1. Giuditta De Prato & Daniel Nepelski
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies - IPTS
Joint Research Centre - European Commission
www.jrc.es / is.jrc.es
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the presenter and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European
Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of this
presentation.
Polos de excelencia en las TIC
europeas
La geografía de las TIC y sus
implicaciones
JRC-IPTS / CONNECT joint project nr 31786-2010-06
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/ISG/EIPE.html

2. IPTS
Part of the JRC of the EC
Mission
“to provide customer-driven
support to the EU policy-making
process by developing
science-based responses
to policy challenges that have
both a socio-economic as well as
a scientific/technological
dimension”
European Commission – Joint Research Centre
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS)

3. EIPE project description
Mapping ICT in the EU
The anatomy of EIPE
Some implications
Overview
3

4. EIPE project description
Mapping ICT in the EU
The anatomy of EIPE
Some implications
Overview
4

5. Economic activity unevenly distributed (Krugman, 1991)
Economic regions with most production will be more profitable
and will attract even more production
Dependency and interactions between locations
• Linkages between heterogeneous locations (Lahiri, 2010; Nieto &
Rodriguez, 2011; Sachwald, 2008)
• Hubs and spokes of trade, R&D and innovation (De Benedictis &
Tajoli, 2011; De Prato & Nepelski, 2012)
• The level of connectedness determines a location’s position in the
global hierarchy (Cantwell & Janne, 1999; Meyer, Mudambi, &
Narula, 2011).
Research concepts

6. Research concepts

7. Mapping and connecting the dots
• Where are the European poles of ICT activity?
• What roles do they play in the global context?
But before
• What is an EIPE?
• What are the characteristics and the corresponding
quantitative indicators of EIPEs?
• How to identify them?
Research concepts
European ICT Poles of Excellence

8. 8
European ICT Poles of Excellence are
Definition
geographical agglomerations
of best performing
ICT
R&D, innovation & business
activities,
located in the EU,
that exert a central role in
global networks

9. BusinessInnovationR&D
Agglomeration
Internationalisation
Networking
ICT Activities
CharacteristicsofICT
activities
Methodological
framework
Crépon, Duguet & Mairesse – CDM – Model (1998)

10. 1. R&D centre location (HIS iSuppli)
2. REGPAT (EPO/OECD)
3. QS World University Ranking
4. ORBIS (Bureau van Dijk)
5. European Investment Monitor
(Ernst&Young)
6. Venture source (Dow Jones)
7. FP7 (DG Connect)
8. Web of Knowledge (Thomson
Reuters)
42 Indicators
Methodological
framework
Fully based on a set
of acknowledged,
available and broad
encompassing
primary data sources
10

11. Generating the EIPE
Identity Card of each
of the 1303 regions
Methodological
framework

12. ICT R&D
Agglomeration
indicators
ICT R&D
Internationalisation
indicators
ICT R&D
Networking
indicators
ICT Innovation
Agglomeration
indicators
ICT Innovation
Internationalisation
indicators
ICT Innovation
Networking
indicators
ICT Business
Agglomeration
indicators
ICT Business
Internationalisation
indicators
ICT Business
Networking
indicators
ICT R&D
composite indicator
ICT Innovation
composite indicator
ICT Business
composite indicator
EIPE
composite indicator
..and the EIPE composite indicators
Methodological
framework

13. Within a framework supported by literature
we developed a method
processed heterogeneous databases
covering the whole of EU27 at NUTS3 level
measuring the domain of ICT
by means of >40 indicators (the EIPE ID Card)
Mapping 1300 regions
identifying who is “first–in–class”
And much more…
Methodological
framework

14. 14
The outcome
EIPE tool
Concepts
Methods
Information &
data
A monitoring tool to measure and assess
the ICT activity in Europe
Mapping
ICT activity
in Europe
Benchmarking
locations
Detailed profiles
of places
of interest
Beyond
mapping…

15. EIPE project description
Mapping ICT in the EU
The anatomy of EIPE
Some implications
Overview
15

16. Mapping ICT in EU
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/ISG/eipe/atlas.html

17. Mapping ICT in EU
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/ISG/eipe/atlas.html

18. ICT R&D
sub-indicator
Mapping ICT in EU
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/ISG/eipe/atlas.html

19. ICT Innovation
sub-indicator
Mapping ICT in EU
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/ISG/eipe/atlas.html

20. ICT Business activity
sub-indicator
Mapping ICT in EU
20http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/ISG/eipe/atlas.html

21. 201
454
327
124
72
52
25
11 8 8 3 7 2 3 2 1 3
0
100
200
300
400
500
Frequency
0 20 40 60 80 100
21
Mapping ICT in EU
EIPE Indicator
Final Ranking:
Frequency
1st tier
40<EIPE<100:
top 34 regions
2nd tier3rd tier

22. Mapping ICT in EU
22

23. The results are available as:
‣ The ATLAS ‣ The online mapping tool
The ATLAS of ICT activity in Europe
23
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/ISG/eipe/atlas.html

24. EIPE project description
Mapping ICT in the EU
The anatomy of EIPE
Some implications
Overview
24

25. 25
1
The anatomy of EIPE

26. New investments by activity
London
Darmstadt
Paris
Dublin
Copenhagen
The anatomy of EIPE

27. 27
The anatomy of EIPE
Paris: ~7% of the total FP7 budget
Darmstadt:
0.2% of the EU Venture
Capital funding
(0.03% of the EU population)
Copenhagen:
2% of all new investments in
the ICT sector in the EU
(1% of the EU population)
London:
>5% of EU total R&D by
ICT firms

28. 28
The anatomy of EIPE
• Very strong concentration of R&D financing in
terms of
• Location,
• Actors,
• Activities
• Money follows, among others, performance

29. 29
The anatomy of EIPE
Darmstadt:
internationalisation of
ICT innovation
>10% of patents cover inventions
developed jointly with inventors from
outside of Germany
Paris: Outward ICT R&D
internationalisation
Dublin: Inward ICT business
internationalisation
>320 (out of 450) affiliates of
ICT R&D Scoreboard companies
from outside of Ireland

30. 30
The anatomy of EIPE
• Intensive internationalisation of all types of
activities
• However, one size does not fit all
• Internationalisation of each activity follows different
pattern
• Each region has a different portfolio of partners
• Some show more local orientation (within the EU),
while others have far reaching connections (US &
Asia)

31. 31
The anatomy of EIPE

32. 32
The anatomy of EIPE
• Complex web of connections
• Various roles, positions, …
• Different network structures emerging for
• Activities, locations, …
• Unclear implications…

33. EIPE project description
Mapping ICT in the EU
The anatomy of EIPE
Some implications
Overview
33

34.  A very concentrated landscape
 Consistent with theory of agglomeration and method
 R&D, Innovation and business activity
equally important and observable
 BUT DIVERSITY DOMINATES
 EIPE are the main hubs in local, European and global
networks
 Asymmetrical dependencies oppose the image of
disconnected peripheries
Network position matters
Excellence builds on high
performance across all activities
Strong clustering
of ICT activities
 Top EIPEs are the epicentres of EU ICT activities
 Which extend beyond their local boundaries
 And network globally
Excellence is scarce
Some implications
 Germany distributed, France centralised….
 Probably echoes the historical/institutional roots
National patterns appear
 Epicentres identified at NUTS3 level
 Economic rationale guides a geographical spread
Spatial agglomeration respect
no administrative boundary
34

35. 35
Questions?
Thank
you!