S & T INTERMEDIARY ACTIVITIES IN CZ NUTS 2 REGION PRAGUE: SUPER-SME PROJECT

Th e paper is describing the current state of intermediation ser vices in CZ NUTS 2 Region Prague, based on results of ongoing SUPER-SME Project of FP6. It is possible to identify an impor tant role of intermediaries in research, development, and innova tion activities. Th e intermediation aims at optimizing supply of scientifi c and technological services, with demand of RTDI companies and organizations or any other actors using or interested in using these services, e.g. national or regional stakeholders. S & T intermediary is defi ned as a public, private, or public/private (non-profi t) institution with a mission of optimizing interface between supply of scientifi c and technological services and demand of an enterprise, groups of enterprises, or any insti tution in this respect. Universities, research centers, private com panies, or technology transfer centers can play a role of S&T in termediary.


SUPER-SME Project (Supporting Potential and Existing Research intensive SMEs)
Th e SUPER-SME project that started in March 2006 formed a consor tium of partners from seven regions all across Europe: Lorraine (France); Central Macedonia (Greece); Catalonia (Spain); South Estonia (Estonia); Cluj County (Romania); Adana Region (Turkey); and Prague (Czech Republic).Th e network has been directly funded by the European Commission (FP6) through the Regions of knowledge 2. Th e SUPER-SME project aims to pro mote increased regional business investment in research by improving the know-how of regional intermediation system. 1 Th e project was implementing a variety of activities which enable re gions to understand their particular needs of their regions on how to improve the quality and effi ciency of the S&T intermediation services.Th rough meth ods such as case study analysis and mentoring events, the project partners in tended to develop individual action plans for partnerregions which will sup port innovation processes of R&D intensive SMEs.
According to the current SME defi nition of the EU, "the category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is made up of enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million." 2h e technological typology of SMEs used in analyses of the regions in volved in SUPER-SME project was the following:

 Research performer SME
A research performer SME is a company who conducts in-house R&D activities, contracts out R&D activities with the purposes of sharing costs and minimising duplicative R&D eff orts, and/or under takes R&D co-operation directly linked to the product or process de velopment.Such SMEs have R&D departments or equivalent, and are able to take a long run view of technological capabilities (they have an R&D and/or innovation strategy, uses tools such as technol ogy forecasting, technology roadmapping, etc.).Th ey may be bene fi ciaries of national/regional/international R&D/ innovation support programmes (R&D grants, etc.).Research performer SMEs may also have one or more patents or pending patent applications.

 Technological competent SME
A technological competent SME is a company with more than one engineer, have some budgetary discretion for R&D and is able to participate in technology networks.Th ese companies are the ones with the greatest potential to contribute to raising regional business R&D expenditure.However, this requires them to be eff ectively sup ported and guided by S&T intermediaries to sources of expertise, know-how, technology and fi nance.

 Bootstrap SME
A bootstrap SME is a company, which employs on engineer and is able to adopt packaged solutions.Th ese companies may require im plementation help.

 Low technology SME
A low technology SME is a company who has no signifi cant technology capability and does not perceive a need for it.
Concerning the selected regions, the project off ers the possibility of learning from good practice and exchange of knowledge between a group of regions at various stage development of a network of S&T interme-diation ser vices.Broadly speaking, the participating regions were divided into two groups:  three "advanced" regions, or "mentors", which have a track-record of developing and implementing support measures and or ganizations aimed at research intensive SMEs; these three ad vanced regions off er diff erent models;  four "less-advanced" regions, or "mentees", at various stages in developing a system of S&T intermediaries; two of these regions are from the new Member States (NMS) and two from Candidate Countries.
It is assumed that both research performers and technology competent SMEs use or have the potential to use services of S&T intermediaries so the project has focused on them both in "mentor" or "mentee" regions.In each region was selected a group of 10-15 SMEs who formed the "business R&D panel" as users of S&T intermediation services.Th e main functions of the business R&D panels were to identify the needs and issues on S&T interme diation in their regions and proposing solutions for the improvement of the system.Th e panels also actively participate in the mapping of services pro vided by intermediaries; the personal detailed interviews based on formalized questionnaire were conducted under the project.In addition, 2-3 members of the panels from mentee regions participated in the study tours to each of the mentor regions to learn from good practice examples.

