The 1st meeting of the Greek Regional Implementation Group (RIG) of the InCompass project took place on the 11th of July, 2012 at the premises of Chamber of Achaia. Eleven regional stakeholders participated, each having different orientation and positioning in the context of the necessity, in policy terms, for the Region of Western Greece (i) to prioritise the support of the creation of new high-tech innovative companies in its policy agenda and (ii) design and implement corresponding policies.
The RIG participants exhibited a great interest for the context of InCompass Project and the insofar identification of good practices from the Study visits in Rotterdam and Milan. They discussed and exchanged opinions, expectations and proposals towards the direction of determining the needs, resources and further actions that the RIG should take.
In sum, the outcomes of the discussion, which all participants agreed upon, are threefold: a) The Region of Western Greece should accept the key role of coordinating the players of the Regional Innovation System, b) the policy initiatives regarding Western Greece Region incubators should be placed within the Region’s Innovation System, and c) the identification of best practices regarding Hubs and Incubators from InCompass project will constitute a valuable input for the ‘transfer-adjustment-development’ of equivalent initiatives.
Finally, it has been agreed to proceed with the following next steps:
- Mapping the existing distressed urban areas (historic centre, logistics area, old industrial areas and brownfield) which embody the potential to host new innovative enterprises.
- Exploring the potentials to secure a small-scale funding for the preparation of a suitable space to host new innovative companies via ‘soft building interventions’
- Exploring the potentials to secure a small-scale funding for the existing incubatees situated in Incubators of the Region of Western Greece, in order to assist them to abandon the incubators and grow independently.
- Western Greece Region undertakes initiatives towards the direction of changing the business and ownership model of the most significant Regional Incubator named ‘Patras Science Park’.
Last but not least, the attending participants have agreed to support all the abovementioned initiatives and to proceed towards the direction of coordination among them and bridging the gaps among the scattered dots in the Regional Innovation System. For that reason, a new meeting has been discussed to take place sometime in the Autumn of 2012.