities in science, innovation and entrepreneurial skills, through a constant and open dialogue between the universities and the public and private sector agents. In particular, the abilities that the doctorate should give a student are essential to guarantee that this educational level responds to the needs and the challenges of the research and innovation system and the agents that work within it.
1 The Government of Catalonia and the education system agents will promote, in the context of the development of the Catalan Agreement on Education, the implementation of the measures necessary so that primary and secondary students in Catalonia reach levels of scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial ability comparable to those in leading countries, with a special emphasis on basic abilities of logical and critical thinking (conception, judgement and reasoning). 2 The Government of Catalonia, the business associations, the trade unions and the education system agents commit themselves, on the basis of the framework the actions set out in the Strategic Agreement to Promote the Internationalisation, Job Quality and Competitiveness of the Catalan Economy 2008-2011 as well as other actions, to introduce into integrated professional training a system of achievement for abilities in innovation and entrepreneurship designed to satisfy the current and future needs of the different activity sectors. 3 The Government of Catalonia, the business associations and the trade unions commit themselves to prioritising the funding for lifelong learning in order to establish a national training programme for innovation and innovative abilities that, with the collaboration of the education system agents, will systematically detect the needs and opportunities in the different sectors and professional fields and that will establish suitable training actions on the basis of international quality reference standards. In the same line, it is necessary to evaluate the adoption of an integrated system of professional education (regulated, occupational and continuing) with the participation of the Professional Qualifications Institute to promote the assessment, recognition and accreditation of abilities acquired through work experience. 4 The universities commit themselves to introducing in the curricula for the degree, masters and doctorate qualifications, within the framework of the European Area of Higher Education, the learning activities necessary to guarantee that all qualified people have both an appropriate level of comprehension of science and technology as well as of the uses of these disciplines and their impact and that they have the scientific, innovative (including innovation management and foreign language ability, among others) and entrepreneurial abilities coherent with those provided by the lower levels of education and aligned with general social-labour needs and specific professional fields, where appropriate.
COMMITMENTS
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OBJECTIVE 1.2
To attain a critical mass of a sufficient number of qualified professionals with creative, scientific-technical and knowledge and innovation management profiles
The fields of the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are essential for socioeconomic and technological development today and will be even more so in the future. It is necessary to anticipate how these subjects need to be adapted in curricula and to promote new pedagogical tools. It is also essential to increase the number of STEM professionals and to incorporate them into enterprises and the public sector in percentages that are comparable to those of the most advanced economies. It is also fundamental to value the role of the human and social sciences and their contribution to the research and innovation system with a special emphasis on new profiles in their own right (for example, consumption anthropology, technological/environmental law) and others linked to the relevant sectors of the economy (for example, service science). Moreover, it must be shown that knowledge and innovation in organisations are being directed and managed, meaning that it is not enough to have innovative and entrepreneurial professionals in one or many scientific and technological fields. All levels of management in the organisation need to have the best possible abilities for exploiting knowledge and innovation, their own abilities and those of the people they cooperate/compete with (coopetitors). These abilities must be closely related with those for the management of human resources and for the external relations tied to the incorporation and the exchange of knowledge and information. In this sense, it is important that STEM professionals, especially those in engineering, have training opportunities in organisation management, since they are well placed to achieve the objectives mentioned here. Our future success in innovation will also be determined by the degree of availability of more and better-trained professionals in the direction and management of research and knowledge transfer (e.g. intellectual property, R&D project management, innovation environment managers, scientific management, etc.) both in the public and private sphere.
5 The Government of Catalonia and the education system agents will undertake, in the framework of the Catalan Agreement on Education, the strengthening of the STEM fields in the curricula and the promotion of vocations in these fields in primary and secondary education. Likewise, the universities will design and implement a programme to improve the study of STEM in the university training of teachers and to continually update and improve the teaching of these subjects, promoting in this teaching both active learning and the advances achieved in these disciplines. In order to strengthen STEM teaching, an integrated information and orientation strategy will be designed, common to the education and employment system, to boost the relationship between integrated professional training, enterprises and the university, and training paths will be promoted that are based on professional internships, among others. 6 The Government of Catalonia will always have access to studies on the needs of the labour market for STEM professions (including the profiles linked to human and social sciences) and on the abilities required in the different sectors of activity, in view of which, and with the participation of the education system agents, policies and training activities will be adjusted in these fields for professional education, higher education and continuing education. 7 The Government of Catalonia and the universities will promote a programme of activities during the coming years to increase the demand for access to STEM courses aiming to curb the reduction in the number of qualified people in these fields.
COMMITMENTS
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8 The universities will promote training opportunities for qualified people to add knowledge and innovation management to their abilities. Likewise, together with the business associations, the trade unions and the Government of Catalonia, they will promote the training in these abilities at all levels of enterprise management. 9 The Government of Catalonia and the research and innovation system agents will determine the needs of professionals (profiles, abilities and work force needed) so as to direct and manage research and knowledge transfer (for example, intellectual property managers, RDI project managers) and will implement the necessary actions for their training and professional development.
OBJECTIVE 1.3
To recruit, recuperate and retain more and better scientific and innovative talent in the research and innovation system and to promote the mobility of this talent
The capture and retention of talent in the research and innovation system has to become a priority for all agents at all times. Consequently, it is not only necessary to invest more resources but also to create the best possible conditions to make Catalonia one of the most attractive places and with the most opportunity for performing research (in both the public and the private sphere) and for undertaking knowledge-intensive business activities. To this end, it is also important that the professions related to research and development be attractive, especially the professional career for scientists, and also demanding to guarantee quality and forward thinking. Under the principle of personal merit, Catalonia must make a significant effort in the coming years to promote policies and actions that enable the incorporation of more women and more people from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds into the research and innovation system, since the current loss of talent currently occurring is very high. Likewise, the capacity to detect precocious scientific and innovative talent must be developed. The number of research personnel (researchers and other related professions) and technologists, which has grown by 10% in recent years, must continue to grow and at greater percentage rates in the coming years, especially in the private sector, so as to attain the positioning desired for 2020. The presence of PhD graduates in Catalan enterprises and the public sector must increase significantly to approach the ratios that are in the most advanced countries. This is a key element for knowledge management in organisations that emphasises the importance of doctoral studies in achieving the desired change in the model of socioeconomic development. One possibility would be to strengthen the undertaking of doctorate studies from within enterprises, since this would bring them closer to the demands and realities of the enterprises and their sectors. Innovation must be recognised as one of the key capacities of organisations and of personnel. Thus, it must be placed at the top of the agenda of the countrys industrial relations and of the agents involved, and also in relation to the management of human resources and workplaces. Finally, knowledge transfer as a strategic value of the Catalan research system requires, among other needs, true and effective mobility in the research and innovation system, enabling open circulation of personnel without rigid restrictions and guaranteeing a benefit to both the people and organisations involved.
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10 The Government of Catalonia, with the participation of the other education system agents and within the context of the Catalan Agreement on Education, will develop a programme of measures to detect investigative and entrepreneurial talent during primary education, and especially during secondary and higher education, to enable specific actions to be carried out to retain and aid the progress of this talent in the research and innovation system. 11 The Government of Catalonia and the universities will promote the introduction of tenure track programmes or junior researcher positions in the research centres and the universities as steps towards a research career. The postdoctoral stage of a research career will always take place outside the institution where the doctorate was undertaken, and the possibility of returning to the initial institution will be under strictly competitive criteria. 12 The Government of Catalonia will develop a policy for hiring research personnel and university teaching staff using programmes designed to capture, retain and repatriate talent. Above all this will ensure that selection criteria follow the principles of capacity, prestige and excellence in line with international standards. Accordingly, the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) Programme will be strengthened, and its methodology and criteria will be extended to new programmes directed at hiring high-level teaching and research personnel, as well as highly qualified technical personnel, into the research and innovation system. 13 The Government of Catalonia and all the other Catalan research and innovation system agents will take the European Charter for Researchers as a reference framework on the rights and obligations of research personnel and they will advance progressively and selectively in providing suitable retribution and working conditions for research personnel that are competitive with those of countries better positioned in research. 14 The Government of Catalonia, the enterprises and all the other research and innovation system agents commit themselves to designing and implementing programmes and plans for equality to increase the presence of women in the research and innovation system. These plans must enable the curbing of the current loss of female talent in professional research careers, the promotion of the presence of women in decision-making positions in research and innovation and an increase of the number of research- and innovation-related positions for them in enterprises. 15 The Government of Catalonia and the education system agents commit themselves to developing a strategy to overcome the limitations to the incorporation of economically and socially disadvantaged groups into professional training, higher education and research careers. 16 The Government of Catalonia will strengthen the policies for the hiring of research personnel to Catalan universities, hospitals and research centres, with the aim of attaining ratios per capita similar to the most advanced countries. Likewise, the Government of Catalonia will promote the hiring of technical and research management personnel. Furthermore, the Catalan universities, hospitals and research centres commit themselves to developing a strategic plan for these human resources with the aim of guaranteeing the maximum impact on their research activities. 17 The universities, hospitals and research centres commit themselves to developing a management of human resources dedicated to research that maximises capacity and includes, within the limits of the legal and regulatory framework, tutoring, continuous assessment, competence-based training, recognition, incentives and supervision directed at improvement, among others.
COMMITMENTS
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18 The Government of Catalonia, with the collaboration of the business associations, commits to designing and implementing a plan for the hiring of research personnel and technologists at companies (especially SMEs), technology centres and other innovation intermediaries that strengthen R&D units or favour their creation, and to promoting links with research centres and universities. This plan will place a special emphasis on increasing the presence of PhD graduates in the production sector and the public sector promoting, among other measures, the undertaking of doctorate studies in enterprises/the public sector. 19 The business associations (and in the case of the public sector, the administration) and the trade unions will undertake the establishment of measures that lead to innovation being included within the definition and the management of the workplace (e.g. incentive policy) and on the agenda for collective negotiation as a key element for the competitiveness of enterprises and the quality of public services. 20 The Government of Catalonia and the research and innovation system agents commit themselves to implementing a programme to encourage the mobility of scientists, managers and technologists in the Catalan research and innovation system (including government agencies) to facilitate the transfer of knowledge associated with know-how, to promote links between agents, and as part of the training of personnel dedicated to research and innovation.
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CHALLENGE
2 PUSH
To develop and mantain a high capacity for generating and valuing cutting-edge knowledge
Today, investing in science and having a high investigative capacity for performing cutting-edge research in all fields of knowledge is a first-order social and economic necessity that plays a key role in Catalonias prosperity and wellbeing within the new model of socioeconomic development. However, not all countries have the same capacity to proportionally translate the knowledge generated or acquired into perceptible social and economic benefits for their citizens. Catalonia is aware of the important role of quality research, and its impact, which among other benefits provides and facilitates: increase in the stock of knowledge, both codified (publications) and tacit (skills, know-how An and experience). creation of new and better products, services and processes by enterprises and the public The sector. Knowledge-rich learning environments that train people with degrees and doctorates in the abilities that both the public and private sectors use, for the most part, to generate innovation. attraction of direct and indirect investments. In addition, a strong R&D sector is also an The economic sector that creates high-quality jobs and benefits for the industrial environment. creation of new enterprises emerging from knowledge and the results of research. The improvement in the development of public policies: health, transport, safety, etc. An promotion of the recruitment and retention of talent at the highest level. The development of useful new methodologies and scientific instruments that can often be The applied to a broader context than the one within which they are developed. stimulus to the networks and relationships that increase the social capital of the country. A increase in the capacity to tackle and resolve complex problems. An generation of intangibles, such as the projection and image of the country. The configuration of a scientific culture and making science a part of the culture. The
CHALLENGE
In the coming years Catalonia must make an ever greater effort to widen its base of knowledge and investigative capacity, with the aim of moving ever closer to the leading countries in scientific quality and scientific production per inhabitant, while at the same time transforming the valuing of knowledge into a key for socioeconomic prosperity.
OBJECTIVES
2.1. To strengthen the public research system. 2.2. To attain and profit from leading scientific and technological infrastructures. 2.3. To reinforce the capacity of research agents to value knowledge.
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OBJECTIVE 2.1
To strengthen the public research system
In all leading countries, the public research system is a key element of scientific and economic potential. In Catalonia, both the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government are involved and there is some overlap and funding is shared 60/40. However, the specific resources associated with the statutory abilities in research have never been handed over to the Government of Catalonia, except for those for agriculture. Thus there is the implication that if this situation does not change in the future, then it will correspond to both administrations to strengthen the Catalan research system, even though the structural funding for research in the Catalan universities, hospitals and research centres would mainly be supplied by the Government of Catalonia. The universities generate the greatest part of the research performed in Catalonia. Likewise, the hospitals and the research centres have a key role in the Catalan research system. It is essential that the universities continue to be of investigative quality and excellence on an international level in specific fields; that the hospitals continue being a key to biomedical research in this country and to the translation of this knowledge into wellbeing for the population and into economic benefits in the form of innovation; and that the Catalan research centres take leading positions in their specialities. In addition, the CSIC centres and the mixed research centres that may be formed between Catalan organisations and others worldwide must become a strategic element for Catalonia.
