ARDIA-Net

Developing an Alpine Space Research, Development and Innovation Area by lowering barriers for cross-regional cooperation

There is currently no funding programme for research, development and innovation that is tailored specifically to the needs of the regions in the macroregion of the Alpine space, supporting the implementation of their specific objectives while at the same time facilitating cross-border cooperation. The EU project ARDIA-Net has now set itself the goal of creating such an R&I funding programme with a focus on the issues of the circular bioeconomy and health economy that brings together companies (SMEs), universities and their research partners in the Alpine space.

The latest results of the Interreg project S3-4AlpCluster, in which BayFOR was also involved as a project partner, showed that the Alpine space needs a transnational funding programme enabling interregional research and innovation projects. Innovative resources are still going unused because regional synergies are difficult to develop and critical masses hard to reach. In order to overcome the social challenges within the Alpine space, there is an urgent need for targeted networking of the region's excellent stakeholders through research and innovation projects. Ideally, this could be taken care of through an interregional and transnational R&I funding programme that is thematically tailored to the needs of the Alpine space. The regional governments of the Alpine space have defined these thematic priorities in their innovation strategies (Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3)). On this basis, the consortium decided to focus on the topics “Circular bioeconomy” and “Health economy”, since these two issues are of particular relevance to the Alpine space.

The ADRIA-Net project aims to subject this concept to a reality check for an S3-oriented, transnational R&I funding programme with the active involvement of various regional stakeholders. The implementation of such a support programme is to be elaborated on a theoretical and practical level over the project period of almost three years (33 months). Eight project partners from the Alpine space (Salzburg, Upper Austria, Switzerland, Lombardy, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria) have joined forces for this purpose. Based on their expertise, they already have the necessary experience in the field of research and innovation funding, and they are closely networked with local stakeholders in government, research and industry.

For this ambitious project, the project partners have to convince both funding bodies and recipients that a transnational, thematically coordinated F&I funding of projects will lead to sustainable development in the Alpine space. The concrete implementation of the project is divided into three work packages. First, the partners wish to identify existing country-specific funding programmes and analyse their legal basis. This will serve as a starting point for the planned synchronisation of existing funding programmes across regional borders. Existing transnational cooperation in the Alpine space in the field of the circular bioeconomy and health economy is also important here. They will provide a basis for workshops to elaborate the needs of regional stakeholders with regard to a uniform R&I funding programme. Ultimately, the aim is to draw up a blueprint for a transnational R&I funding programme, which will then serve as a basis for discussion with regional/national funding bodies and political decision-makers regarding an actual implementation in the third and final work package.