Concept of Intermediation in R&D
In the SUPER-SME project is on a regional level studied a phenomenon of an intermediary in RTDI processes, which plays a most important role in regional innovation system by supporting interactions, cooperation, and net working.
In general, an intermediary is "a negotiator who acts as a link between parties" (Word Web Online).Th e intermediation of RTDI activities aims at optimizing (ideally harmonizing) supply of scientifi c and technological ser vices, with demand of RTDI companies and organizations or any other actors using or interested in using these services, e.g.national or regional stake holders.It is clear that effi cient and successful communication is involved in all intermediary activities.
Th e defi nition of an S&T intermediary (the defi nition comes from the SUPER-SME Project), is as follows:3  S&T intermediary is defi ned as a public, private, or public/private institution with a mission of optimizing interface between supply of scientifi c and technological (S&T) services and demand of an enterprise, groups of enterprises, or any institution in this respect;  Intermediaries communicate, animate, and support joint projects between SMEs and research institutions acting as brokers.Universities, research centers, private companies, or technology transfer centers can play a role of S&T intermediary.Th ey play a decisive role in national and regional innovation systems while supporting interacting, cooperating, and networking.

Types of S&T intermediaries
Th ere are diff erent types of intermediaries according to the mission and activities of these subjects; it was recognized under SUPER-SME project dur ing study visits in partner regions. 4Some of them are:  Specialized S&T intermediaries (organization with specifi c mis sion to diff use and transfer research results and promote research off er among companies)  University interface and technology transfer (TT) units (specifi c units at universities and other higher education institutions with a mission to diff use and promote their research results and off er among companies)  Research Centers' interface units (specifi c units at research cen ters with a task to diff use and promote their research results and off er their specifi c S&T service to companies)  Specialized TT organizations (organizations with a specifi c mis sion to transfer technology to companies)  Non-technological intermediaries (organizations with a mission to support companies, but focusing on non-technological assis tance e.g.supporting access to funding or managerial training)  Chambers of commerce and associations (organizations and institutions supporting e.g.networking, partner search, and awareness raising activities)

Science and technology intermediation and information services in Pr ague
In the fi eld of science and technology (S&T) Prague is a leading city and region of the Czech Republic with the highest concentration of various actors active in research and development (R&D) and of human and fi nancial resources used in R&D.Th at can be illustrated by the fact that Prague is a seat of three quarters of all Academy of Sciences institutes, 29 public and private universities (of which several with international recognition), 41 R&D fi rms and institutes with R&D as their main focus of activity and nearly 200 others with R&D as their non-primary activity.Th ere are also a few S&T parks, in cubators, transfer technology centers and several ad-visory and information organizations.Th e detailed SWOT analysis of the Capital Prague can be found in the Annex 1 at the end of this paper.
Th is large potential of S&T infrastructure and resources requires a sub stantial support of S&T intermediation system that connects supply and de mand sides of the S&T sphere, i.e. research facilities producing R&D results with entrepreneurs and others who are interested in practical and/or commer cial use of these results.At present, in Prague, this system develops mainly on a bottom-up principle as the above-mentioned actors usually individually seek their partners for specifi c projects or activities.Universities who oft en seek partners among fi rms or research facilities to develop co-operation and im plement projects of S&T intermediation infrastructure are among the most ac tive organizations.From the point of view of the business sector, S&T sphere in Prague may seem diffi cult to grasp and orientate in and establishment of certain contact (intermediation and information) points would be benefi cial.However, there are several non-profi t associations that provide certain level of insight and advice, e.g.Association of Research Organizations, Association of Innovative Entrepreneurship, both active on a national level.
Technology transfer centers and incubators, which serve as an important link between research and commercialization of R&D results, are among the key elements of S&T intermediation system.In Prague, there are two technol ogy transfer centers, one in the Technology and Innovation Centre of the Czech Technical University (which serves also as an incubator) and the other in the Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences.Another incubator is at a private company -the Aeronautical Research and Test Institute and the third one is under construction expected to start operation in 2007.
Interaction in this fi led should be facilitated by a top-down approach that is foreseen in the Regional Innovation Strategy for Prague fi nalized in 2004 as one of the pilot projects of its Action Plan.It is a project of Regional Innovation Council as an advisory body to Prague authorities consisting of representatives of R&D institutions, training and consultancy organizations, fi nancial and business sector and state administration.It should be a platform for dialogue among innovation and R&D actors and for coordination of ex ploiting R&D potential of Prague economy and increasing its competitiveness.
At present, the support of Prague authorities of R&D can be described as one-dimensional and it is off ered exclusively through European Structural Funds and provided in the framework of the Single Programming Documents for Objectives 2 and 3 since 2004.Th ey allow for submitting projects focused on developing partnership among R&D, educational, non-profi t and business sectors, on creating suitable conditions for exploiting of Prague's R&D poten tial and on developing of services supporting entrepreneurs and competitive ness.Number of submitted projects suggests that there is a signifi cant interest in developing R&D and innovation infrastructure and that there is also a sub stantial demand for eff ects and benefi ts those projects should create.
It can be concluded that S&T intermediation and information system in Prague is still at its early stage of development based on a bottom-up approach driven mainly by the individual actors of the R&D sphere.For the future, the addition of a top-down approach to provide co-ordination of activities is con sidered necessary.