21 The Government of Catalonia will increase the funding for research by universities and hospitals so as to strengthen the investigative mission and the valuing of knowledge. In the case of the universities, this funding for research and valuing of knowledge will be provided in the context of the future revision of the university funding system, with the necessary collaboration of the Spanish Government, which must increase, directly or indirectly, the funding for research. The introduction of this new system of funding will be done, in terms of research and the third mission in particular, on the basis of recognised international experiences and will take into account the induced spending generated by intense research activity. 22 The Government of Catalonia will steer the funding for research and the valuing of knowledge to the universities and hospitals through multi-year programme contracts to enable better resource planning and the setting of objectives. This system will be applied to the institutions (following the current model in the case of the universities) and progressively to the research structures that fulfil conditions of critical mass, quality, leadership and the planning of suitable strategies, which also implies a reduction in the number of grants (that are often piecemeal) received by research groups and other research structures in the universities. 23 The Government of Catalonia will continue to support the Catalan research centres from the following foundations: guaranteeing the operative autonomy of the centres and an appropriate structural finance, ensuring the excellence of research activity and results, and implementing a research personnel policy based on talent capture. Likewise, it will encourage these centres to establish the necessary synergies with other agents of the research and innovation system, in particular with the universities, through relationship agreements in which mutual benefit is maximised. 24 The Government of Catalonia or, where appropriate, the corresponding agency will continue to grant structural funding to the Catalan research centres through the multi-year programme contracts that define mutual commitments and objectives for the centres.
COMMITMENTS
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25 The universities, research centres and university hospitals (and the research structures within these) commit themselves to developing a solid strategic and operational planning for performing and valuing research for internal decision-making and as a necessary framework for the programme contracts with the Government of Catalonia, or where appropriate, the corresponding agency. 26 The Government of Catalonia will promote the periodic assessment of the research structures and the strategic plans they implement, especially those in which it participates, by external scientific committees, and will follow procedures and criteria in accordance with international standards. 27 The Government of Catalonia will promote a framework agreement with CSIC to enable the implementation of cooperation and policy-alignment mechanisms. Within the resulting strategic planning, agreements will be promoted between the Catalan research centres and the CSIC institutes in Catalonia for developing mixed units or centres focusing on priority research areas for Catalonia. These agreements must guarantee the visibility and the independence of the promoting centres. 28 The Government of Catalonia will promote the integration of the Catalan research centres into the European system of research excellence and will promote the establishment of associated units and mixed centres with research centres in other countries.
OBJECTIVE 2.2
To attain and profit from leading scientific and technological infrastructures
The science and technology infrastructures (and the services they provide) that the research and innovation system agents can access determine to a great degree the capacity to perform first-rate research and innovation. Thus their development is a priority challenge for the coming years. The large-scale infrastructures, in particular, must be motors that give impetus to the research and innovation system and support the interdisciplinary work that is necessary for frontier research and the socioeconomic valuing of their activities. A decided investment in e-infrastructures and e-services in the coming years is vital to the Catalan research and innovation system. Access to sophisticated databases, innovation in data-transmission services, the development of virtual networks for advanced collaborative work and, especially, the availability of these capacities in the fields of education, health and enterprises are objectives that must be strengthened based on current experiences. It is also fundamental to have enough quality technical personnel and highly skilled managers to guarantee an optimal exploitation of these infrastructures.
29 The Government of Catalonia will define the strategies and planning and facilitate the optimal exploitation and coordination of the different scientific and technological infrastructures in Catalonia: large-scale infrastructures, e-infrastructures and other scientific and technological infrastructures. The strategy and planning will be necessarily aligned with the fields of focus and prioritisation of research and innovation that are decided.
COMMITMENTS
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30 The Government of Catalonia will implement a strategy of large-scale scientific and technological infrastructures that gives special attention to the need to have a permanent agenda of projects in cooperation with the Spanish Government, taking into account the ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures). This strategy also includes a programme to facilitate access by the Catalan research and innovation system agents to large-scale infrastructures located outside of Catalonia and to encourage the participation of research, technical and management personnel. 31 The Government of Catalonia will promote an effective strategy for and coordination of the e-infrastructures and e-services for research and innovation so as to enable Catalonia to position itself among the leading countries in the coming years. Likewise, it will ensure access to ICTs and e-services of the necessary quality so that this will in no way be a limiting factor in the carrying out of scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial activities in any part of the Catalan territory. 32 The Government of Catalonia, together with the research and innovation system agents, and especially taking into account the scientific-technical services of the universities, research centres, technology centres and large-scale infrastructures, will promote the coordination and support necessary to facilitate the efficiency and effectiveness of the scientific infrastructures and their capacity for improvement, renewal and extension. 33 The Government of Catalonia, with the support of the Spanish Government, will promote the implementation of a Plan for Scientific and Technological Infrastructures (PICT) 20092013 (that will include the current Plan for Research Infrastructures and some measures of the current Research and Innovation Plan (PRI). This plan will also include planning of the human resources, technicians and management required.
OBJECTIVE 2.3
To reinforce the capacity of research agents to value knowledge
Catalonia must adopt a broad1 vision of the transfer and valuing of the knowledge of research agents in society. This socioeconomic valuing of knowledge is also known, in the case of the universities, as the third mission (in reference to the fact that the universities have a first mission to teach and a second mission to generate new knowledge). This vision has to progressively approach co-creation and co-innovation, meaning a change in the linear model I do my work and then I transfer or value it to a less linear model of we work together. This vision must include a local and international vision, alliances, and cooperation with knowledge agents from other areas. Indeed, only some universities and research centres worldwide with a very high investigative capacity profit greatly from the valuing of the knowledge they produce. The common ground between these institutions is, moreover, the fact that the transfer mission is recognised by law, that the society appreciates it and wishes it to continue, that the leaders promote it from top down, that the community of research personnel and students value it, and that many means of incentive are used. If Catalonia is to value knowledge, then it needs its research agents to progressively assemble these conditions. The recognition of the third mission in broad terms, or of the transfer of knowledge, (tied to research contracts with enterprises or the public sector, to the exploitation of patents or to
A broad vision of knowledge transfer foresees the free dissemination of knowledge through the dissemination or scientific articles, to the transfer produced through people (qualified people and teachers that enter other organisations), the provision of advisory services and lifelong learning, contracted research (by enterprises or administrations), the exploitation of knowledge protected by patents, licences or other formulae, or the creation of spin-off companies that emerge from knowledge and research results.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation the creation of enterprises, among other possibilities) must also be promoted in the public funding systems, since structures necessary to perform these activities conveniently need capacities that are much more difficult to make economically profitable. Likewise, external intermediation structures must be incorporated into the system to facilitate complex processes of exploitation of intellectual property and to favour environments and processes for the incubation and launching of enterprises. A context of co-creation and co-innovation leads to an increase in the challenges of adequately managing intellectual and industrial property, both by public research organisations and by enterprises. In the coming years, Catalonia needs to become a leader in the management of intellectual property following the recent recommendations of the European Commission.2
34 The Government of Catalonia will encourage the public research agents, the universities, the hospitals and the research centres to treat their knowledge transfer activities, in a general fashion, as one of their missions and to make them a policy priority and permanent operative for all Government ministries and for their associated agencies and funding structures. Likewise, the mechanisms to provide incentive and recognition to personnel with investigative capacity by the public research agents, whether internally or externally through the assessment agencies, must take into account the activities of knowledge transfer in the general framework of carrying out the different tasks and roles required. 35 The universities, the hospitals and the research centres, understanding that transfer of knowledge with social and economic value, or, more broadly, the third mission, is one of their assigned tasks, commit themselves to building capacities in this area from a strategic and operational viewpoint and to cooperate among themselves when this will add value to the transfer and co-creation activities. 36 The Government of Catalonia and the research and innovation agents will design a joint plan for the medium and long term to review and re-orient the knowledge transfer activities of the public research agents and to improve their efficiency. 37 The Government of Catalonia and the research and innovation agents commit themselves to promoting, with the participation of the Spanish Government, where appropriate, the implementation of European Commission Recommendation C(2008)13293 on intellectual property management. 38 The Government of Catalonia will promote the creation of public-private instruments to value and commercialise, under the best possible conditions, the research generated. These instruments will be designed based on the benchmarks of successful experiences internationally. They will be complementary and coordinated with valuing and commercialising units of research agents. 39 The Government of Catalonia, in coordination with the research and innovation agents, will promote the incubation and growth of knowledge-intensive enterprises starting from the current incubator and technological launch pad initiatives.
COMMITMENTS
2, 3
European Commission Recommendation, of 10 May 2008, on management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities and code of practice for universities and other public research organisations.
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CHALLENGE
3 PULL
To innovate systematically as a basis for productive activity and public and social action
The most innovative countries have the highest quality of life. This innovation is produced in organisations in the private, public and third sectors and is diversified. In the coming years, Catalonia aims to adopt a broad vision of innovation diversified in: Purpose: economic, social, political and environmental. Orientation: product, process, organisation, business model and marketing. Origin: based on scientific and technological knowledge, on learning that comes from doing, on use or interaction with users, with providers or with other agents (doing-using-interacting innovation) and on creativity. Actors: users, consumers, citizens, professionals and workers in general, business people, scientists, technologists, managers and public and political administrators. Sciences and disciplines: hard sciences and technologies, social sciences and humanities, the creative arts and design. Catalonia aims to generate a favourable context for innovation from regulatory, legal, taxation and financial perspectives, among others. A context in which the organisations do not work in isolation, but rather integrate into complex innovation ecosystems in which their differentiating capacities can be exploited. In this vision of the future, the public sector, including the administration, must play a key role due to the volume of activity it performs, the fields it influences (health, education, environment, etc.) and its capacity to act as a motor to drive innovation. Catalonia meets special conditions to transform itself into a true first-rate innovation space where the different types of innovation are combined.
CHALLENGE
Catalonia would like to exploit its solid industrial and service base, the scientific quality that it has achieved and its human capital to create a confluence of different means of innovation so as to produce a greater economic, social and environmental benefit.
OBJECTIVES
3.1. To facilitate the development of the different types of innovation. 3.2. To generate favourable contextual conditions for innovation. 3.3. To encourage the growth of an innovative and knowledge-intensive business ecosystem. 3.4. To have an innovative public sector and administration that drive innovation.
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OBJECTIVE 3.1
To facilitate the development of the different types of innovation
A broad concept of innovation must be adopted, starting from the existing situation, by incorporating an improvement to the metrics and the measurement indicators that reflects reality. Technological and non-technological (e.g. organisational) innovation must become progressively more systematic in Catalan enterprises and the public sector. This implies an increase in the capacity to perform R&D and to acquire key technology as well as to incorporate knowledge from a wide variety of sources (workers, management personnel, users, suppliers) as well as the adoption of new business models and organisational configurations. Catalan industry, which is diversified and has great potential, is strategic reality for the future of Catalonia. The incorporation of innovation, with a broad vision, is a key element. The large Catalan enterprises and foreign multinationals, some of which only manufacture in Catalonia, have to become motors and drivers of research and innovation. The SMEs, in particular, need to cooperate among themselves to maintain relations of added value with the knowledge agents and suppliers by establishing a cooperation network that enables them to access and incorporate the necessary elements for them to systematically take on board the capacity to transform knowledge into value. Moreover, the services are and must remain a fundamental part of the economic and social activity of Catalonia, and of the future global economy. On one hand, their specific weight is based, to a great degree, on the need derived from industrial activity that has generated sophisticated knowledge-intensive services. On the other hand, the services linked to the wellbeing of society also become a key necessity and a motor that drives innovation. Paradoxically, however, the levels of knowledge available and attention given to encourage research and innovation in services are very low. Catalonia needs to take a decisive step in service innovation, based on existing potentials and the capacity to connect them with new technologies and new business models centred on the user-consumer. Industrial and service enterprises must have the appropriate technological and support services so that they can carry out their activities in a satisfactory manner. Thus, the enterprises offering knowledge-intensive services and the support of technology centres and other infrastructures become essential for business competitiveness, especially for the SMEs.
40 The Government of Catalonia, with the participation of the Catalan research and innovation system agents, will create a work group for reviewing and implementing a new system of research and innovation indicators that takes into consideration the broader view of innovation adopted. The design and implementation of the new metrics must take into account international experiments that are underway (exit, process, and entry indicators and the establishment of cause-effect relationships between them). Idescat (the Statistical Institute of Catalonia) must be involved in this process and it must enable RDI to be included in the strategic priorities of the next Statistical Plan of Catalonia. 41 The Government of Catalonia commits to developing, as a strategic priority during the coming years, support for business R&D projects, to consolidate high-technology and innovation nuclei in Catalonia, as well as to encouraging cooperative projects of a competitive nature, submitted to a rigorous assessment process and seeking the multiplication effect of public support on private investment. 42 The Government of Catalonia, with the collaboration of the business associations, commits to actively encouraging the participation of the large Catalan enterprises in RDI projects as motors of the research and innovation system. Specifically, these agents will be encouraged to participate in large-scale Spanish Government and European projects. 46
COMMITMENTS
43 The Government of Catalonia, through the agency ACC1 and its international network, and with the participation of the business associations, commits to reinforcing the attraction of the RDI-intensive activities of multinational enterprises, initially focusing on the companies that have intensive production activity established in Catalonia. 44 The Government of Catalonia will promote the technological support centres for applied R&D at businesses, through a renewed strategy that encompasses the reorganisation of the existing centres, the implementation of new lines of work in the fields of focus and prioritisation in Catalonia, and the strategic and operative cooperation of the accredited centres through a corporation model. 45 The Government of Catalonia will study the future needs for knowledge-intensive services4 in the different production sectors and regional areas of Catalonia in order to establish an action plan to facilitate their development. 46 The Government of Catalonia, the business associations and the trade unions will collaborate to define a horizontal strategy that will give decided impetus to non-technological innovation in Catalan companies, especially SMEs, and to the public sector. This strategy will emphasise innovation induced by the interaction with users, consumers and citizens, as well as innovation in processes, new business and marketing models, and organisational and design changes. Likewise, a special emphasis will be given to the role of personnel and professionals in these modes of innovation and in the interaction between non-technological and technological innovation. 47 The Government of Catalonia, with the participation of the research and innovation system agents, shall develop a wide-reaching transversal innovation strategy for the services sector, which also includes public services. This strategy must link technological innovation (mainly ICT) with non-technological innovation and it must also include a programme for training in different levels of service science. This initiative must include new innovation spaces (improvement circles, living labs and support sections) in which users, consumers and citizens are integrated with researchers, personnel, entrepreneurs, innovators, transfer experts, etc. 48 The enterprises, with the support of the Government of Catalonia and the business associations, must make innovation a systematic process in their activities so as to guarantee their survival and competitiveness. To this end, they must have the capacity to mobilise all personnel and material assets through appropriate direction and management of resources and knowledge.
