Page 36 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2018 publication

36 Summer 2018 European Energy Innovation
REGIONAL RESEARCH & INNOVATION
Towards a new Research and
Innovation Policy
Regional perspective
By Pirita Lindholm, Director, ERRIN
We live in interesting
times regarding
Research and
Innovation policy. The a dialogue with European Institutions
debate on the upcoming funding
period (Multiannual Financial
Framework post 2020) has raised
skills as well as research and
innovation as the main EU policy
areas that should be strengthened.
Commissioner Günther Oettinger
has spoken strongly in favour of
the future Framework Programme
(Horizon Europe) and the ERASMUS
+ programme, both of which are key
to Europe’s future and economic
development.
ERRIN, European Regions Research three and five – lead the work of
and Innovation Network, seeks to
bring regional and local perspectives and prepare annual work plans with
to Research and Innovation policy. By the support and input of the other
showcasing the impact, challenges
Helsinki Region Carbon Neutral
2035: Tuesday 24th April 2018,
AALTO DESIGN FACTORY,
Betonimiehenkuja 5 C, Espoo.
(Photo: Tuula Palaste)
and needs of regional innovation
ecosystems, our objective is to create
and to open doors for financing
opportunities that support and help
strengthen these ecosystems further.
Finding appropriate partners to
cooperate with, is crucial in research
and innovation. Therefore, match-
making ideas and partners as well as
supporting project development are
ERRIN’s core activities. The network
also supports consortium-building
through its various Working Groups,
which cover a vast range of Research
and Innovation areas. ERRIN works in
a “bottom-up” way, which means that
a few member regions – between
each working group, set priorities
members.
PRIORITIES FOR ERRIN MEMBERS
IN THE FIELD OF ENERGY
The Energy and Climate Change
Working Group, led by Scotland
Europa (UK), Lombardy Region (IT),
Oslo Region (NO), Extremadura
Government (ES), Cities Northern
Netherlands (NL) and West Finland
(FI), aims to strengthen the overall
work of ERRIN, by supporting regions
to develop their regional energy
systems, showcasing regional
expertise to a wider European
audience and developing successful
projects at the EU level. This year, two
main priorities have been identified
by the group as key to ERRIN
members: energy efficiency and the
future of smart cities.
Energy efficiency: The Energy
Efficiency Directive (art. 8) requires
Member States to develop
programmes encouraging SMEs
to undergo energy audits and to
implement the recommended
energy-saving measures. Despite the
relevant saving opportunities, SME
contribution to energy efficiency is
still limited across Europe due to
lack of expertise, time and capital. To
unlock this potential, many initiatives
have been launched, with different
results. For instance, Lombardy
Region highlights the importance of
engaging with regional authorities,
industrial associations, chambers
of commerce and energy agencies
to draw up and implement regional
energy efficiency plans targeting
SMEs. Therefore, our work on energy
efficiency this year will focus on
creating strategic partnerships
between the key stakeholders to
mobilise resources, both public and
private, at regional, national and
European levels, to support energy
efficiency projects within SMEs.
Future of smart cities within
smart regions: The smart cities
and communities programme has
been well received by cities, as it
helps to discover cross-sectoral
innovative solutions. It is also
based on a multi-actor approach,
where city administrations work
with research and private sector
partners. Nevertheless, one of the
bottlenecks of the programme
has been scaling up the solutions
developed by light house cities. A
Smart Region perspective could
provide some solutions to this. For
example, Helsinki-Uusimaa has
just adopted a carbon neutrality
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu