Investments in new technologies and innovations are the core elements supporting economic development. On average, in Europe, 2% of GDP is devoted to research and development, whereas in Poland it is only 0.9 %. Low input results in a new Poland’s development policy till 2020 will ensure assistance for investments in research, development and innovations. Projects carried out in Poland are supposed to be awarded public money – both national as well as European. Investments in research, development and innovations cannot, however, financed only with a support of the European Fund; support for innovation in terms of legal and administrative issues should be of the greatest priority for Polish government.
European green technology alliance
Innovative technological project carried out in Poland, due to lack of proper investment outlays, is very often not commercialized. This process is based on cooperation between business and science and the key help in this field is provided by European Green Technology Alliance – EGTA. IT focuses on innovative technologies transfer between European countries and provides support through specialized institutions of business environment in all European countries as well as through the network of its collaborators on the remaining continents. It is a unique organization which promotes innovative technological possibilities and mediate between development institutions and international cooperation.
Knowledge exploitation and commercialization are the main purposes of EGTA and other enterprises. It ENSURES transfer of technologies to all European economies; it also commercializes scientific research results through science and opinion forming as well as cooperation on their implementation. What is more, it supports enterprises and research and development entities with managing intellectual property, scientific results protection, disclosing patent rights as well as license and implementation agreements. Cluster network is to assist entrepreneurs in knowledge and experience transfer as well as safe technology transfer within their own structures as well as outside of them. Moreover, cluster system supports activities connected with acquiring financial resources that would allow to commercialize the innovative projects. Currently, European Green Technology Alliance comprises of 21 Clusters with more than 300 enterprises and institutions from 18 EU member countries. Its main goal is to:
Interesting conclusions connected with current situation of science in business were drew in the article: „System of technology transfer and knowledge commercialization in Poland – prime movers and barriers”. As was emphasized in the above mentioned article, the issue of technology transfer and commercialization has a particular strategic importance for Polish and European economy. Additionally, the situation in which the results of even the most innovative research, publications and patents of European scientists find their application in new products, technologies or services. EGTA is an element of Polish innovation development, which enables opening to wide economic contacts and participation in European and world activities that stimulate economic growth. The basic criteria of EGTA project assessment is the possibility and profitability of introducing technologies to the market and its further commercialization.
Polish technologies thought
Although European average rate of research and development investment surpasses the Polish one, the innovation growth of Polish economy rises faster than in many EU countries. According to European Commission’s report „Innovation Union Scoreboard 2015”, Polish Summary Innovation Index (SII) has risen from 0.27/0.28 in 2006 and 2007 to 0.31 in 2014, what in turn, made it possible to outrun Latvia and reach the same rate as Croatia. However, two Polish enterprises took place in a rank of companies that spend the biggest amount of money on research and development. These are: Telekomunikacja Polska [Eng. Polish Telecommunication] (488th place) KGHM Polska Miedź [Mining and Metallurgical Plant-Copper] (864th place). In years 2006-2015, the innovative index for Poland was circa 0.27. In 2014, for the first time, there was noted a more significant growth since it reached 0.31. What is interesting, in 2014, this index was rising faster for Poland than for other members of Euro Zone. If this tendency continues to remain at the same level, in the next years, Poland has a chance to conquer even higher place in the European ranking.
Considerable number of patents that Poland possesses was issued by the European Patent Office (EPO). For instance, in 2014 this number constituted 75%, while in 2013 – 72%. Despite the fact that such way of obtaining protection of inventions is chosen mainly by foreign entities, Polish entities are also applying for patents, however, not only to Polish Patent Office, but also European Patent Office as well as in Patent Cooperation Treat (PCT) mode more and more frequently. In 2014, 475 patent applications were submitted to European Office, which is over 100 more than the year before (in 2013 – 372 application). A number of Polish applications in PCT mode has also increased – from 332 in 2013 to 348 in 2014. In addition, 78% of medium-sized and large companies in Poland have undertaken, within the last 3 years, works on innovative solutions. Regardless of the sector, product and service innovations are the key areas of innovation activity. In recent years, they have been implemented by 58% of industrial enterprises and 50% of trade and service ones. In the industry, process innovations are very important. 60% of industrial enterprises came up with such innovations and 48% implemented them.1
According to the report published by KMPG „Investment maturity of enterprises in Poland” Polish trade and services sector 46% of enterprises, aimed at innovation of the organization, declared about moving in this direction. New solutions were implemented by as much as 42% of the companies and 10% of those implementations refer to innovative venture on market level. The level of Polish marketing companies innovativeness was nearly 30% and in the next years, it is expected to maintain an upward tendency. In the segment of medium-sized and large companies, almost half of them, i.e. 47%, declared their willingness to proceed to market innovativeness. Technology transfer has immense significance when it comes to implementation of innovations among Polish enterprises. This is the point, where technology brokers succor. They specialize in implementing innovative solutions as well as technology transfer. As much as 12 % of companies, which implemented innovations, adopt the so-called good practices of the market. Only 6% of the enterprises decide to innovations using only company’s own resources. Polish innovativeness and ingenuity is known around the whole Europe, however, realization of the innovative project still requires huge capital outlays, development and studies.
Source: www.kpmg.com