OBJECTIVE 3.2
To generate favourable contextual conditions for innovation
The environmental conditions in which enterprises operate have a great impact on their innovative capacities. The regulations, laws and taxation environment, as well as the simplicity of administrative processing and the management of intellectual and industrial property, become very important facilitative instruments of innovation.
49 The Government of Catalonia, or, where appropriate, the political parties, will promote that the Catalan legislation and regulations, and those approved at a Spanish Government or European level, provide a favourable regulatory framework for innovation processes.
COMMITMENTS
Knowledge-intensive services are business services or operations that are strongly based on professional knowledge and provide knowledge-intensive services to enterprises and other organisations (such as the public sector) in the form of products based on primary information and knowledge sources, or that make use of the specialised knowledge they have in order to produce services that they provide to clients of their own activity.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation In Catalonia, they will reinforce the mechanisms so the new legislation to be approved by Parliament is reported on in terms of the impact on innovation processes. 50 The Government of Catalonia, or, where appropriate, the political parties will promote that Spanish Government legislation facilitates a favourable taxation treatment of investment in business R&D in accordance with the recent line of recommendations by the European Commission, especially when this business R&D is subcontracted to other agents in the research and innovation system. 51 The Government of Catalonia, in the context of the new, sole Taxation Agency of Catalonia, commits itself to facilitating that Spanish Government regulations relating to tax deduction of R&D activities by enterprises be applied with clear, consistent and predictable criteria. 52 The business associations and the enterprises commit themselves to disseminating the importance and the usefulness of the declarations of RDI activities by enterprises for internal management and for general decision making in the Catalan research and innovation system. 53 The Government of Catalonia, in coordination with other agents of the research and innovation system of Catalonia, will define and develop in the framework of the next Intergovernmental Plan for Research and Innovation, a programme aimed at improving how companies protect and manage industrial and intellectual property.
OBJECTIVE 3.3
To encourage the growth of an innovative and knowledge-intensive business ecosystem
The promotion of entrepreneurial activity is a strategic objective for the future and a key to this is to have people creating enterprises in a favourable environment knowledgeintensive enterprises that are born global and grow globally, with the capacity to strengthen the differentiating competitive capacities. These enterprises must be inserted into environments of proximity that facilitate the exchange of ideas and knowledge and interactions of added value. This implies promoting the creation of innovative environments that are, in turn, globally connected. These environments must also have a spatial (territorial) vision, to give impetus to geography of innovation that is translated to the economy of the whole of Catalonia.
54 The Government of Catalonia will plan, in coordination with the research and innovation system agents (including the local administrations) of Catalonia, actions to encourage entrepreneurship oriented towards the creation of knowledge-intensive enterprises, with special attention given to enterprising women (for example, disseminating reference models and positive action measures). 55 The Government of Catalonia, through the agency ACC1, will integrate the future and existing initiatives related to supporting business innovation, especially in SMEs, into a single plan. The plan will include an adequate support network within reach of the companies throughout Catalan territory and an effective information programme that integrates all the innovation support measures and actions of all the administrations (grants, taxation, intellectual property, training, regulations, etc.) The creation of a network to support creativity and business innovation that makes available to SMEs, in an integrated fashion, all the private, public and public-private initiatives that have a level recognised by ACC1 will be one of the action programmes to be implemented shortly.
COMMITMENTS
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56 The Government of Catalonia will promote, while taking into account existing initiatives, a new policy of research and innovation clusters, understood as knowledge and innovation communities in which enterprises and other agents of the research and innovation system expressly share interests, involvement and tangible and intangible resources. It will be a strategic objective that the research and innovation clusters in priority fields become knowledge and innovation communities recognised in the coming years by the future European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and have access to the significant competitive funding offered by the EIT. 57 The business associations, the local administrations, the universities and other research and innovation system agents, as well as the socioeconomic agents, commit themselves to strengthening the role of the science and/or technology parks as managers and promoters of the creation of innovation environments. The Government of Catalonia will promote, in alignment with the policies of the Spanish Government and with the research and innovation priorities of Catalonia, a support programme for the development of the parks that are accredited as such in the research and innovation system. Likewise, it will support the incorporation of infrastructures and proactive activities that encourage business innovation into the areas where enterprises are concentrated (centres, polygons). 58 The different socioeconomic agents (business associations, trade unions), the knowledge agents (universities, among others) and the public administrations (Government of Catalonia, local and provincial administrations) commit themselves to promoting territorial innovation synergies, that are coordinated and aligned with the Catalan system, with the purpose of addressing the different socioeconomic situations in Catalonia and planning, structuring and adding value and visibility to the initiatives underway to implement the new model of development based on knowledge. These initiatives must embrace the current PIC network, the innovation environments, the research and innovation clusters and other agents and initiatives in the context of the regional areas of Catalonia that emerge from administrative planning and current socioeconomic situation.
OBJECTIVE 3.4
To have an innovative public sector and administration that boost innovation.
Innovation in public services is essential if Catalonia is to be able to tackle the social challenges that it faces. Social and cultural services, as well as education, health and transport services must be delivered in an efficient and imaginative manner. Likewise, public services constitute a strategic element to drive business innovation if demand is sophisticated and exploits motor elements (e.g. energy efficiency and environmental improvement). Furthermore, public procurement is recognised by the European Union and by the different countries as a key element for the adoption and support of innovation, facilitating the development of innovative enterprises and becoming an economic motor in itself.
59 The Administration of the Government of Catalonia and the associated or dependent public sector, as well as the organisations that make up the local administration of Catalonia and the associated or dependent public sector, will design and implement together, within the limits of the current legislation, a plan to make public procurement an instrument to support business research and innovation, especially by SMEs, while at the same time guaranteeing the improvement of services provided to the public. With this purpose the Administrative Procurement Consulting Board of the Government of Catalonia, through the RDI working group, in collaboration with CIRIT (the Inter-ministerial Council for Research and Technological Innovation), must propose the appropriate measures and mechanisms to be incorporated in this plan.
COMMITMENTS
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60 The Government of Catalonia will promote research and innovation clusters in the services with social purposes (for example, educational services, social services, etc.) that integrate public and private research and innovation system agents. The universities will facilitate the coordination and regrouping of the research groups and structures in the field of social sciences and the humanities, so as to achieve a sufficient critical mass for integration in these clusters. 61 The Government of Catalonia will establish a knowledge transfer network on innovation in services between the public and private sector associated with the service clusters developed. 62 The Government of Catalonia, the local and provincial administrations, with the cooperation of the trade unions, the business associations and the user associations, and the active participation of the personnel and users, will promote, based on current initiatives, a strategic innovation plan for the public administration so it can become a reference for organisational functioning and innovative services adapted to existing needs.
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CHALLENGE
4 INTERNATIONALISE
To think, be and act globally in research and innovation
The internationalisation of research and innovation is necessary if we are to exploit all the potential and opportunities available. Currently, knowledge-generation networks are international, as are those of innovation, goods and services production and capital. Many of these overlap and make up complex ecosystems of research personnel, entrepreneurs, professionals, investors in venture capital, etc. These networks are made up of geographic nodes where there are concentrations of talent, and knowledge and innovation capacities. The benefits of a constant and progressive effort to internationalise research and innovation will be noted in the quality of the research and innovation in Catalonia and in the capacity to generate social and economic value inside and outside our context. It is for this reason that the strategy of internationalisation of research and innovation in Catalonia must be a firstorder transversal element for achieving the desired future position. Becoming globally active and competitive is an intrinsic part of being locally effective. This internationalisation must have three main areas for action that must be closely interconnected. Firstly, the people: in this case, research personnel, technologists, professionals and entrepreneurs. Secondly, the agents of the research and innovation system (universities and enterprises, among others) that have made outstanding efforts in recent years and that must be significantly strengthened. Finally, an action by the country is essential, especially but not only involving the government in the introduction of institutionalised strategies for obtaining resources, lobbying where decisions are made (including internationally), establishing cooperation alliances and projecting its capacities.
CHALLENGE
In the coming years, Catalonia would like to attain the solid integration of its system of science, technology and innovation on an international scale, while at the same time cooperating, influencing and being actively present at all levels and in all spheres and geographic areas worldwide that may be useful to the country and where it can also contribute to resolving global problems.
OBJECTIVES5
4.1. To orient and implement a joint coordinated action to internationalise research and innovation. 4.2. To strengthen the role of Catalonia as an international player in research and innovation. 4.3. To establish international strategic alliances and platforms for research and innovation.
5 Matters related to internationalisation are treated in other areas too: mixed international research centres, obtaining EU resources, etc.
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OBJECTIVE 4.1
To orient and implement a joint coordinated action to internationalise research and innovation
The different agents and processes of the Catalan research and innovation system must promote coordinated and synergic internationalisation efforts. With a future vision, higher education, research, technology, innovation and the commercialisation of products and services globally must establish transversal bridges that are mutually reinforced and that follow in the footsteps of leading countries. This must be an explicit, well-designed strategy and it must be implemented so as to have the necessary impact and maximise the effect and value of individual actions.
63 The Government of Catalonia, with the participation of the research and innovation system agents will define and revise periodically a joint and coordinated strategy of internationalisation of the Catalan research and innovation system that will be integrated within the internationalisation strategy of Catalonia. The implementation of this strategy will be performed through a programme shared by the agency ACC1 and by the agencies responsible for the implementation of research policies and with the participation of other ministries of the Government of Catalonia. 64 Furthermore, the research and innovation system agents commit, furthermore, to participating actively to implement the strategy of internationalisation of research and innovation and to reinforce the activities that they currently undertake to this end through strategic and operational planning, that must be aligned and coordinated with the whole system.
COMMITMENTS
OBJECTIVE 4.2
To strengthen the role of Catalonia as an international player in research and innovation
To make an impact in research and innovation internationally, it is necessary to have people prepared to participate in the international arena, not just in the specific fields of research and innovation, but in all areas and at all levels. This will enable the creation of synergies and quality contacts and relationship networks. Training people with open and global knowledge, skills and attitudes is a key challenge. Internationalisation is a phenomenon with many asymmetries. Visions, cultures, markets, sensibilities, rules and regulations are different and fragmented and will continue to be so. For this reason it is essential that Catalonia and the research and innovation agents have a profound knowledge of this semi-globalisation and that they make use of it in an opportune fashion. The capacity to be able to influence and be connected to places and networks of decision is one key element in the future strategy, as is the presence in networks and the external projection of the research and innovation capacities of the country, by explaining success stories and demonstrating true capacities.
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65 The Government of Catalonia and the education system agents will promote, in the context of the implementation of the Catalan Agreement on Education, the strengthening in curricula of the abilities that will encourage internationalisation at all educational levels (primary and secondary education, and integrated professional training system). Likewise, the universities commit themselves to reinforcing the activities that enable the improvement of the abilities of the student body that lead to knowledge of other societies and cultures, global socioeconomic trends and the capacity to work in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams, among others. 66 The Government of Catalonia, through the Agency for Administration of University and Research Grants and the ACC1 agency, will promote the multidisciplinary coordination of knowledge of the international situation, trends and socioeconomic and scientifictechnological predictions, with the collaboration of the different Catalan research and innovation system agents. 67 The Government of Catalonia will establish the mechanisms and instruments needed for an active presence in EU decision-making, with the aim of detecting opportunities, lobbying for the Catalan system and promoting institutional relationships with those responsible for EU science, technology, innovation and regional development policies. To this end, Catalan experts, technicians and managers will be encouraged to participate in international science, technology and innovation organisations and structures. 68 The Government of Catalonia will support a network of business ambassadors and scientific-technological consuls to the different regions and countries strategic to the Catalan research and innovation system and an agenda of relations systematised with the key managers of the main multinational enterprises in the fields and sectors in which Catalonia has opportunities to differentiate itself. 69 The Government of Catalonia, together with the research and innovation system agents, will promote a programme of international communication of Catalan research and innovation, with its own differentiating framework that projects the potential of the human capital, the research and innovation of Catalonia and the individual and collective success stories of the system. 70 The Government of Catalonia will strengthen the participation of the research system agents dedicated to scientific divulgation and the socialisation of science in international networks. Support will be given to the science and technology museums and the scientific dissemination organisations so as to create an international presence and to the establishment of a network of international ambassadors of scientific culture and to the presence of Catalans on international committees linked to science and society.