Description of the Prague S&T intermediation system
Th is text is partly including data and information from the Summary Report on the regional S&T intermediary system in Prague, which can be found on SUPER-SME web site. 5h e cited Summary Report tried to identify what works and what does not work within the region.It is worth to say that such approach is not com mon.Furthermore, the report is neither the regional innovation strategy, nor the evaluation report.Th e research has been based mainly on interviews, per sonal contacts and insights into the innovation process.Th e report has been produced by actors directly involved in the intermediation sub-system with special regard to local needs and personality of the City, so that under the per spective from within.
Although the general concept and practice of the information and knowledge society rejects the concept and practice of any physical boundaries, there are still many reasons for taking the regional aspects of innovation into account, especially regarding the SME sector as a stability component of re gional economy.However, a number of Prague-based intermediary actors pro vide their services at the national, European or even transnational level.And, moreover, many regional actors partially operate in other Czech regions.With regard to the regional intermediation sub-system, a typical intermediation body is, at the same time, preparing feasibility studies, searching scientifi c partners, supporting networks and assisting in accessing Structural Funds.In other words, organizations have no overriding specialization, "everyone is doing everything," can be said.Th is situation indicates either a high level of creativity or a lack of cooperation, clustering, strategic approach, business planning and so forth.Th e truth is probably somewhere between.Th e main well known organizations of the regional innovation system located in Prague are classifi ed in Table 1 and Exhibit 1.

Status of S&T intermediaries
Following the logic of SUPER-SME project, we had chosen fi ve types of intermediation bodies: research association/network, business associa tion/ network, research/technology institute, university/technology institute and private company.
Th e Association of Research Organizations (AVO) associates public, private and semi-public organizations operating in the fi eld of applied research.Main activities of the Association are mediating of research and com mercial contacts, promoting of interests of applied research, granting of in formation and counseling services in the fi eld of applied research and development and organizing professional conferences and discussion meetings.Th e structure of members as well as the geographical coverage is diverse.Th e ter ritory of AVO's services is the Czech Republic. 6h e Prague Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) associates Prague-based enterprises, so that the geographical coverage is solely the Pra gue region.Th e Chamber facilitates cooperation with the municipality of the capital city Prague, aimed at the development and support of members of the Chamber, seeks the development of state administration and local government initiatives and supports initiatives with the Czech Economic Chamber and Re gional Economic Chambers throughout the Czech Republic, including coop eration with foreign business partners. 7h e university sector represents the Scientifi c Incubator of the Technology and Innovation Centre of the Czech Technical University (TIC).Th is pub lic university institute focuses its services on the Prague region.TIC ensures the transfer of innovative technologies, provides consulting services related to the science and research programmes, patent services, licenses etc. 8 Th e sector of research institutes is represented by the Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (TC AS) which operates at the national and European level.Th e Centre provides information and advi sory services related to the EU Framework Programmes, ensures the national and transnational technology transfer and technology audits and strategic stud ies.Th e TC AS was the coordinator of preparation of Prague's Regional Inno vation Strategy. 9inally, the private sector represents the Cheval Ltd. consulting company providing its services in the Prague region and specializing in research, evaluation and analysis, with an emphasis on support for both public and pri vate projects involving European Union sources of funding.Cheval also pro vides intermediary, mentoring and coaching services for SMEs and research institutes, mainly within the IT, telecommunications, medicine and tourism sector and operates in the fi eld of strategic management of innovation. 10o organization/institution participated in the intermediary survey from the year 2006 was specialized in terms of general profi le of the S&T interme diation.Each participant covers more than two categories of intermediation services (collective actions, support for technological and scientifi c coopera tion and so on).We may characterize the Association of Research Organiza tions as the technology transfer oriented intermediary, the Chamber of Com merce and Industry as the provider of legal support and the Cheval consulting company as non-technological intermediary.11Nevertheless, such typology can be accepted only to the very limited extent.In fact, all interviewed inter mediaries are combining technological and non-technological orientation.
Th e S&T intermediation is one of the key activities of interviewed bod ies.Th e Scientifi c Incubator of the Technology and Innovation Centre is the only interviewed organization which indicated the S&T intermediation as its sole activity.Out of the selected group of intermediaries, there is one organi zation (the Cheval consulting company) created recently.

