This document discusses innovation in Spain and Europe from a variety of perspectives. It begins by noting that innovation is important but difficult to achieve, requiring profound changes. It then examines Europe's high ambitions for innovation over the past two decades that have not been fully realized based on statistics that show Europe lagging behind other regions in areas like research spending and new business creation. The document offers personal impressions that innovation in Europe faces challenges in commercializing inventions, while Spain's culture does not highly value risk-taking and entrepreneurship needed for innovation.

1. Innovation in Spain:
Easy to say, hard to do
A mixture of facts, policies and personal experience in ICT
A “pre-crisis” view
Richard Benjamins
Director
Business Intelligence
Telefonica Digital
June 2012
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2. 01
Sometimes innovation is a must
and requires profound changes
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3. Innovate or ..
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4. Die? …
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5. 02
The story of European R&D
“Easy to say”
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6. The Lisbon Council 2000: High Ambitions
The Union has today
set itself a new
strategic goal for the
next decade: to
become (2010) the
most competitive and
dynamic knowledge-
based economy in
the world …
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7. The Barcelona European Council 2002: on
track? Many Europeans like to think of their
continent as a global economic
superpower. But when compared to the
US over the last decade or so, Europe
looks like a laggard.
Even when European businesses do
create new products, the dismal failure
of the EU to launch the Community
patent on schedule potentially
jeopardises intellectual property rights.
The process of starting a new business
in the EU is slow and expensive. Once
established, European businesses face
a daunting burden of red tape
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8. The EU 2020 proposal: high ambitions
again The last two years have left millions
unemployed
2010 must mark a new beginning. I want
Europe to emerge stronger from the
economic and financial crisis
The Commission is putting forward seven
flagship initiatives to catalyse progress under
each priority theme
"Innovation Union" to improve framework
conditions and access to finance for
research and innovation so as to ensure that
innovative ideas can be turned into products
and services that create growth and jobs
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9. 03
R&D statistics
World – EU – Spain
“Hard to do”
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10. Number of researchers by world region
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11. Number of researchers per EU country
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12. Publications by region
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13. Publications per EU country
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14. GERD, Gov-financed GERD and BERD
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15. Business R&D expenditure on ICT in EU
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16. Rate of tax subsidies for USD 1of R&D,
large and small and medium-sized firms,
2008
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17. Science and innovation profile of Spain
2008
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18. 03
Personal impression of
innovation
•In Europe
•In Spain
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19. Innovation is more than research (R) and
(&) more than development (D)
+ =
A good idea A process to make it
(invention) profitable INNOVATION
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20. But innovation is not easy
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21. Europe and US face problems in different
phases of innovation process
Situation in US Situation in EU
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22. And the result is …
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23. Why is Europe not producing more ICT
product companies?
Is SAP the only large one? An educational
challenge?
Nr of researchers is OK • EU engineers do not learn
Nr of publications is business aspects while at
university
excellent • They focus on the
Nr of patents is lower technology, not on the
than in US customer
Venture capital activity is A cultural aspect?
lower than in US • Research is cool,
marketing is not done
• EU invents and publishes,
no patents please, all open
source
• Risk aversion
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24. And what about innovation in Spain?
Starting high tech ICT product companies?
Question to Spanish parents: What would you like your child to become
• 1. Civil servant
• 2. Work in Telefonica
Question to young people becoming active on labour market: Where
would you like to work?
• 1. Public Administration
• 2. Telefonica
Spanish culture is wary of risks
Failure doesn’t look good on your CV
Spanish labour market is very closed
Europe and Spain has to take innovation more seriously!
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