Unlocking innovation
How do you foment competitiveness and how is local innovation linked to the global ranking of a country? This was the focus of a recent conference held in Athens which brought together representatives from the areas of academia, business, politics, economics and science to discuss initiatives and strategies to promote innovation. All were members of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC), a network of leaders and organizations from around the world committed to competitiveness and its spillover into social well-being.
GFCC issued a call to action, urging national policy stakeholders to hammer out strategies to support innovation and economic transformation. It also called on regional and local stakeholders to assemble teams of leaders with the aim of pursuing similar objectives. Conference participants meanwhile visited the northwestern city of Ioannina, which has excelled as a leading innovation center nationwide in collaboration with the local university and the private sector.
Starting off with an understanding of reality on the ground and a roadmap for future growth, GFCC said there is a need to use all available resources, encourage entrepreneurship, make use of infrastructure, nurture an innovative talent pool, focus on high value-added industries and quality of life and, finally, to position one’s regional strengths on the global stage.
The conference was attended by many local market leaders and the discussion naturally veered into the competitiveness of Greece’s economy. The conference was told about the spectacular improvement in the country’s competitiveness as shown in data from the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), but also about the need to stay with structural reforms, including forging a more favorable institutional and legal framework for the practical implementation and commodification of innovation.
The reality on the ground in Ioannina, Thessaloniki and Athens points to skill shortages in the areas demanded by the new innovation hubs and businesses
As pointed out by Deborah L. Wince-Smith, GFCC president and CEO of the US Council on Competitiveness, although Greece has great potential, there are still shortcomings when it comes to linking research and business, and there is plenty of room to enhance the outward reach of small and medium-sized businesses.
Freeing entrepreneurship from red tape is still elusive. At the same time, there is a need to reform the justice system and education so it can cultivate critical thinking and the skills needed by human resources as the most essential factor for economic growth in developed economies.
The changes promoted by the conservative government are in the right direction. However, the reality on the ground in Ioannina, Thessaloniki and Athens points to skill shortages in the areas demanded by the new innovation hubs and businesses.
We need public and private sector involvement and the substantial contribution of universities and productive bodies to train the existing human resources so that we can benefit as a society from the opportunities ushered in by the fourth industrial revolution.
