Prof. Ketikidis participated to the collaborative workshop 'Entrepreneurial University, Engaged Industry & Active Government'

The 2-day workshop aimed to solicit contributions that address the challenges of governance, interaction, co-alignment, facilitation and intermediation in the Triple Helix model of entangled government – industry – university. The main focus was on the role of institutions in the governance and intermediation process and key institutional actors that shape the UK industry-university landscape and facilitate interactions. In particular, the organizing committee aimed at the challenges faced by the entrepreneurial universities and entrepreneurial governments throughout the process of innovation, knowledge transfer, and knowledge commercialisation.

The workshop was designed to bring together scholars and practitioners from the Triple Helix community as well as the wider field of experts that have researched:

• intermediation, governance and orchestration of relationships in the context of:

  • innovation systems, 

  • knowledge transfer practices,

  • public-private partnerships,

  • stakeholder platforms,

  • institutional intermediation,

  • multi-level and network governance,

  • technology mediated relationships, or

  • other modalities of government-university and industry interactions

• brokerage, bridging and third party activities in the context of:

  • university-industry engagement,

  • government-industry lobbying, information exchange and policy implementation,

  • self-regulation and normative activities by industry,

  • stakeholder activism, representation and mediated dialogue,

  • research funding,

  • R&D collaboration, or

  • skills and capabilities development

• cases of governance and intermediation of complex networks in the public domain:

  • health care networks

  • utility networks

  • social care networks

The Triple Helix as a concept is recognised to have a transformative effect on industry performance, generating accelerated knowledge and technology transfer between the public and the private sector and systemic change. In the recent years we have observed a radical shift in the approach of governments – as active orchestrators of Triple Helix relationships, pursuing economic development through innovation, institutional changes through community and participative practices, and industry transformations through collaborative public-private funding and university – industry interactions.

The European regional development policies towards smart specialisation encourage regional public authorities to lead in a Triple Helix mode developing regional research and innovation strategies that focus on key enabling technologies through active engagement with universities and industry. Governments are to engage with leaders in technology and innovation, encouraging industry to pursue collaborative advantage and strategic co-alignment with regional and national socio-economic goals, and encouraging universities to act as innovation entrepreneurs.

Building active and transparent Triple Helix relationships is a critical element of the implementation of innovation policies at regional and national level. This is supported by a variety of institutional arrangements, technology platforms, or communication practices and instruments that aim to bridge across Triple Helix domains and to oil trust in the mutual engagement. We expect presenters to bring in cases of intermediation in the Triple Helix and to engage in the open debates that will contribute to our understanding of processes and agents that constitute the Triple Helix dynamics.

Speakers from the business community, from government departments and from the university sector were invited to share experience and report on the challenges faced in the design and implementation of Triple Helix interactions and the critical role of intermediary institutions and agents. While looking at intermediary practices, invited speakers were to discuss also the theoretical implications of intermediation in tripartite and multilateral relationships, and the value added from intermediation and facilitation in the innovation process.

Read more about the workshop.