COMMITMENTS
OBJECTIVE 4.3
To establish international strategic alliances and platforms for research and innovation
The establishment of research and innovation alliances between countries has increased substantially in recent years. Catalonia must identify the countries and regions with which it wishes to interact strategically and establish effective channels of institutional cooperation with them.
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71 The Government of Catalonia will define and implement a policy of international strategic alliances in science, technology and innovation. This strategy has to establish, as a minimum, three spheres of action for countries and/or regions: leading countries in science, technology and innovation; geographically strategic areas for Catalonia (Europe, North Africa, Eastern countries and South America); and developing countries. In the last group, the policy of cooperation for development must be aligned with research and innovation to strengthen the growth of the knowledge society in these countries. 72 The Government of Catalonia, in order to introduce the strategy of internationalisation of research and innovation, will reinforce the capacities of the ACC1 network established around the world and will consolidate the evolution of the former COPCA (Consortium for Commercial Promotion of Catalonia) offices, into which the capacities related to science, technology, innovation and the capture of investments must be incorporated. Likewise, reinforcement will be given to the alignment of efforts, especially with the chambers of commerce and with other instruments, such as Anella Internacional, the business ambassadors, the technological consuls and the Ramon Llull network. The possibilities of a system of Spanish embassies and the ICEX programmes must also be exploited. 73 The Government of Catalonia will strengthen the creation of technological landing platforms in worldwide hotspots with the highest scientific-technological density. In the coming years, this initiative, together with the business landing platforms, must create a worldwide network of Catalan research and innovation nodes. These nodes have to the mission of bringing together entrepreneurs, enterprises and universities, among others, to strengthen relationships and carry out projects of mutual benefit. Likewise, they must act as platforms to attract talent and promote the capacities of the higher education and scientific-technological system of Catalonia.
COMMITMENTS
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CHALLENGE
5 SOCIALISE
To ensure that Catalan society be infused with science, technology and innovation
The degree to which Catalan society is infused with science, technology and innovation must be, on the long term, a key to becoming a worldwide reference point for cutting-edge research and innovation. A society that knows and recognises the value of science, technology and innovation and its promoters is a society that is more inclined towards change and transformation, a society that is more reactive and proactive to challenges and opportunities, a knowledge society and also a thinking society. In Catalonia, significant efforts have been made in recent years to socialise science, technology and innovation. However, there are no reasonable data to show that these efforts have been sufficient. Coordinated measures must be developed in all areas: education, leisure, culture and communication, public recognition of scientists and entrepreneurs, recovery of the concept of industry at a social level, etc. Furthermore, the process of socialisation will determine whether people feel and act as a part, and at certain times, as a nucleus, of the innovation process. This is an important element of what is called the democratisation of innovation, an essential challenge to enable more and better innovation, but also to include people, as intelligent and active citizens, users and consumers in the research and innovation system.
CHALLENGE
Catalonia aims to place science, technology and innovation in the foreground of Catalan society in the coming years and to help the people recognise and understand the importance of research and innovation for the country, so that they become involved in the system as intelligent and active citizens, users and consumers.
OBJECTIVES
5.1. To orient and implement a joint coordinated action for the socialisation of science, technology and innovation. 5.2. To bring science, technology and innovation into close contact with the people. 5.3. To place science, technology and innovation in the foreground of the political, social and economic arenas in Catalonia.
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OBJECTIVE 5.1
To orient and implement a joint coordinated action for the socialisation of science, technology and innovation
The socialisation of science, technology and innovation is a complex process that covers many areas and fields. For the initiatives by the different agents, a joint strategy must be found to reinforce actions and direct them towards the vision of the future.
74 The Government of Catalonia, with the participation of the research and innovation system agents, will define and review periodically a joint long-term strategy for the socialisation of science, technology and innovation. 75 The Government of Catalonia, with the participation of the Catalan research and innovation system agents, the media and the education system agents will implement a plan for the socialisation and communication of science, technology and innovation. For its operational implementation, the Government of Catalonia will designate a node coordinator at a national level.
COMMITMENTS
OBJECTIVE 5.2
To bring science, technology and innovation into close contact with the people
The nearness of science, technology and innovation to the activities of peoples day-to-day lives is a key element in the proposed long-term strategy.
76 The Government of Catalonia will promote agreements with the publicly-owned media and, where applicable, with the privately-owned media operating in Catalonia to reinforce the incorporation of science, technology and innovation, and the agents involved in them, into media content, especially in spaces with the largest audiences. Likewise, the Government with promote that the media, with the participation of the universities, implement a lifelong learning programme on science, technology and innovation for communications professionals. 77 The Government of Catalonia will promote a programme to develop scientific communication with the objective that Catalonia becomes a point of reference in this field. This programme must be based on a white paper on current activities and must determine the coordination measures necessary among the agents to carry out the most efficient and effective action possible. 78 The agents of the research and innovation system commit themselves to incorporating the dissemination of science, technology and innovation as one of their core activities and to developing a coordinated planning aligned with the Catalan programme. Likewise, the research agents commit themselves to include scientific dissemination as a knowledge transfer activity that must be taken into account when the activity of research personnel is assessed. 79 The business associations, with the support of the Government of Catalonia, will promote a plan of actions so as to highlight, to the whole of Catalan society, the importance of industry as a generator of social and economic value and as a source of the future wellbeing of the society. In the same way, the trade unions, with the support of the Government of Catalonia, will disseminate to the workers of Catalonia the importance of science, technology and innovation to business competitiveness and the quality of public services. 56
COMMITMENTS
80 The public and private organisations and consortia for cultural and tourism promotion will develop the existing networks of industrial and science museums and promote the dissemination by the research and innovation agents of Catalonia to emphasise scientific aspects (scientific and innovative potential, science museums, historic sites related to science, etc.) in the international promotion of tourism in Catalonia. Likewise, the enterprises and the other research and innovation agents commit themselves to developing programmes that bring citizens, students and tourists to the activities that they develop. 81 The Government of Catalonia, together with the cultural agents and those of the cultural industry will promote a coordinated action plan to incorporate science, technology, innovation and the values that are derived from them and their protagonists into the content of cultural and leisure products.
OBJECTIVE 5.3
To place science, technology and innovation in the foreground of the political, social and economic arenas in Catalonia
Science, technology and innovation must be situated in the social reality and the collective consciousness of Catalonia based on their recognition and outstanding presence in the political, social and economic arenas. The active participation of people as users, consumers and citizens in the processes of social and economic innovation must be a key element and it must be consciously planned.
82 The political forces present in the Parliament of Catalonia commit themselves to developing an action plan to promote the presence of science, technology and innovation in dayto-day political activity. To this end they will develop an instrument in the Parliament of Catalonia that will give impetus to and advise parliamentarians in these fields, and instigate periodic debates on the state of science, technology and innovation in the country, as well as periodic meetings between parliamentarians, researchers, entrepreneurs, among others. 83 The Government of Catalonia will prepare an annual report that describes the progress of the country in the new model of socioeconomic development based on talent, research and innovation. This report will be presented in the Parliament of Catalonia and will be adequately disseminated in the media. 84 The socioeconomic agents and the political parties commit themselves to reinforcing the organisational, informational and training structures for science, technology and innovation and to including these aspects in a pre-eminent and outstanding position in their campaigns and planning, given their importance to the countrys progress. 85 The social agents, the Government and the public administrations of Catalonia will promote connections between people and networks and public participation groups directed at social innovation and will support the active participation of the user associations established in Catalonia to promote active training and information programmes for consumers and users, with one aim being to increase sophisticated demand for products and services. 86 The Government of Catalonia will create a permanent international forum leading the socialisation of science, technology and innovation to encompass the current diverse initiatives. Likewise, the Government of Catalonia will support the creation of a Catalan science, technology and society portal as a reference instrument for the effort of Catalonia to socialise these fields. 87 The Government of Catalonia will promote the social recognition of scientific personnel and of innovators and entrepreneurs, taking into account the existing initiatives. 88 The Government of Catalonia will promote an entrepreneurial support programme for young and newly created enterprises dedicated to the dissemination of science, technology and innovation. 57
COMMITMENTS
CHALLENGE
6 FOCUS
To focus and prioritise research and innovation
Until now, in practice, the European Union and the Spanish Government have designed the multi-year research and innovation programmes that set the strategic direction for research and innovation and define the priority fields. In Catalonia, the public policy strategy has centred on providing basic capacities (human resources and infrastructures) to enable competitive access to the prioritised (and assessed) resources of the European Union and the Spanish Government. The creation of Catalan research and technology centres for certain fields has been, in terms of their strategic orientation, the most outstanding action taken until now, and these have been focused on fields where there is potential and need. In terms of future vision, due to its size and specific socioeconomic situation, Catalonia needs to have its own strategic direction in research and innovation that enables it to focus future public and private efforts in a stable and consistent manner. This strategic direction must be set taking into account the scientific, technological and innovative potential of Catalonia, any clear existing or unexpectedly arising social needs, and the characteristic features of the Catalan economic structure for tackling local and global opportunities. This research and innovation strategy must be the basis for the alignment of the public policies of the Government of Catalonia with those of the Spanish Government, or vice versa, and also with those of the EU, and for the establishment of essential synergies with private initiatives to set a common course. Moreover, this strategic focusing of Catalan research and innovation must provide a response to the need to include the different regional situations of the country in the society and economy based on knowledge.
CHALLENGE
Catalonia must have its own strategy to focus on and prioritise research and innovation that is solid and sustained over time, one that is formulated based on its socioeconomic and scientific-technical needs, challenges and opportunities and implemented through public policies aligned between the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government. Moreover, it must exploit EU policies and establish synergies with private initiatives.
OBJECTIVES
6.1. To define the strategy for focusing on research and innovation in Catalonia. 6.2. To design and develop the regional strategy for specialisation in science, technology and innovation. 6.3. To specify which fields will be strategic priorities for research and innovation in the coming years. 6.4. To direct instruments and resources towards the areas focusing on and prioritising research and development.
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OBJECTIVE 6.1
To define the strategy for focusing on research and innovation in Catalonia
Foundations of the strategy for focusing on research and innovation in Catalonia. The strategy for focusing on research and innovation in Catalonia must be directed towards developing and maintaining differentiating abilities that: 1. Make it possible to tackle existing challenges and opportunities (local and global). 2. Enable the reinforcing of current sectors and the launching of new ones. 3. Allow the creation of a quality scientific, technological and innovative base. These focus points must complement each other and they must be mutually reinforced.
Focus on challenges and opportunities: Focus of research and innovation on challenges in Catalonia and/or global ones that respond to: - The political commitment of the country. - Unexpected needs that have arisen and must be answered. - Strategic opportunities that respond to global needs in areas where Catalonia has differentiating capacities. These challenges and opportunities can be: - Social: intercultural dialogue, immigration, security, health, education, dependence, leisure, etc. - Environmental: water, new energy sources, climate change, sustainable use of the environment, etc. - Economic: the current importance of services, the creativity economy, cheap technological products for developing countries, strengthening of existing sectors with new sciences and technologies, opening of new emerging sectors with potential, etc. - Regional: the organisation of the territory as a key substrate in the development of human, social and economic activities. - Scientific and/or technological: finding an alternative technology for certain processes, among other applications. - Complex challenges: design and management of future cities, etc. - The territory and sustainability as horizontal drivers of RDI. The ability to respond to a particular challenge involves both having the capacity to embrace the necessary abilities in science, technology and innovation and having sufficient abilities in the certain public and/or private sectors affecting the challenge. Usually, the more key or strategic the challenge or opportunity, the more internal (from within Catalonia) the abilities that must be embraced to take on and control the challenge. Whatever the case may be, the differentiating abilities of a challenge directly affect the capacity to understand the challenge more completely. Focus on economic sectors (public, private and service sector): 1. Focus on research and innovation designed to strengthen abilities in the industrial and service sectors that have an outstanding impact on the Catalan economy (in percentage of GDP and in percentage of GAV) and on employment today: primary and food and agricultural sector, industrial sectors (chemical and pharmaceutical, automotive and transport, electronic, textile, metal, energy, etc.), cultural and creative industries, service sectors (trade, tourism, sports, services to people and organisations), construction, transport and logistics, telecommunications, etc.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation 2. Focus on research and innovation designed to promote abilities in the sectors that have and need to have (emerging sectors) an important impact on the future of society and the economy, such as biotechnology. 3. Focus on public sector and service sector areas where there are social priorities that require a response. Research and innovation ability in a particular sector (public, private or service sector) involves the capacity to assemble the scientific, technological and innovative abilities connected with this sector and also to acquire abilities in the complementary sectors that reinforce this sector. Hybridisation must be encouraged between the sectors considered as low-technology sectors and those that are of high technology (tourism and ICT, construction and new materials, etc.). Focus on science, technology and innovation: 1. Focus on reinforcing abilities in the sciences and technologies that are key players in the capacity to generate new cutting-edge knowledge and contribute to strengthening abilities in the sectors (water and nanotechnologies, among others) and challenges (dependence and ICT, etc.) which centre around: - Rapidly growing sciences (nanotechnology, biotechnology, ICT, photonics, clean processes, etc.) and technologies (food, chemical, materials, ICT, energy and environmental, health, production, among others), which are the basis for the competitiveness of economic sectors. - Organisation sciences and new socio-technical sciences (service sciences). - Human and social sciences and the interaction of these disciplines with science, technology and innovation (economy of innovation, ethics and technology, regulation of new technologies, etc.) - Supercomputing and e-services. - Basic sciences (mathematics and physics). 2. Focus on the growth of abilities in the different modes of innovation that have transversal impacts on the challenges and in the sectors: - Innovation in business models and concepts, in public service models, etc. - Innovation in the interaction between services and products and users, consumers and citizens. - Innovation in the optimisation and the transformation of processes. - Innovation in products (design, integration of the product into the service, etc.).
89 The Government of Catalonia commits itself, in the coming months, to setting the long-term focus for research and innovation in Catalonia on the basis of the strategic foundations defined in this agreement and through the rigorous expert procedures that this positioning requires. Likewise, it will specify, within the challenges, sectors, sciences and technologies to be focused on, the segments for specialisation that must be covered as a minimum during the next multi-year planning period for research and innovation in Catalonia. Likewise, the Government of Catalonia commits itself to promoting a process of alignment with the Spanish Government based on the results of this focusing process. 90 The Catalan research and innovation agents commit themselves to taking into account and aligning the research and innovation strategies and actions that are carried out as a result of the focusing process.
COMMITMENTS
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OBJECTIVE 6.2
To design and develop the regional strategy for specialisation in science, technology and innovation.
All of the most advanced countries have adopted an express strategy of regional development for their science, technology and innovation systems based on criteria of balance, cohesion and the pre-existing socioeconomic situation. These strategies are accompanied by a regional specialisation that is often implemented through the establishment of clusters that meet with other similar or complementary ones in a network on a national level. Catalonia needs to shape a solid strategy that sets, based on the initiatives that have been implemented in recent years, the role and specialisation of the different regional socioeconomic situations in the fields that are the focus of research and innovation in Catalonia, so that this may serve as a shared framework for the coherent development of policies and actions for all research and innovation system agents.
91 The Government of Catalonia commits itself, in the context of the next Inter-ministerial Research and Innovation Plan and with the participation and consultation of the socioeconomic agents, to defining and drawing up a map of regional specialisation in science, technology and innovation in Catalonia and to establishing effective coordination networks, should there be different territories specialised in the same field. The criteria for the preparation of the map must be framed within the existing socioeconomic and scientific-technological situation, the decisions that have been taken in recent years and the concepts of regional balance and viability and opportunity, and they should cover the focus and prioritisation areas defined for research and innovation. The map of regional specialisation in science, technology and innovation must be an open tool, but with enough stability to enable it to serve as a framework for medium- to long-term decision-making in the planning of the research and innovation system of Catalonia. 92 The Government of Catalonia, through its policy implementation structures, where applicable, and the agents of the research and innovation system commit themselves to the carrying of the results derived from this map of regional specialisation to their respective policies and planning, as well as to the mutual agreements on research and innovation (cooperation agreements, programme contracts, etc.) established.
COMMITMENTS
OBJECTIVE 6.3
To specify which fields will be strategic priorities for research and innovation in the coming years.
Framework for the strategy for focusing on research and innovation in Catalonia Having defined and developed a solid strategy for focusing on research and innovation, in order to strengthen the research and innovation system, Catalonia must set a few strategic priorities: A direction of prioritisation derived from a focus on: - Sectors. - Transversal technologies. - Challenges. - Large areas of common ground between different abilities. - Specific fields of excellence and opportunity. Prioritisation objectives (for what, to enable what) that: - Have an important social and/or economic impact. - Achieve international visibility that enables Catalonia to compete with leaders. - Enable action in the country to be sustained over time. - Focus economic and organisational resources, relationships, alliances, etc. - Align efforts in the Catalan system with those of the Spanish and European systems. 61
Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation Prioritisation procedures (how to prioritise, who prioritises) with: - Independent and rigorous future-focused exercises with the participation of panels of experts from business, the public sector and academia. - Criteria: a) capacity: there is a scientific, human capital and business sector potential to differentiate; b) opportunity: possibility of competing in a global manner among the best, in the fields with a future perspective; c) viability: assumable effort (time, resources, risk) to move from the current position to one that guarantees impact. - Prioritisation decisions, like focus decisions, taken by the Government after consideration by the CARI Steering Committee with a guarantee that enough political support has been achieved to lend this prioritisation and focus the necessary stability.
93 The Government of Catalonia commits itself to taking into account the foundations in this agreement when setting the strategy for the focus on and prioritisation of research and innovation in Catalonia. Likewise, the focusing and prioritisation processes and methodologies will be agreed on by the signatory agents to the CARI, which will monitor the work performed through the Steering Committee provided for in the agreement.
COMMITMENT
OBJECTIVE 6.4
To direct instruments and resources towards the areas focusing on and prioritising research and development
It is not enough to just define the strategy for focus and prioritisation and prepare the map of regional specialisation. Instruments must be activated to implement the strategy. Thus it is necessary that, on one hand, Catalonia have its own instruments, programmes and resources directed at these aims and, on the other hand, that the fields of focus and prioritisation be aligned with other actions by the Spanish Government and the EU through the mechanisms that are available and opportune in each case.
94 The Government of Catalonia will create a programme for strategic research and innovation projects in the fields of focus and prioritisation in Catalonia (sciences and technologies, sectors and challenges). The resources allocated to this programme must not substitute but rather complement and reinforce those that are obtained competitively on a Spanish Government or European level with the same aims and for the same fields. Likewise, through these funds, incentive must be given to strategic cooperation with leading innovation clusters worldwide through projects with joint funding. 95 The Government of Catalonia, the other public administrations of Catalonia and the other agents of the research and innovation system commit themselves to aligning future actions and resources in research and innovation and to taking into account the framework for focus and prioritisation that will be established for Catalonia in the coming months.
COMMITMENTS
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CHALLENGE
7 FACILITATE To adopt a governance
of the research and innovation system that is intelligent, efficient and effective
The organisation of the research and innovation system affects the identification of the groups and agents that comprise it and their assigned roles (organisation of the system), as well as the structural interactions established by the system for their interaction (linking of the system). Moreover, governance influences the mechanisms that the system adopts for making decisions and implementing them. In governance, the agents are grouped on different levels, and each of these normally has different functions: policy advising (specific bodies); policy decision-making (governments, administrations); policy implementation (agencies, etc.); execution of research and innovation (universities, enterprises, etc.); and facilitating agents (business associations, trade unions and the financial system, among others). The fact that research and innovation have become the foundations for socioeconomic progress is producing strong pressures on and demands in the system, which requires greater efficiency and effectiveness. This fact involves going beyond occasional improvements and making deep changes, as leading countries have done in recent years, to the organisation and governance of the research and innovation system. To add complexity, these transformations must necessarily take into account the relationship between the different systems that overlap each other: local and within the territory, regional, Spanish, European and also international, in which more and more decisions are made that affect other fields (such as trade and large-scale infrastructures). The interaction and the governance between the different areas of the systems are now also key in reaching the desired objectives.
CHALLENGE
Catalonia aims to have an efficient and effective organisation and governance of research and innovation, where agents cooperate actively and have clearly established responsibilities. A system is needed that is expert at decision-making and in implementing policies, that systematically assesses all the activities carried out and that has a high capacity for learning. This is a system that has a shared long-term vision and the capacity to respond to changes, one that facilitates the actions of research and innovation agents, in the public, private and service sectors.
OBJECTIVES
7.1 To establish a solid organisation and link among the agents in the Catalan research and innovation system and to strengthen cooperation therein. 7.2 To develop a dynamic model of governance that strengthens strategic capacity and coherence in decision making and in the design and implementation of research and innovation policies. 7.3 To maximise the efficiency, the effectiveness and the learning capacity of the research and innovation system.
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OBJECTIVE 7.1
To establish a solid organisation and link among agents in the Catalan research and innovation system and to strengthen cooperation therein
Foundations for the organisation of the Catalan research and innovation system agents
A) In the area of people: The vision presented in this agreement represents the consideration of a broader involvement of the people who are part of the research and innovation system: 1. Research personnel defined in accordance with the European Charter for Researchers (research, technical and management personnel, etc.) 2. Professionals that generate innovative actions and who are entrepreneurs within the public and private or service sector organisations where they work. 3. Entrepreneurial personnel that create and incite the growth of the enterprises of this country. 4. People who (as citizens, consumers or users) actively and systematically participate in processes and activities related to science, technology and innovation (participants in living labs, amateur scientists, business angels, etc.). B) In the area of research agents: 1. The universities are the key agents of the Catalan research and innovation system through the following three missions: - Training the graduates and research personnel of this country with the necessary abilities (knowledge, skills and attitudes). - Performing the greater part of the basic research in Catalonia from a broad knowledge base. - Incorporating knowledge directly into the innovation system, through qualified people, using innovation intermediaries or the cooperation in clusters or other groups said people belong to. Furthermore, they encourage entrepreneurship and the creation of enterprises emerging from knowledge and research and boosting and driving the cultural and socioeconomic environment of the territory with global vision and action. 2. The hospitals and the primary care centres that are under them are the nuclei of research and innovation in the biomedical and socio-sanitary sector of the country: - They are, together with the universities, the professionals tied to the socio-sanitary sector that have the necessary abilities (knowledge, skills and attitudes). - They develop the larger part of basic and translational research in the field of biomedicine and health in the country. - They boost and drive the socioeconomic environment, they interact with the production sector and they generate opportunities. 3. The research centres have a key role due to the fact that they are motors and drivers of toplevel research and innovation: - They strengthen the capacity to generate and value cutting-edge knowledge in areas relevant to the research and innovation system of Catalonia with the objective of achieving international excellence in their disciplines. - They have a high capacity to capture and retain talent and to become exceptional scientific nodes and they contribute significantly to knowledge transfer through cooperation with the public and private sector, the creation of enterprises and the integration of clusters and knowledge communities. - In terms of research centres (including large-scale research infrastructures), we must
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation distinguish between the Catalan research centres with their own legal identity and functional and operative autonomy, the CSIC centres in Catalonia, and the mixed research centres established with CSIC, CIEMAT (the Spanish Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology), the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the CNRS (the National Centre for Scientific Research, France), the INSERM (the National Institute for Health and Medical Research, France). - The Catalan centres form part of a system made up of organisations with their own legal identity (foundations or consortia), created and participated in by the Government of Catalonia and by the universities and/or other organisations, and they have organisational autonomy, an effective governance, and flexibility in the hiring of personnel. The linking of these organisations with the university system must be done by assigning them to the universities without affecting the autonomy that these centres currently have. 4. The research centres or research activities of the enterprises and other public or publicprivate organisations established in Catalonia that have structural R&D activities. 5. Other agents performing structural R&D and following the parameters and general principles of the system (regional or local study or research centres, museums, the CAR in San Cugat, etc.) C) In the area of innovation intermediaries: 1. The Catalan technology centres (and those for technological dissemination) that are publicly-privately owned, privately owned with special public participation or completely privately owned: - They have an essential role in the supply of knowledge- and technology-intensive services in the value chain of the activities of the enterprises and organisations of Catalonia. - They (the technology centres promoted by the Government of Catalonia) perform strategic R&D in their respective sectors based on their connection with research agents. 2. The science and/or technology parks are quality environments for knowledge-intensive activities that are directed, with a future vision, to the management of intangibles that generate value for the agents incorporated in or associated with the park and for their socioeconomic environment: - The science parks gather together, in an investigative environment directed at the application of knowledge, public and private research agents, value-appreciation structures, and specialised incubators. - The science and technology parks also include technology centres and enterprises undertaking knowledge-intensive activities. - The technology parks gather together enterprise incubators and knowledge-intensive enterprises and activities. 3. The incubators, the business centres and the business-driven centres for knowledge-intensive activities, located mainly in the science and/or technology parks, incorporate the necessary services to promote the creation and growth of knowledge-intensive enterprises. 4. The private enterprises or the public-private entities dedicated to valuing and commercialising knowledge. D) In the area of innovation agents: 1. The private innovation enterprises (new technology-based enterprises, SMEs and large enterprises performing innovation activities) are the foundation for the creation of wealth and employment in the country: - They systematically undertake innovation activities that lead to products, services and processes that are useful to society and the economy. - They internationalise these activities in value niches and exploit differentiating capacities. - They incorporate talent and capacity and they integrate themselves into national and international research and innovation networks and clusters.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation The general enterprises or those specialised in certain sectors that provide knowledgeintensive services play a key role in business innovation and in the innovation of organisations in general. 2. The public sector influences the majority of the collective services offered to people and in the organisations of the country through the public administration, the health, education, social, transport and communication services, etc.: - It has a critical mass of the important talent in the countrys workforce. - It performs processes and provides services that are potentially innovative. - It encourages innovative action in enterprises and in other activities through public procurement, the demand for sophisticated services and the promotion of innovative services and activities that draw in users and other organisations. - It provides continuing education to a broad body of professionals. - It is a boosting factor in the economy and society. 3. The service or third sector (non-profit-making organisations) performs actions for social improvement and change in which there is a capacity for innovation and to also bring in other activities and organisations. E) In the area of facilitating and modulating agents: 1. Business associations: they promote and boost business innovation. 2. Trade unions: they boost, through collective negotiation instruments and union activity, the generation of workplace environments favourable to innovation. 3. Local and provincial administrations and other entities: they provide an economic boost. 4. The media: it infuses society with science, technology and innovation. 5. Financial and venture capital: this facilitates innovative business initiatives. 6. Political agents: they prepare laws, regulations and lead research and innovation. These agents, in addition to providing support for or participating directly or indirectly in the research and innovation system, have an importance in that they themselves, through innovation in processes and internal activities, are motors and drivers of the system.
