Catalonia rises in the European innovation ranking, achieves this category for the first time strong innovator, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023 prepared by the European Commission. that's why, The Global Innovation Index in Catalonia is above the EU average and ceases to hold office medium innovativeThe report places the global index of Catalonia in the field of innovation at 105.9 points, compared to 98.9 points in the latest edition of the European Table of Innovation Indicators in 2021.
According to the document, the European Commission highlights in particular the level of " Sale of innovative products from Catalan SMEs” Regarding their total billing, employment in ICT services and continuous training throughout the working time. Catalonia is also above the EU average in areas such as trademark applications, scientific publications, population with tertiary education, people with digital skills and employment in knowledge-intensive activities.
Increase the budget allocated to innovation projects
According to Roger Torrent, Minister of Enterprise and Labor, "The European Innovation Scoreboard 2023 certifies Change of trend in Catalonia in the field of innovation Torrent highlighted that for the first time "we have reached the category of strong innovators" and "we are beginning to see the results of the policies we are developing." he emphasized that “and The goal is to reach the rank of innovation leader in the future Which corresponds to us taking into account the innovative capacities of companies, universities, technological and research centers”.
In this sense, the councilor has announced that this year through the Generalitat, ACCIÓ -Agency for the Competitiveness of the Company of the Department of Commerce and Labor- "The budget allocated to innovation and R+D+i projects of Catalan companies will increase by 35%More than 56 million euros”. In addition, Torrent recalled that this year "new aid lines are launched to promote new technological innovation projects, the growth of deeptech startups and access to European funds from Horizon Europe". .
For his part, the Minister for Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal, has defended the strategic value of "the Catalan knowledge system continuing to improve transfer and innovation indicators to confirm Catalonia's position as a scientific center in southern Europe". . .
Environment, Investment, Innovation and Impact
The European Innovation Scoreboard, created by the European Commission in 2001, consists of 21 indicators at the regional level linked to four areas: environmental conditions (human resources, digitization or level of scientific publication), the Investment (financial support, spending on R&D or use of ICT), the innovation activities (number of patents or collaborations between SMEs, companies with innovative products or processes) or Effect (number of workers in knowledge-intensive activities and in innovative or exporting companies with a high technical content).
Based on these indicators, the European Commission classifies European regions into four categories: Innovation Leaders, Strong Innovators, Medium Innovators, and Emerging Innovatorsis considered an area innovation leader When your score exceeds 125% of the EU average (=100%). is considered an area strong innovator if it is between 100% and 125% of the EU average (=100%); medium innovative between 70% and 100% and emerging innovators Below the 70% average in the EU.
