On 24.09.2014, the team Sustainable Transport Systems presented results from the EU-project METRIC on the Research Market Regiosuisse & Conference Regional Development 2014. The main topic this year was “Does a region need innovation? – Regional innovation systems in Switzerland “. INE participated in this event with a poster.
For the Regiosuisse Conference the innovation potential was measured in the transport sector for each canton in terms enablers (Basis for innovation), firm activities (main innovation) and outputs (results of innovation). High innovation potential arises especially in the economically strong regions Zurich, St. Gallen, Bern, Lausanne and Basel. A relatively high potential between Basel, Bern and Zurich is explained by specific needs of site quality in the transport sector such as space and transport links. Opportunities of specialization are found in regions with lower potential like in Thurgau, Lucerne or in the Solothurn area – while the mountain regions expected to have a low potential. The poster is divided into two parts – the main part includes Switzerland and as a comparison, the innovation potential in Europe is mapped. Based on strong regional differences in economic performance of each region Europe has been divided in three groups.