Foundations for the linking and the cooperation of agents in the Catalan research and innovation system
A) In the area of people: 1. The social networks and scientific, entrepreneurial, innovative, professional, user, and consumer associations that mobilise, boost and exchange experiences and knowledge both in person and through networks become individual linking instruments necessary to a dynamic research and innovation system. B) In the area of the research and innovation system agents: 1. The associations of agents of the same type (such as universities joining with universities, research centres with research centres or technology centres with technology centres) designed to establish cooperation for mutual benefit (sharing best practices, common services or common strategies) bring a significant improvement in efficiency and effectiveness to the research and innovation system and increase its potential. 2. The structural relationships linking agents of different types, understood as those that the system establishes that must be maintained with others to benefit the general action of the system (for example, universities with research centres, universities and research
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation centres with technology centres), must be developed based on clearly defined frameworks in which the respective organisations must establish corresponding structural relationship agreements. 3. The public-private groupings among agents in the research and innovation system, the various kinds of interest groups, linked through flexible legal formulae and favoured for the establishment of cooperation between the research and innovation system agents and the research and innovation clusters, must be one of the types of strategic groupings for developing the Catalan research and innovation system.
96 The Government of Catalonia will take opportune actions to organise, accredit and link the agents of the research and innovation system of Catalonia in accordance with the foundations agreed in the CARI. The processes of organising, accrediting and linking will affect the research structures of the universities, hospitals, the Catalan research centres, the technology centres, the science and/or technology parks and the research and innovation clusters, among others.
COMMITMENT
OBJECTIVE 7.2
To develop a dynamic model of governance that strengthens strategic capacity and coherence in decision making and in the design and implementation of research and innovation policies
Foundations for the model of governance of the research and innovation system of Catalonia. Organisation of agents of the Catalan research and innovation system I. AREAS OF THE SYSTEM A) The political area of the Catalan research and innovation system: The strengthening of the political area of the research and innovation system is fundamental to enabling that the research and innovation system move to the forefront of the countrys agenda. This reinforcement must involve an increase in the following capacities: - The capacity of the Parliament and the political parties that form part of it to understand and comprehend the complexity of the research and innovation system, of the policies that sustain and influence it, as well as the complexity of the regulations that have a high inherent scientific and technological component. - The capacity of the Government to horizontally coordinate and harmonise the vertical policies that are part of the research and innovation system and that often follow dynamics and form bodies of diverse knowledge and interests: educational policy, technology and innovation policy, industrial policy, environmental policy and information society policy. - The capacity to formulate sector research and innovation policies in all areas of government. - The capacity to assemble the different areas of Government to prepare research and innovation policies for fields that have a high component between sectors. - The capacity for strategic and operational decentralisation (regional and territorial). - The capacity for the interaction and alignment of policies between the different areas of the administration (EU, Spanish Government, Government of Catalonia and local and regional administrations). The role of the Government and the ministries that are part of it is to formulate policies that affect the research and innovation system and to assign suitable resources for the achievement of policy objectives that can be measured and perceived from a socioeconomic perspective.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation B) The area of advising and analysis for policy and strategic decision making: The complexity of research and innovation policies and the need to establish strategic temporal horizons involves an increase in the capacity for advisement and strategic intelligence in the research and innovation system, especially directed at the political arena for the purpose of: - Formulating strategies on the medium and long term. - Preparing white papers and permanent working groups. - Strengthening the measurement and analysis systems. - Carrying out benchmarking and research on science, technology and innovation policies. - Performing analysis for making strategic decisions that affect different cycles of government, etc. C) The area of policy implementation: - The complexity of the instruments needed to implement policies, the existence of a wide range of disparate agents with which interaction must take place, and the need to separate the lobbying that agents do with governments from the funding that they receive for research and innovation emphasise the importance of having policy implementation structures that are highly professional, expert and independent of the Government and the research and innovation system agents as well as the facilitating and modulating agents. II. A DYNAMIC SYSTEM The agents and structures of the research and innovation system are located in different areas of the system. The structures and the entities of the different sectors, that have clearly separate functions, interact with other areas in a dynamic manner and with known objectives, as shown (in red) in the following figure:
Dynamic Governance Model of the Research and Innovation System
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation A) Area of decision for policy and regulatory bodies: - Interacts with the research and innovation agents, and the facilitators and modulators of research and innovation respond to the demands and requests they receive with commitments to action that are incorporated into their policies or into a legal ordinance. Some establish agreements and commitments on the medium to long term (for example, the CARI). - Relates to the policy advising and analysis entities and solicits support or advice for making strategic decisions and for planning research and innovation policies and strategies. - Communicates, through multi-year programme-contracts, with the policy implementation structures and defines the policy directives, the objectives that must be achieved and the indicators of results and assigns the corresponding resources. - Relates to the other areas of policy decision in the Spanish, local, or regional governments to cooperate, coordinate and align the policies of research and innovation. B) Area of advising and policy analysis: - Interacts with the policy decision area at its request or under its own initiative to advise on policies and other strategic decisions for the system. - Relates in a similar manner with the policy implementation structures. C) Area of policy implementation: - Interacts with the area where policies are decided, channels its own proposals for improving them and accounts for the results obtained in relation to the directives, the objectives and the resources received. - Relates to the research and innovation agents through the funding and support programmes and instruments for research and innovation and channels the proposals of these agents in relation to the instruments and programmes or other bottom-up proposals to establish new actions. - Establishes relations with other structures that have similar responsibilities in other administrations to facilitate the coordination and alignment of the research and innovation funding and support instruments. D) Area of the research and innovation agents: - They interact among themselves and establish groupings of different types designed to improve efficiency and effectiveness and/or to integrate different capacities into the research and innovation value chain. - They relate to the policy implementation area and make proposals, account for the resources received, interact with the policy decision agents and make the demands that they believe to be necessary to best perform the missions assigned to them in the research and innovation system. FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES PER AREA OF GOVERNANCE IN THE SYSTEM
Function
Advising (policies, decisions) Policy analysis Policy design Policy approval Assignment of resources to policies Specify objectives to be achieved Programme design Assignment of resources to programmes Manage and administer programmes
Advisory area
Policy decision area
Policy implementation area
III. A COHERENT AND COORDINATED SYSTEM The instruments that must be used in the Catalan research and innovation system to guarantee its coordination and coherence are described here:
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation 1. Horizontal coordination and coherence: instruments for implementing a coordinated, efficient and effective action within the same area of the system. For example, within the area of government, there must be a guarantee of coordination of industrial, scientific, technological, innovative, environmental and informational society policies directed at research and innovation in transport and logistics. 2. Vertical coordination and coherence: instruments for implementing a coherent and coordinated action between the different areas of the research and innovation system. For example, the development of policies and actions must be coordinated between the area of the agents that perform research and innovation and the area of the agents that decide on these policies. 3. Temporal coordination and coherence: instruments for guaranteeing that the system is consistent at the time of making decisions, implementing them and monitoring them on the medium to long term.
97 The agents of the research and innovation system of Catalonia commit themselves to observing the following principles for the future development of the organisation and governance of the system: Principle of separation of functions between areas of policy decision making, policy implementation, policy advising and the execution of research and innovation activities. Principle of division by agencies: the implementation of research and innovation policies is performed through independent and expert professional structures (agencies) that assign resources to the agents who carry out research and innovation. Principle of cooperation: the research and innovation agents systematically establish relations for cooperation among themselves. Principle of coordination: systematic coordination within each of the areas, between the areas and between the different systems that coexist in Catalonia. Principle of assessment, transparency and accountability. Principle of facilitation: the action of the system is directed at facilitating the work of the research and innovation agents and improving its effectiveness and efficiency. AREA OF POLICY DECISIONS AND LEGISLATIVE ENTITIES 98 The political forces present in the Parliament of Catalonia will promote the creation of suitable mechanisms so that the parliamentarians and parliamentary groups have available, in line with what has been adopted by the parliaments of the most advanced countries, the information, training, advising and dynamism necessary in the areas related to science, technology and innovation. 99 The Government of Catalonia makes a commitment that all the ministries of the Government will have a suitable organisation for directing, coordinating and implementing a research and innovation strategy by sector for the areas to which they are assigned. 100 The Government of Catalonia will redefine the current role of CIRIT and convert it into an inter-ministerial research and innovation committee, with the main function of coordinating, without councils ascribed to its structure, the implementation of the Governments research and innovation policy. 101 The Government of Catalonia will promote, through the Catalan Government-Spanish State Bilateral Commission and through a specific sub-committee, the implementation of a stable framework for research and development cooperation between the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government based on mutual information, decision making, responsibility, management, and funding. This framework can include the creation of a consortium to channel investments or the figure as decided.
COMMITMENTS
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation AREA OF ADVISORY AND POLICY ANALYSIS BODIES 102 The Government of Catalonia commits itself to creating the CCRI, a high-level advisory body of the Catalan research and innovation system made up of independent experts of recognised standing in academic and business sectors, chosen by the Government for single terms of five years. This council will be responsible for advising the Government, the ministries of the Government of Catalonia and the research and innovation system in general on medium- to long-term science, technology and innovation policies. AREA OF POLICY IMPLEMENTATION Competitive funding and support structures for research policies 103 The Government of Catalonia will convert the current Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) into the Agency for Research Funding of Catalonia and will grant it the functions and mechanisms necessary for competitive research funding and the design, management and administration of the corresponding programmes, as well as for assistance in policy design. 104 The Government of Catalonia will continue to promote and extend the area of action of the current ICREA as an agency to capture talent in the research and innovation system, given the efficiency and effectiveness it has demonstrated and due to the fact that it has become a national and international reference for the work that it performs. 105 The Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI), which currently performs tasks such as the socialisation of science and the gathering of altruistic funding for research, will coordinate with the Agency for Research Funding of Catalonia and the ICREA foundation in performing its activities. 106 The Government of Catalonia will continue with the process already begun of merging CIDEM and COPCA into the new ACC1 agency, which is to be an agency for funding and support of innovation and the business development of Catalonia. 107 The Government of Catalonia will promote continuing coordination between the agencies and establish the mechanisms for cooperation and coordination necessary with the Spanish Government and European agencies connected with research and innovation. 108 The Government of Catalonia, with the aim of maximising the efficiency and effectiveness and of promoting nuclei of scientific excellence, through the Catalan research and innovation system agencies, will ensure that the resources that the ministries of the Government of Catalonia allocate to funding RDI projects or actions are assigned through competitive processes. Structural support structures for research policies 109 The Government of Catalonia will promote the creation of the Research Centres of Catalonia (CERCA). This agency will be created from already existing resources, with the purpose of responding to the specific and singular needs that arise in the implementation, monitoring and structural funding (non-competitive) of the Catalan research centres with their own legal identity in which the Government of Catalonia participates. These tasks are currently being carried out within the ministerial structures of the Government, and under the new agency the efficiency and effectiveness of the resources allocated to these centres by the different ministries of the Government of Catalonia will be maximised. CERCA will need to coordinate with the corporation or other cooperation mechanisms established by the technology centres. OTHER AGENTS 110 The Government of Catalonia will promote that the Institute of Catalan Studies assign, within the Catalan research and innovation system, advisory functions in the fields of its domain and act as the coordinating organisation for the research activities of accredited local and provincial centres and of the scientific societies of Catalonia. 71
Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation Graphically, the restructuring of the system can be summed up as follows:
Current organisational chart of the Catalan research and innovation system
Creation of a high-level advisory council to give support to decision making and in the direction of medium and long-term research and innovation policies and strategies. AGAUR assumes more responsibility for the implementation of policies to guarantee greater effectiveness, and establishes a close coordination with ICREA (talent capture) and the FCRI (science and society) to increase its efficiency. CIDEM and COPCA merge into the ACC1 agency to coherently integrate the implementation of policies to support and fund business RDI. The agency CERCA is created from existing resources to guarantee the adequate implementation of the model of Catalan research centres and of the Consortium of Technology Centres to favour synergies and strategic cooperation. The new structure incorporates the required functions for a research and innovation governance system that is intelligent, efficient and effective, and reorganises existing resources.
Main changes
Future organisational chart of the Catalan research and innovation system
The universities and hospitals receive structural funding from the Ministries.
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OBJECTIVE 7.3
To maximise the efficiency, the effectiveness and the learning capacity of the research and innovation system.
