The "bottom-up" approach for the translation of the RTP's priorities into specific actions proved to be extremely fruitful and effective. A large number of actions and projects were proposed by various bodies in Central Macedonia. The next step was to evaluate these projects with respect to their suitability to the problems and technology needs of Central Macedonia's businesses. For this purpose a further research into the technology needs of Central Macedonia's businesses was considered necessary in order to clarify the contribution of the proposed projects to these needs.

Ôechnology demand had already been outlined on the basis of technology audits, meetings with businessmen from various industrial branches, and expert reports. The additional research was designed to explore the extent to which the projects that proposed and the services they offered corresponded to what businesses really needed.

Selecting the sample

This survey covered most of the businesses with more than 10 employees operating in the seven prefectures of Central Macedonia. Data from the National Statistics Service of Greece show that while businesses with more than 10 employees constitute only 7.6% of the total number of businesses in Central Macedonia, they account for 60.55% of the total work force.

The survey concentrated on businesses with more than 10 employees because this is taken to be the threshold size for a business to include innovation in its strategic thinking and therefore be disposed to consider research and technology options and strategies. This assumption has been supported by a number of existing studies for industry in Northern Greece.

The survey used a list of 1900 businesses, provided by ICAP. This list covers 92% of the total number of businesses having more than 10 employees in the Central Macedonia region, and includes data on the location of the firm, number of employees, turnover, and industrial sector. The ICAP data also permit firms to be monitored over a long period, since it includes figures from their annual accounts and other quantitative indicators (current assets, net worth, gross income, investments, etc.)

Table 12.1: Manufacturing firms in Central Macedonia by prefecture and size

Size	0-9.9	10-19.9	20-49.9	50-99.9	100-499.9	500 +	Total
Prefecture
Imathia	1723	62	44	18	19	1	1867
Thessaloniki	16278	831	476	114	89	9	17797
Kilkis	748	29	30	17	5	0	829
Pella	1542	48	33	12	14	1	1650
Pieria	1288	28	16	11	5	0	1348
Serres	2595	63	35	9	6	1	2709
Halkidiki	929	14	13	3	1	0	960
C. Macedonia	25103	1075	647	184	139	12	27160

Source: Data Processing, National Statistics Service of Greece

The survey supplemented these data with information on utilisation and requirements relating to specific technologies and services. This permitted us not only to assess technology demand, but also to correlate this demand with the general activities of each business and its financial results.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire submitted to the companies comprised 92 questions pertaining to the activities, utilisation and requirements of each firm in the following areas:

1. Industrial information technology
2. Automation technology
3. Quality control technology
4. Anti-pollution technology
5. Land and agricultural technology
6. Funding for modernisation
7. Funding for research, technology and innovation
8. Participation in the 4th European Commission R&D Framework Programme
9. Participation in business technology co-operation networks
10. Improvement of human resource technology skills
11. Co-operation with technology transfer organisms
12. Technology co-operation with the Universities
13. New infrastructure for telematics, professional premises and installations

These subject areas, and the individual questions associated with them, supplement the technology audits carried out earlier in order to identify the requirements in research, technology and innovation of Central Macedonia's businesses.

Technology audits were more analytical, being designed to elicit the specific application by the region's businesses of innovative business strategies in:

• production: types of automation, forms of flexibility, hierarchies in the plant
• products: new products, batches, production runs, quality circles, quality control and certification
• inter-firm relationships: competitive, co-operative, networking, out-sourcing, supplier-producer relationships, just-in-time delivery systems
• employment: flexibility, skills, hierarchies.

By contrast, this survey gathered information on requirements for and utilisation of more specific technologies (MRP, multimedia applications, EDI, ISO certification, Licensing, responsible care, etc), which permitted to draw quantitative conclusions regarding their level of application and diffusion in the businesses of the region.

Furthermore, the questionnaire was drawn up in reference to the specific projects proposed during the previous stage of the RTP by various bodies in the region, and the research, technology and innovation services included with each project. This permitted an evaluation of the utility and effectiveness of each proposed project, in addition to the quantitative assessment of technology requirements.

Conclusions

The questionnaires submitted to the businesses of Central Macedonia were processed according to normal statistical methods: frequency analyses, correlation of variables, factor analysis and calculation of quantitative coefficients.

The results and conclusions fell into two groups: those leading to better understanding of research and technology utilisation and requirements in firms, and those permitting an evaluation of the utility of the technology and innovation support projects included in the RTP.

As far as the first group of conclusions is concerned, the survey describes the demand for specific technologies and innovation support mechanisms. It calculates the actual use and need for a number of specific technologies and points-out the areas of technology saturation, high demand, and concealed needs. With regard to technology supply, it describes the level of development of the various for technology acquisition: dissemination of technology know-how through collaboration between industry and research institutes, exchanges of technology through inter-firm co-operation, and the purchase of technology by licensing and the purchase of equipment. The analysis also provides information on the demand for new telematics infrastructures, as well as the demand for up-graded professional premises and location. These conclusions are tabulated both for the aggregate and for major industrial sectors (food industry, textiles, chemicals, machinery and equipment, etc.).

With regard to the second group of conclusions, the survey provides data for the demand associated with each RTP project and each of its individual services. Basic diagrams are presented in the synoptic descriptions of the projects in the last unit of the Action Plan, and more analytically in the feasibility studies for each project. These data justify the selected projects, while it permitted the adjustments of the projects' services and target groups.