CLIQ - Creating Local Innovation through a Quadruple Helix

Jyvâskylâ is the lead partner of the CLIQ project, which held its kick-off meeting in Jyvâskylâ on 2-4 March. Other 16 partners come from Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, UK, Greece, Lithuania, France and Italy. The long term aim of CLIQ is to optimise the benefits of globalisation and innovation to SME's and entrepreneurs in medium sized towns. The main objective is to strengthen Local Authority Policy and capacity to support innovation more effectively. The sub objectives of the CLIQ project are:

• To RESEARCH and share local and regional good practices in innovation using comparative case studies (e.g. in business support and product development processes)
• To EXCHANGE experience and good practices on how local authorities in medium sized towns can facilitate better collaboration and knowledge transfer between innovation centres, science & technology and local SME's.
• To develop SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE LINKS between the key innovation actors: local and regional authorities, science and technology parks, universities, innovation centres, SMEs, entrepreneurs and civil society (QUADRUPLE Helix)
• To EXPLORE AND DEFINE THE ROLE(S) of local authorities in medium sized cities in supporting innovation, specifically within multi level governance and the Quadruple Helix model
• To BENCHMARK processes supporting innovation in medium sized partner cities
• To INTEGRATE POLICIES, PROCESSES AND ACTIVITIES used within partner cities in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Internationalisation to improve economic competitiveness of participating regions
• To explore and exchange models to ENGAGE CIVIL SOCIETY -'citizens' - in innovation to narrow the innovation gap
• To DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN to influence policy both within the network and in other medium sized cities
• To develop a TRANSFERABLE SET OF TOOLS which local and regional authorities can use to help SMEs and entrepreneurs to innovate and compete in an international market (an Innovating Medium Sized Cities Toolkit for Local Authorities)
• To DISSEMINATE TOOLS AND FINDINGS within the partners' cities, through Eurotowns and other networks of towns, cities and regions and at a European level, with a view to transferring them Europe-wide.

The project has a total budget of 1,95 million euro and it will run until 31 October 2011.