Central Europe is full of long-haired academics who love to tinker in their university laboratories and workshops. Most of these guys wouldn’t know a business opportunity if it hit them on the head. Technology transfer is a public sector buzzword for funding projects to extract those ideas from the laboratory and develop real world businesses. The catch is that we don’t see too many examples yet.
The last dozen nowEurope posts have contributed to my understanding of Central Europe’s innovation dilemma, but I am not yet persuaded that technology transfer is not just wishful thinking. I found it useful to summarize where we stand in order to highlight what we still need to know.
Continue reading ‘CEE innovation: what we know so far’
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), multinationals have been the key driver of Central European business innovation in recent years. While this innovation has brought benefits, it has not helped local companies, nor has it prepared the region for the challenges ahead.
In fact, a dependence on multinational innovation has left Central Europe’s economies vulnerable, according the EIU report entitled ‘A Time For New Ideas: Innovation in Central Europe‘, sponsored by Oracle Corporation. While a handful of local SMEs have managed to innovate, the region faces a shortage of talent and a lack of support for innovation among local governments.
Continue reading ‘EIU: Multinational innovation in CEE is not enough’
In August the Economist Intelligence Unit published a comparative survey study focused on introducing e-government in the Central Europe. The white paper style publication covers the new member states from Central Europe, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
Seven weighted criteria were examined for each of the countries ranked, collectively comprising 35 separate qualitative and quantitative indicators - Connectivity and technology infrastructure, Business and legal environment, Education and skills base, Government policy and vision, E-democracy, Online services for citizens and for businesses. The survey methodology was based on in-depth interviews with programme managers and direct participants in the local development.
Continue reading ‘e-Government in Central Europe’
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