2005 - 2010

Europäische Union, Integriertes Projekt: Regional Trajectories to the Knowledge Economy: A Dynamic Model (EURODITE); Projektleiter und Antragsteller.

The significance of knowledge for economic activity has grown exponentially since the 1980s. However, there is as yet little understanding of the nature and composition of the knowledge economy, especially at a regional level. The EURODITE project addresses this deficiency by an interdisciplinary approach examining the dynamics of knowledge in the economies of European regions. This large-scale project brings together 28 partners who jointly agreed on a framework for the analysis of two major research questions: What are the different trajectories towards the knowledge economy?, and through what generative and communication pathways does knowledge ‘flow’ into and within regional economies? The analytical framework has also been developed in order to enable policy-makers to measure the intensity of regional knowledge use, and to identify ‘appropriate practices’ for different regions given their respective economic base and level of ‘knowledge development'. Complementary training, demonstration and dissemination activities are designed to ensure a high level of communication and take up and validation of the project outputs.


The specific objectives of the project are to:

1. •        Assess the current state of knowledge (its stocks and flows) in European regional economies, and to identify key trends within these and other aggregates (e.g. sectors, networks and markets, governance systems, education and science, social groups).
   

2. •        Produce a model of 'economic knowledge micro-dynamics' - of the interaction over time of knowledge stocks and flows amongst networks of firms and others, starting in selected sectors and regions of Europe, and observing how these interactions extend organisationally and spatially.
   

3. •        To use this analysis of knowledge micro-dynamics to develop methodologies and to calibrate macro-level indicators as a diagnostic tool for policy-makers, for the measurement of regional knowledge stocks and flows.
   

4. •        Evaluate the contribution of these knowledge micro-dynamics to macro-level regional economic and social trajectories - to their performance in productivity growth and competitiveness as well as gender equality and social cohesion.
   

5. •        Identify the conditions that have created the observed knowledge dynamics - including positive and negative path dependencies - in different sectors and regions across Europe.
   

6. •        Identify the policy levers and coordination activities available to the EU and other levels of governance to enhance knowledge dynamics and their contribution to regional development and competitiveness, economic and social cohesion.
   

7. •        Identify the specific gender issues generated by the knowledge economy.
   

Forschungsberichte des Münchner Projektteams (Auswahl):

Kaiser, Robert / Manuel J. Kripp (2009): Knowledge Processes Case Studies. Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Feature Film Technologies in the larger Munich Area, WP6 Final Report, Munich, March 27, 2009. 090327_WP6_Final.pdf

Kaiser, Robert (2008): Governance and the Knowledge Economy. WP2 Final Report, Munich, April 6, 2008. 080406_WP2_FInal.pdf

Kaiser, Robert / Michael Liecke (2007): Firm-level based Knowledge Biographies as an Analytical Tool for the Biotech Industry, WP2 Second Interims Report, Munich, March 2, 2007. 070302_WP3_Interim_2.pdf

Abgeschlossene Projekte:

2001 - 2003: BMBF - „Institutionelle Ausgestaltung von Kooperationen zur Förderung von Umweltinnovationen, Lehrstuhl für Politische Wissenschaft, Technische Universität München (Projektleiter: Prof. Dr. Edgar Grande).

1999 - 2001: Europäische Union - „National Systems of Innovation and Networks in the Idea-Innovation Chain in Science-based Industries, Lehrstuhl für Politische Wissenschaft, Technische Universität München (Projektleiter: Prof. Dr. Edgar Grande).