Stimulating the Regional Knowledge Economy in Greece

Most regions differ radically from their respective countries. National and global trends are not felt the same way in all regions. While some regions lead, some others lag behind in these trends, i.e. some regions maintain low unemployment rates despite a global downturn. As a result, the disparities between regions are far greater than the differences between countries are. The ability of regional economies to withstand competition and to manage change is related to their capacity to innovate. The Regional Programmes of Innovative Actions were the EU's, and probably the world's, first ever capacity-building exercise for regions. The regions were given the chance to develop a holistic regional innovation strategy, to directly manage their allocated budget and engage for the first time ever in direct contact with the EU. The Regional Programmes of Innovative Actions are seen as a knowledge laboratory that provides regional actors with the opportunity to try innovative actions that are often deferred. It is particularly important for the least-developed regions, like the majority of Greece's regions, to be offered a chance to experiment in fields outside the norm of their structural funds programmes in addition to developing greater co-operation and networking with other more developed regions. The goals of the Greek Regional Programmes and its Innovative Actions are as varied and interesting as the country: a country that includes extremes from the most remote islands to some of Europe's fastest-developing cities. One of the great strengths of the Regional Programmes of Innovative Actions is that they allow us to see beyond such obvious differences, to the underlying challenges and opportunities that unite Greece. They allow partners to co-operate as equals in the development of the regions and recognise that many of the problems they face can only be addressed effectively through joint action. The Regional Programmes of Innovative Actions provides an effective framework and their actions are a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of this approach and have become an innovative energy boost for regional Greek economies. This chapter is mainly based on the book Showcasing Innovative Greece (Bezirtzoglou, 2006c), and to a lesser extent on the book Regional Innovation Excellence in Greece (Bezirtzoglou, 2005). Their aim was to present the Greek Regional Programmes of Innovative Actions with particular emphasis on their categorisation according to different typologies. To that extent, this chapter hopes to contribute towards the increase of knowledge for all actors involved in the innovation process and to provide a new perspective for the regional economies and serve as an example for further future interventions in other sectors and fields of activity.