Foundations for learning and assessment of the Catalan research and innovation system
A) Instruments for learning and decision-making support The Catalan research and innovation system and the agents that are part of it must develop the following instruments for improvement and continuous learning in the definition and implementation of policies, programmes, instruments and actions. 1. System of best practices. 2. Benchmarking exercises. 3. Pilot tests. 4. Integrated information system. 5. Research and analysis. 6. Forecasting. B) The function of assessment in the Catalan research and innovation system Assessment must be a key element in the Catalan research and innovation system. This system has the following characteristics: 1. Subsidiary to activities: assessment must be performed closer to where the subject of the assessment is carried out, with the aim of integrating it into the processes of action in any field as an inherent function of the activities. 2. Aimed at improvement: all of the assessment processes must include, in any field or instance, an orientation to the improvement of the subject of the assessment, especially if the assessment result is negative. 3. Quality assurance: the assessment processes must also be assessed and accredited (metaassessment) using international reference standards. 4. Broad scope: - Assessment of the Catalan research and innovation system in an overall manner. - Ex-ante, during and ex-post (impact) assessment of the implementation of policies, instruments and programmes. - Periodic assessment of the public agents and agents with public participation of the research and innovation system, including an ex-ante assessment (for example, the creation of a new research centre or a new agency). - Assessment of relational instruments (programmes, projects, programme contracts, etc.) between the agents in different fields. - Assessment and accreditation of the internal assessment procedures that the public and public-private agents of the system have implemented for their activities, units and personnel in relation to research and innovation. The private agents assess and accredit internal measures of quality assurance and impact assessment of the use of public resources for research and innovation as a rule for access to these resources. 5. Shared principles: - Expertise in the subject of the assessment. - Independence from all elements related to the subject of the evaluation. - Quality in the procedures and relations during the assessment process. - Transparency in the methods, the criteria and the results. - Objectivity of the decisions. - Ethics in the action of those involved and participating.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation INSTRUMENTS FOR LEARNING AND GENERAL DECISION-MAKING SUPPORT OF THE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SYSTEM 111 The Government of Catalonia will promote, based on existing experiences (such as the UNeix - Universities and Research Information System of Catalonia), the configuration of a system of information and analysis of information integral to research and innovation in Catalonia. This system will be implemented in parallel to the definition of the new metrics and the system of indicators to measure research and innovation. 112 The Government of Catalonia will promote the necessary expertise in the Catalan research and innovation system for the design and analysis of public science, technology and innovation policies. 113 The Government of Catalonia will promote the forward-thinking function of the Catalan research and innovation system on a general, sector and technological level as a key element for decision making. ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS IN THE CATALAN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SYSTEM 114 The research and innovation system agents, including the policy implementation structures, commit themselves to implementing internal assessment systems for all of their activities, with procedures, criteria and international standards of reference for each of the subjects of assessment. 115 The Government of Catalonia will promote the assessment and accreditation of the systems of assessment that the agents of the system implement. Likewise, the external assessment of the agencies of the system by an international body must be commissioned through the CCRI. 116 The Government of Catalonia will promote an overall assessment of the Catalan research and innovation system that will enable Catalonia to be ranked comparatively on an international scale at the beginning of the implementation of the CARI. This assessment must be performed by an international reference body (OECD), which must later perform monitoring to account for progress in the Catalan research and innovation system.
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CHALLENGE
8 INVEST To make more and better
investments into research and innovation in the public and private sectors
Investment in research and innovation is vital to the model of socioeconomic development in Catalonia. Consequently, more of Catalonias public resources must be dedicated to research and innovation as a priority. It is necessary that this investment be accompanied by support from the Spanish Government. Public investment in research and innovation needs clear and stable horizons that give the agents of the system and the system in general the security of continuity to enable adequate planning and execution of the activities they carry out. This investment must be capable of generating social and economic value on the medium to long term, attracting other external resources from outside Catalonia and serving as a motor to bring in private investment. Private investment in business innovation and R&D must increase in all sectors of activity, it must be diversified in objectives and provide solid foundations for the competitiveness of the enterprises and the quality of public sector and the service sector.
CHALLENGE
Catalonia is aware that investment into research and innovation is the basis for prosperity and wellbeing and that it is a priority for the future. Therefore, the public and private resources allocated to RDI and business innovation must be increased over the coming years so as to provide the foundations for a competitive economy and a society with a high level of wellbeing that can meet environmental challenges.
OBJECTIVES
8.1. To dedicate 2% of the GDP to R&D costs and 3.75% to business spending on RDI in 2010, with the aim of reaching 3% and 4.5%, respectively, in 2017. 8.2. To focus public spending on R&D and on supporting innovation for the objectives of the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation. 8.3. To improve the economic and taxation framework for RDI spending in Catalonia.
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OBJECTIVE 8.1
To dedicate 2% of the GDP to R&D costs and 3.75% to business spending on RDI in 2010, with the aim of reaching 3% and 4.5%, respectively, in 2017
Spending on R&D as a percentage of the GDP in Catalonia in 2006 was 1.42%, or 2.614 billion euro. For the period 2002-2006, the average annual increase of the rate of investment compared to the GDP was 0.05. These total figures place Catalonia a long way behind the EU27 average (an investment in R&D of 1.84% of the GDP, while the Catalan GDP per capita is one of the highest) and the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy of investment in R&D of 3% of GDP in 2010 (two thirds of which is to come from private investment). The differences in R&D investment between countries are a consequence of the differential between public investment and, especially, the differences in private investment. In this last case, it must be taken into account that the countries have very different economic structures and some sectors are more inclined to invest in R&D than others, and this fact is the reason behind some of these differences. So, recent studies demonstrate, for example, that the investment of more than 3% of GDP in R&D in a country such as Finland is precisely what is to be expected due to its sector distribution. In any case, Catalonia is very far behind countries with similar economies, both in public and private investment, and very far behind those countries that are oriented towards new emerging strategic sectors. Funding sources in Catalonia are distributed as follows: 59.7% of the total comes from private sources and 35.4% from public administrations, of which the Government of Catalonia provides 60% and the Spanish Government and other administrations 40%. The remaining 5% comes from abroad (mostly from the European Union). Future forecasts must be made on the basis of two basic parameters: the political commitment in regard to public spending (Government of Catalonia plus the Spanish Government) and the forecast of what can be expected from private sources. A forecast of the resources that will come from the EU is also necessary. In this sense, the forecasts made in 2005 in the Catalan Research and Innovation Plan were that in 2008 there should be a 2.1% investment in R&D in relation to the GDP, a scenario that was revised by the Government Plan 2007-2010 of the Government of Catalonia, which foresaw that a 2% investment would be reached in 2010. Achieving this investment scenario of 2% in 2010 means moving from average variations of 0.05 on the rate of investment of R&D in relation to GDP to variations of 0.15 (which would not change much even under predicted slowed economic growth in the coming years). This scenario appears to be plausible and necessary to carry out the actions defined in the commitments of the challenges described above, and it is essential that, progressively and in a realistic scenario, Catalonia approach the Lisbon objective in the years after 2010. In regard to investment in innovation, currently the statistical data reflect only business innovation (and not public or service sector innovation). These data also include business R&D that is not declared; a good part of this is hidden innovation, which would have to do with organisational changes, marketing, etc., fundamental for understanding the capacity of Catalan enterprises to adapt to change. Current investment in business innovation in Catalonia is 1.93% of GDP.
117 The public and private research and innovation agents will implement the policies, strategies and actions needed to reach, as a minimum, the objectives of dedicating 2% of the GDP of Catalonia to R&D spending in 2010 and with the aim of reaching 3% in 2017. The private sector will need to be responsible for two thirds of this spending before the end of 2017.
COMMITMENTS
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118 The Government of Catalonia, with the collaboration of the business associations and of the research and innovation agents, will implement the policies necessary to encourage an increase in business RDI investment until the target of 3% of GDP is reached in 2010, 3.75% in 2013 and 4.5% in 2017. To this end, during the first years of the period 20092013 they will need to make a greater initial effort to increase RDI spending so as to generate a motor effect to drive private sector spending. 119 The Government of Catalonia will assume the part of public funding of the R&D expenses in Catalonia inferred in the R&D investment scenario that accompanies this agreement.
OBJECTIVE 8.2
To focus public spending on R&D and on supporting innovation for the objectives of the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation
The commitments of the agreement that have been described above will bring an increase in public R&D investment and support for business innovation, public sector innovation and service sector innovation. This fact implies the focusing of ordinary budgets and extraordinary investments in programmes oriented at the different needs to which a commitment has been made.
120 To achieve the objectives and the commitments that have been presented in this CARI, the different administrations must allocate, in the coming years, the resources to the programmes with preferential treatment to: a. Capture, retain and mobilise talent in the research and innovation system. b. Increase the technical and management personnel for research and innovation. c. Improve the scientific and technological infrastructures, including the e-infrastructures. d. Fund the research and the third mission of the universities and hospitals. e. Fund the research centres. f. Fund the technology centres, the science and technology parks and the research and innovation clusters. g. Implement strategic projects and R&D programmes, especially directed at cooperative projects of SMEs, large enterprises and research agents. h. Encourage non-technological innovation. i. Encourage technological innovation integrated with R&D. j. Promote innovation in the public administration. k. Provide support to innovation in the collective services sector. l. Fund the projects and programmes for the socialisation of science, technology and innovation, as well as of the industrial and service situation in Catalonia. 121 The application of the public resources dedicated to RDI in Catalonia must be carried out taking into account the following granting criteria: a) The excellence and the opportuneness of the proposals. b) The alignment with the fields of strategic focusing and prioritisation of R&D in Catalonia. c) The existence of synergies with the Spanish Government and EU R&D support programmes. d) The pull-through effect foreseen in regard to private RDI investment. e) The prior existence of cooperation mechanisms (the public-private one in particular) and agreement mechanisms (such as collective negotiation) between the agents of the system. And the principles that are listed below: f) Assessment of use, results, and impact. g) Transparency. h) Accountability. 77
COMMITMENTS
OBJECTIVE 8.3
To improve the economic and taxation framework for RDI spending in Catalonia
In order to provide the investments needed in RDI, it is necessary to mobilise, besides ordinary public funds, a range of different public, private and public-private instruments to meet the investment challenges proposed for the coming years. It is essential that this economic effort be shared by all the agents of the Catalan research and innovation system and the Spanish Government, and that action be taken in a way that is aligned and with a shared vision, as expressed in this agreement.
122 The Government of Catalonia will analyse the different possibilities for extraordinary funding of RDI, one of these coming from a part of the improvements gained from the review of funding for autonomous communities. 123 The Ministries of the Government of Catalonia (in addition to the ministry or ministries that are responsible for the research and innovation areas) will progressively and sufficiently increase the budgets dedicated to RDI activities to allow that the challenges and objectives that are present in their areas of authority (education, social services, health, immigration, energy, sustainability, transport, mobility, etc.) be faced. 124 The budget of the specific R&D support programmes of the Government of Catalonia will receive, in the 2009-2013 period, an annual average percentage increase similar, as a minimum, to the annual average received during the previous Research and Innovation Plan (2005-2008). 125 The Government of Catalonia will encourage the involvement of the Spanish Government in the boosting of R&D in Catalonia: a) To establish a Spanish Government-Government of Catalonia Agreement 2009-2013 in order to implement the Spanish Government actions foreseen in the third additional provision of the Autonomous Statute of Catalonia (EAC) in regard to research and technology infrastructures. b) To coordinate the research and innovation programmes between the Spanish Government and Catalonia to avoid losses in efficiency and effectiveness. c) To improve the efficiency of the Spanish science system through the increased participation of Catalonia in Spanish Government R&D programmes. 126 The local and provincial administrations of Catalonia must coordinate research and innovation support policies through the mechanisms established and promote jointly funded programmes. 127 The Government of Catalonia will establish a plan to increase the capacity to attract funds for research and innovation from the Spanish Government, the European Union and other international sources. 128 The Government of Catalonia will promote that the large enterprises located in Catalonia, and especially the large Catalan enterprises, contribute in the coming years to the countrys commitment to research and innovation through RDI plans made in cooperation with SMEs and public research agents. 129 The Government of Catalonia, in order to strengthen the market for investment and financial products for enterprises based on technology and innovation activities will: a) Promote or create, with public and private support, enough venture capital funds to cover all the necessary funding streams and technologically-based business projects developed 78
COMMITMENTS
Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation in Catalonia in the coming years. Venture capital must be available with differentiated sensitivity by sectors and technologies. These funds will need to be distributed with criteria aligned with the strategic priorities for research and innovation. b) Develop a plan to capture venture capital from outside Catalonia, especially for technological projects, in order to broaden the offer available. c) Boost and encourage the mobilisation of small private investors. d) Promote, on the part of the financial institutions, the improvement of the offer of financial products specifically designed for business RDI and increase the commercialisation of these products. 130 The Government of Catalonia will boost patronage actions that sponsor activities related to research and innovation: a) Given the different initiatives that are currently being implemented and with the aim of establishing synergies of added value, an effective coordination of patronage policies and actions must be promoted so that these are directed towards the shared strategies and priorities of the country and those established in the CARI and successive government plans. b) To achieve a greater involvement of the large institutional sponsors, such as financial institutions and large corporations, with special attention to the social work of the savings banks in the funding of public R&D programmes. 131 The financial system agents located in Catalonia will promote, through commercial action and the foundations, the activities necessary to strengthen the Catalan research and innovation system, with a special involvement in entrepreneurial and venture initiatives that encourage innovation.
