Ing. Peter Burger Peter.Burger @ tuke.sk

1. Regional dimension of of the knowledge economy (REDIPE) – the project is supported by Slovak Research and Development Agency - APVV-0230-07 Ing. Peter Burger Peter.Burger@tuke.sk CONFERENCE - NATIONAL AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS VII, HERĽANY

2. The Knowledge Economy The Knowledge Economy may be characterised as an economy in which economic growth is based on the capability to produce, distribute and make use of new knowledge (OECD, 1996).

3. The participating institutions will be: • University of Economics in Bratislava (EUBA) - Department of Public Administration and Regional Development - leadpartner • University of Technology in Košice (TUKE) - Faculty of Economics TU Košice and Institute of regional and community development • Slovak Agricultural University (SPU) in Nitra - Department of regional development • University of Žilina (ZUZA) - Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communication

4. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF KOŠICE INSTITUTE OF REGIONAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT • Activities • research in the fields of regional and community development, innovation capacity and performance, technology transfer, • • participation in the regional and local strategic planning and implementation processes, • • coordinating, administrating and managing of international projects, creating studies, reports and scenarios for the benefit of the socio-economic development of the Eastern Slovakia region, • • organising conferences, seminars, workshops, lectures, round tables.

5. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF KOŠICE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF REGIONAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT • Research, professional and expert activities of are • mainly based on Slovak and international research grants • which are generally focused on: • • Regional Sciences • • Public Administration • • Management (including Human Resources Management and Project Management) • • Marketing • • Enterprise and Entrepreneurship • • Innovation and Clusters • • Advanced Educational Technologies

6. The principal objective • The principal objective and purpose of the project is to explore regional aspects of the knowledge economy from various perspectives and to formulate recommendations for the realisation of the regional development policy. • Implementation of this project brings: • progress in the current understanding of the processes of creation and diffusion of knowledge in specific regional circumstances; • an opportunity to improve the decision and planning processes at the regional and national level.

7. Specific objectives: • Specific objectivenumber 1: To elaborate the theoretical basis of the knowledge economy issue and its regional dimension. • Specific objectivenumber 2: To explore the impact of external conditions (sectoral and regional) on the knowledge dynamics of a company. • Specific objectivenumber 3: To explore the knowledge processes within a company and the form of its interaction with the surrounding environment (external sources of knowledge). • Specific objectivenumber 4: To specify economic policy levers to enhance knowledge dynamics.

8. Work package 1 - Theoretical background • The processing of theoretical background knowledge of the economy and its regional dimension. We will gain a common perception of research issues and integrate terminology and definitions that we will use during the next run of research work. Specific attention will be given to following areas: • company (theoretical basis, production of knowledge in the company, use of external sources of knowledge, organization of the company... • university and education system (educational and research aspect, catalyst of knowledge in the region) • research centers (public and private) • mediatory institutions (incubation centers, consulting institutions, innovation centers, technology parks) • business environment (organizations, policy support, administrative system, legal system and formal institutions)

9. Work package 2 - Regional and sector analysis • We can identify knowledge value chain where knowledge is produced or deployed and used by firms and converted into an economic value. The sector research will give us a framework for the case studies of company’s. The research basis will be presented by two sectoral groups: • IT services and tourism – these will be a matter of analysis in every researched region (Bratislava, Žilina, Nitra, Košice). The objective is to analyze the sectors that are common for all researched regions. It will allow us to research the role of regional and local environment in the operation of company’s. • Selected sectors which are dominant in the individual researched regions. We will provide an analysis of two sectors in researched regions which will be defined on the basis of their significance in the regional economy.

10. Work package 3 -The case studies of company’s • Micro dimension of the process will be documented through case studies of company’s. The subjects of analysis will be about 30 companies which will be selected during the process of sectoral and regional analysis. The previous research on the regional and sectoral dimensions gave us a general overview on the role of knowledge in the economy. The Micro approach will follow which way the company created, processed, used and disseminated new knowledge in the various environments (sectors and regions). We will use qualitative research, based on case studies, structure interviews and questionnaires. The main areas that we will research are: • In the development of the company, how did they produce, obtain and use knowledge? • What was the role of individuals and networks of experts in this process? • What was the role of ext. and int. environment on thecompany?

11. Work package 4- Regional and sectoral synthesis. Formulation of policy recommendation • Previous findings from empirical research will allow us to formulate some general information that will focus on: • typology of regional and sectoral knowledge processes • models of knowledge production in companies in various sectoral contexts • models of knowledge production in various regional contexts • From these conclusions we will define policy requirements for policy creation of regional development in the knowledge economy. Based on experiences from abroad and with using knowledge obtained from empirical research, we will compile principles of development policy directed to a knowledge economy which will be defined at a national, regional and local level.

12. Work package 5 -Dissemination of project outputs • The work in this area will focus on obtaining, collating and running the project, the final results of the project will be compiled and published. An important part of the work on the project will be the dissemination of acquired experiences and knowledge to the scientific public as well as to potential public administrations at the central, regional and local level and to the third sector. The results of the project will be offered to institutions processing the operation programs and to specific projects in the frame of policy support of the EU in 2007-2013.

13. Timetable of the project

14. Thank you for your attention • TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF KOŠICE • INSTITUTE OF REGIONAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT • Letná 9 • 042 00 Košice • Slovenská republika • Tel:+42155602 3309 • E-mail: peter.burger@tuke.sk • Web: http://www.tuke.sk/IRKR