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The Programme 'Excellence in Central Macedonia' (Excellence-in-CM) in the framework of ERDF Innovative Actions 2000-2006, focuses on the creation of an environment of innovation that will accelerate the introduction of businesses, research centres, and technology intermediary organisations of the Region to the world of business intelligence, smart products, technology watch and foresight.

The aim is to strengthen the Region's outward orientation and competitiveness through the diffusion and application of 'business excellence' and 'world-class manufacturing' principles, and to promote a knowledge-based regional economy.

Excellence- in-CM continues previous efforts of innovative actions of ERDF and FP5 in Central Macedonia, such as the Regional Technology Plan (ERDF, 1995-97), the RIS+ Central Macedonia (ERDF, 1999-2000), INNOREGIO: dissemination of innovation development technologies (RECITE II, 1999-2001), InnoTender (FP5, 2000-01), Innovation-on-Line (FP5, 2000-01), and others, which led to the formulation and testing of a regional strategy for innovation and technological development. The present programme launches a revised strategy for regional innovation and development based on the concepts of 'high tech clusters', 'technology foresight' and 'technology clinics', as well as experimentation with pilot actions that were never tested, which involve the major regional actors and establish permanent alliances among the learning institutions of Central Macedonia.

The overall strategy of Excellence-in-CM is illustrated in the following Diagram.

At the heart of the strategy are a number of selected industrial clusters representing important and emerging industries of the Region (i.e. Agriculture, Food and beverage, Textiles and clothing, Chemical products, Electrical machinery, Telecommunications, Software, Pharmaceuticals, Medical services). For each of these Clusters, a detailed development plan will be prepared and validated, introducing business excellence and world class manufacturing principles.

En aval, the drafting of development plans of the selected clusters will be facilitated by two applications: a Regional Technology Foresight exercise to identify promising technologies for the coming decade at the industry level, and a Digital Research Centre to codify the existing regional capabilities in terms of research results and scientific human resources. En amont, a series of pilot practices (including technology clinics, training, e-learning, technology demonstration, VC funding, etc.) will support the endorsement and implementation of the development plans. A Regional Innovation Observatory will monitor and evaluate the effects of these pilot projects transferring the most promising actions to the mainstream structural funds of the Region for large-scale implementation.

Implementation of Excellence-in-CM will be based on the actors of the Regional Innovation System, with proven, in previous innovative actions, interest, expertise, and capability to promote innovation and technological development in Central Macedonia.

Regional Innovation System of C. Macedonia

The above Diagram presents these actors, and the central role of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Commission to direct, monitor, evaluate the pilot actions, and introduce their results to the mainstream structural funds. The Innovation Council will be the institutional link between innovative ERDF actions and the mainstream structural funds. The measurement and evaluation system will be based on an adapted version of the Massachusetts Index, composed of about 30 indicators, of which a first version is already developed in the framework of RIS+.

Central Macedonia is looking to improve its international position and profile on the basis of innovation-driven and knowledge-based regional development. Excellence-in-CM, if approved, will give a major push to this objective by turning the focus of the effort on the world best business and technology practices. Already, regional development policy, especially as regards to innovation and entrepreneurship, has been formulated in the ROP 2000-2006 in a way that promotes the same objectives as Excellence-in-CM. Inversely, the new programme takes fool account of the Priority Axes, Measures and Actions defined in the ROP, and can thus serve as a pilot and as a test bed for the new innovation-driven development policies that the Region of Central Macedonia wishes to foster after the mid-term assessment of its ROP in the year 2003.