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4.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT
4.1. Public and private investment scenario
This section presents the general R&D funding framework foreseen for reaching the macrolevels of investment in relation to the GDP established in the commitments of Challenge 8. Following is a list of the considerations that have been made in the preparation of the table of provisions on the following page and that summarise the investment scenario for the coming years. I. The scenario for R&D spending until 2020 has been constructed on the basis of two basic assumptions: a) In the 2008-2009 period there will be a situation of weak economic growth, with increases of 2% and 1.5% in GDP volume (6% and 5.5% in todays euro), respectively. In the second part of the scenario (2010-2020) the forecast is for potential growth, with an annual average GDP growth in market prices of 7% in todays euro (3% in volume). The GDP in market prices for 2005-2007 is the basis for Spanish Government regional accounting for Catalonia. b) In line with the Government Plan 2007-2010, the objective of reaching a level of R&D spending in Catalonia that is equivalent to 2% of GDP in 2010 has been established. Furthermore, it is proposed that the growth trend will enable R&D spending to reach 3% of GDP in the year 2017 (an objective that the European Union has set for the year 2010). The data for R&D spending in Catalonia for the years 2005-2006 are those supplied by the INE (Spanish Statistical Office). II. R&D spending established under this scenario has to fund, under the methodology of the international statistics6, three large sectors: enterprise (including private, non-profitmaking institutions), government (including higher education) and abroad (primarily EU). The basic assumptions on the outlook for the financial sectors are as follows: a) The foreign sector must maintain a relatively constant participation in total spending, which implies an annual growth of 15%. b) The industry sector must assume the funding, in line with what is established in the EU objectives, of two thirds of the total R&D spending the moment that the other European objective of 3% of the GDP dedicated to R&D is reached (2017). c) The government sector is to be assigned the role of motor for R&D spending during the first years of the scenario, with an accelerated initial growth and a later moderation of its contribution. This public effort must serve to pull the business sector through and seems consistent with the logic of pubic action in regard to research, which requires dedicating a greater quantity of resources in the initial period of the new Research and Innovation Plan for Catalonia. III. The funding provisions for the government sector have taken into account two agents, the Government of Catalonia and the rest of the administrations, basically comprised of the Spanish Government, but also, to a much lesser degree, the universities and local and provincial governments. In Catalonia, for the recent years for which there are data, the contribution of the Government of Catalonia to R&D funds has been approximately 60% of the total (specifically, 65% in 2005). The scenario for 2006-2020 assumes that this proportion must be maintained throughout the whole period under consideration.
OECD. Frascati Manual (6th edition, 2002).
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation Scenarios for R&D spending (2005-2020) Figures in millions of current euros (except where indicated)
2005 General parameters GDP mp R&D/GDP (%) Total R&D spending Funding of R&D spending by large sectors Public Administration Private enterprise and PNPIs Abroad Breakdown of the Public Administration sector Government of Catalonia Other administrations and HE 170.519 1,35% 2.302 816 1.374 112 494 322 2013 General parameters GDP mp R&D/GDP (%) Total R&D spending Funding of R&D spending by large sectors Public Administration Private enterprise and PNPIs Abroad Breakdown of the Public Administration sector Government of Catalonia Other administrations and HE
Figures shown in red, are consolidateed
2006 184.085 1,42% 2.614 948 1.537 129 587 361 2014 308.500 2,60% 8.021 2.903 4.732 385 1.758 1.146
2007 196.688 1,54% 3.029 1.124 1.757 148 663 461 2015 330.095 2,75% 9.078 3.151 5.484 443 1.908 1.243
2008 208.490 1,67% 3.482 1.320 1.995 167 800 521 2016 353.202 2,90% 10.243 3.373 6.360 509 2.043 1.330
2009 219.957 1,82% 4.003 1.551 2.263 189 939 612 2017 377.926 3,05% 11.527 3.552 7.389 585 2.150 1.402
2010 235.353 2,00% 4.707 1.863 2.624 220 1.128 734 2018 404.381 3,20% 12.940 3.640 8.627 673 2.202 1.438
2011 251.828 2,15% 5.414 2.114 3.047 253 1.280 834 2019 432.688 3,35% 14.495 4.057 9.663 774 2.455 1.603
2012 269.456 2,30% 6.197 2.376 3.530 291 1.438 938 2020 462.976 3,50% 16.204 4.511 10.803 890 2.729 1.782
288.318 2,45% 7.064 2.640 4.089 335 1.598 1.042
Note: the spending by Other administrations & HE (HE: higher education) corresponds mainly to the Spanish Government. PNPI. Private Non-Profit Institutions
In the calculation of the scenario, growth forecasts for June 2008 have been used. Changes in these forecasts and their impact on the proposed scenario will be reviewed periodically by the CARI Monitoring Committee.
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4.2. Instruments and priorities for the implementation of the CARI

Below is a description of the instruments and general priorities that must be included in the CARI (in the first or second year) so as to guarantee an efficient and effective implementation. BASIC INSTRUMENTS FOR CHANGE MONITORING Review the metrics for measurement and the indicators of research and innovation. Implement an integrated information system for the Catalan research and innovation system. Perform an international assessment of the overall Catalan research and innovation system. TRANSFORMATION OF GOVERNANCE Create the CCRI and restructure the CIRIT. Progressively transform the policy implementation structures. DIRECTION OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION Focus research and innovation on challenges, sectors, sciences and technologies. Prioritise strategic sectors in research and innovation. RESOURCES Increase the public resources dedicated to research and innovation in multi-year planning. Increase the private resources allocated to research and innovation. LEGISLATIVE CHANGES Implement the legislation necessary to consolidate changes in the organisation and governance of the Catalan research and innovation system and provide continuity to general research and innovation policies on the long term. ACTION PLANNING Multi-year planning of research and innovation activities is the fundamental instrument that will support the implementation of the CARI in the coming years: Catalan Government research and innovation plans: Research and Innovation Plan 2009-2013 and Research and Innovation Plan 2014-2020. These plans, aligned with the terms of the European framework programmes until 2020 established by the CARI, must be submitted to assessments and reviews in between these terms. Plans of other agents that are signatories or adhering to the CARI: plans must be made for actions tied to the commitments of the CARI in which these agents are involved. DEFINITION OF STRATEGIES The CARI development process has led to the conclusion that it is a priority to implement, based on prior analysis, the following strategies: Scientific and technological infrastructures strategy. Knowledge transfer strategy and model. Research and innovation strategy for services. Intellectual property in research and innovation strategy. Strategy for internationalisation of research and innovation.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation Strategy of clusters to boost the fields of focusing and prioritisation in parallel to the Catalan territorial map of science, technology and innovation. The results of these strategies must be translated, through plans and programmes, to the planning of the Catalan Government (and of the Spanish Government, where applicable, through the framework agreement on research and innovation) and of the signatory agents and those adhering to the CARI, and this must be done on the basis of work performed by the CCRI, as the advisory body of the Catalan research and innovation system. FACILITATING AGREEMENTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CARI AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ADMINISTRATIONS Strategic agreement on research and innovation between the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government. Agreements between the Government of Catalonia and the Catalan local and provincial administrations on matters related to the CARI. AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CATALONIA AND SOCIOECONOMIC AGENTS Agreements between the Government of Catalonia and the production sectors to implement actions designed to achieve the objectives of the CARI. Agreements between the Government of Catalonia and the socioeconomic agents (financial system, the media, etc.) to implement actions designed to achieve the objectives of the CARI. ALIGNMENT OF CARI COMMITMENTS WITH THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS ALREADY EXISTING OR CURRENTLY BEING PREPARED Strategic Agreement to Promote the Internationalisation, Job Quality and Competitiveness of the Catalan Economy. Catalan agreements (education, immigration, infrastructures, housing, etc.). There will be a communication and dissemination plan for the implementation of the CARI, with the participation of the signatory and adhering agents
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4.3. Monitoring the CARI
The signatories of the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation consider it necessary to create a monitoring committee with the following objectives: - Monitor the degree of fulfilment of the commitments contained in the agreement. - Promote new commitments that can enrich the content of the agreement in order to continually improve and update it. The President of the Government of Catalonia shall be the Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee, and the Minister responsible for the areas of research and innovation shall be the Vice-Chairperson. This CARI Monitoring Committee must include representatives of the signatory agents of this agreement and it must meet periodically in accordance with the action plan. The Monitoring Committee must have a technical secretary assigned by the CCRI. At the proposal of the Monitoring Committee, specific working committees can be created to address matters of the Agreement. At least once a year, extended meetings of the Monitoring Committee will be held, which will also be attended by members representing the agents adhering to the CARI and members of the CCRI, with a maximum of 30 attendees.
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APPENDIX On the resources allocated to R&D and universities

This Appendix explains and specifies some of the commitments regarding aspects related to R&D investments made by the Government of Catalonia and the use of resources and their management by the universities.
RESOURCES ALLOCATED TO R&D BY THE GOVERNMENT

The R&D outlays that correspond to the Government based on the cost-evolution scenario (see Section 4.1), include: 1) Outlays from Chapter 4 and 7 (current transfers and capital) and Chapters 2 and 6 (goods and services and real investments) allocated to aid and subsidies for the R&D support programmes and for the scientific and technological infrastructures. 2) Endowments from Chapter 8 (credit for business R&D improvement projects) that in 2005 and 2006 (as in previous years) had been practically non-existent, and that in 2007 have reached 5 million euros, and the provision for 2008 in 40 million euros. 3) Chapter 1 or personnel outlays (public universities and hospitals) derived from dedication to research by the professors and the ASP (and doctors, in the case of hospitals), calculated according to the international criteria established in the Frascati Manual. These costs represent approximately 60% of all the costs allocated to R&D by the Government in 2005 and 2006. A) The Administration of the Government of Catalonia undertakes, for the 2009-2013 period and based on the total quantity scenarios indicated in the table on page 83, to: 1. Incrementing outlays allocated to R&D listed in Chapters 2, 4, 6 and 7 by an amount that is approximately double (in 2013 in respect to 2008), taking into account the evolution of the GDP. These increases will be directed towards programmes that emerge from the commitments of the CARI: a. The capture, retention and mobility of talent in the research and innovation system. b. An increase in technical personnel and research and innovation management. c. Scientific and technological infrastructures, including e-infrastructures. d. Funding for research by public universities and hospitals. e. A general strengthening of research and the third mission of the universities and hospitals through strategic agreements to finance objectives, among others. f. Funding for research centres, technological centres, scientific and technology parks and research and innovation clusters. g. R&D strategic projects and programmes, especially those directed at cooperative projects among SMEs, large businesses and research agents. The increase in resources in this section have to progressively guarantee the commitments established in the CARI so that public universities have access to a research-conducive environment that allows them to develop the highest-quality investigative capacities in the academic field under conditions that are comparable to more advanced European countries, coupled with an educational mission enriched by investigative action of the highest degree. 2. Substantially incrementing Chapter 8 outlays, allocated mostly to boosting R&D projects in businesses, with the assurance that these projects are subcontracted to Catalan public research bodies, such as universities, with at least 25% of total resources allocated to them.
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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation 3. In regard to Chapter 1, the chapter on personnel, increasing the capacity for dedication to research by the staff at public universities and hospitals through specific programmes not connected, however, to increases in teaching staff or staff providing the service specific to the hospital. This increase will take place through programmes such as ICREA-Acadmia or through an increase in funding for programmes that incorporate research support technicians. This does not prevent adequate increase in academic staff in response the future needs and objectives in the context of the new funding model for public universities, which is to be put into effect in 2011. For this reason, the increase scenario from Chapter 1 (understood as university teaching staff or service staff in hospitals) considers vegetative expenses for the coming years. B) The Government of Catalonia allocates investment resources for scientific and technical infrastructures while the CARI is in effect to: 1. The return of debt transactions of Scientific and Technology Parks for the 2005 and 2006 sessions. Subject to the results of negotiations with the Government of Spain, returns corresponding to 2007 and 2008 will also be taken into account, and the possibility of considering those from before 2005 will also be analysed. 2. For later commitments regarding credit operations arising from aid obtained for parks, the Government and the universities have to reach prior agreements that are based on budget availability, opportunity analysis and the alignment of requests with areas of focus and prioritisation in research and innovation resulting from the necessarily-initiated process. 3. Investment in technological and research centres supported by Catalan universities. 4. Investments in research centres (CERCA) and technological centres (TC corporation) supported by the Government of Catalonia. 5. Future large infrastructures. 6. The creation of new infrastructures (centres, mixed units and rings).
COMMITMENTS FROM PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

C) Public universities undertake to: 1. Develop an analytical research-cost compatibility, the valuing of which is used as needed for decision making. 2. Operatively and strategically plan the costs for research personnel and optimising their dedication. 3. Develop a careful operative and strategic plan for scientific and technological infrastructures that considers exploitation costs and the use-impact effect on research and its valuation, coordinating with the Government and the rest of the Catalan university system. 4. Optimise the cost of university infrastructures in general and of those completely or partially dedicated to research, in order to allocate resources to more value-added facilities. 5. Distribute internally non-final resources dedicated to research based on criteria of excellence and priority associated with a strategic approach defined by the university itself. 6. Establish mechanisms and instruments for statement of accounts that have a clear vision of the use and impact of the economic resources for RDI and its valuation.
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Catalan Agreement On Research and Innovation

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Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation

October 21st, 2008