Sectors and research areas covered by S&T intermediaries
Th e structure of sectoral coverage of interviewed intermediaries shows that institutions/organizations cover many diff erent fi elds of work or expertise.Whilst the Association of Research Organizations, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Scientifi c Incubator of the Technology and Innova tion Centre cover more than 15 sectors (concretely 18, 19 and 15), the Tech nology Centre AS provides its services within 8 sectors and the Cheval con sulting company covers only 5 research areas.
All sectors/research areas listed in the exhibit above are formally cov ered by interviewed intermediaries.However, there is only one sector covered by all intermediaries (ICT).Five research areas, among them important sectors "medicine" and "chemistry", are covered by only two intermediaries.It is worth to note that the Prague innovation system with its unique university and research base provides good conditions for further development of intermedi ary services in sectors that are not suffi ciently covered by interviewed inter mediaries.

Profi le of assisted SMEs
As per the direct assistance to the companies, there were four organizations provided services during the year 2005.Out of the overall number of cli ents (664) 80 % of enterprises were SMEs, 17 % TPEs and 3 % large compa nies.Th e biggest share of clients (7 5%) has the Technology Centre AS CR, 15 % Association of Research Organizations, 7 % of companies received the intermediation services of the Prague Chamber of Commerce and Industry and 3 % from the Scientifi c Incubator of the Technology and Innovation Centre.
Out of the overall number of companies using the intermediation ser vices almost 13 % of them were new clients.As of the share of the Technology Centre AS CR, main part of targeted clients created companies receiving tech nology audit service.It is also important that 97 % of the overall number of clients were companies with less than 250 employees.Almost 860 companies received the group assistance (mainly training and awareness raising activi ties).

Categories of S&T intermediaries
S&T intermediaries are diverse organizations with diff erent missions and scope of service.Th is report introduces a categorization of intermediaries based on distinctions between (1) generic or sectoral orientation and (2) tech nological or non-technological character of service.Generic or multi-sectoral intermediaries provide services to companies independently of their sector.Th e examples can include both collective ser vices such as awareness raising campaigns and one-to-one services such as support for start-ups and spin-off s.Sectoral intermediaries are specialized and focus on a particular sector or technology fi eld.Technological intermediaries focus on providing support for development, commercialization or transfer of technology whereas non-technological services include activities with a focus on management and organization, S&T staff training and placement schemes, IPR etc.Some intermediaries may provide both technological and non-technological services.Th ese are referred to as 'hybrid'.Note: Th e Association of Research Organisations and the Cheval Ltd can be classifi ed as technological/non-technological oriented only to limited extent.In fact, they are also hybrid.

General off er of S&T intermediation services
Th e following table 5 presents an overview of the service areas covered and services delivered by the interviewed regional S&T intermediaries over last 2 years.12Th e exhibit is based on information provided by 5 regional S&T intermediaries.
As we can see from the Table 5, all service areas, excluding "search for highly specialized managers", are in general covered by interviewed interme diaries.It means that each category of services has been infl uenced by activity of at least one intermediary during last two years.It says very little about the intensity of the overall supply of services because this methodology does not distinguish between core and side (secondary) activities.A detailed picture of the situation gives the Table 6 below.Th e second column of the table presents a number of interviewed intermediaries with the core activity within the cate gory of service areas.We may identify three diff erent levels of intermediary service development.Th e fi rst level includes highly developed areas "collective actions", "support for technological and scientifi c cooperation" and "assistance in ac cessing public funds".It is characterized by a high number of provided ser vices and by coverage through all intermediaries.Th is level includes "soft " intermediation activities such as promotion, awareness raising, communica tion, mediation between research and business, exchange of contacts and dis semination of information.Th ese activities can be marked as "soft skills" of the intermediation process.Th e second, medium level of services includes areas with lower interest of interviewed intermediaries: networking and clustering, support to innova tive start-ups and spin-off s and support for new product and service develop ment.Compared to the fi rst group of highly developed services with the com mon "soft skill" link, areas of the medium level are diversifi ed.As per networking and clustering, there is only the service "networking of SMEs and research base" with signifi cant interest of intermediaries (3 organizations pro vide this support as a core activity).Creating business networks and clustering are covered by the only intermediary (business network by Cheval, clustering by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry).Nevertheless, other two interme diaries (Technology and Innovation Centre of the CTU and Technology Cen tre AS CR) deliver these services as their side activity.Th us, there is a poten tial of further development.Main reason of less development of these services could be the fact that networking and clustering are relatively new topics in the Czech Republic.SMEs either perceive the role of networks and clusters as vague and redundant or they are afraid of data misuse.
Th e service area "support to innovative start-ups and spin-off s" is mostly covered by one intermediary (Technology and Innovation Centre of the CTU).Th e Chamber of Commerce and Industry provided a legal support in creating start-ups.Relatively low developed areas of intermediary services are also licensing, human capital mobility, IPR and commercialization.All these services can be marked as practical consultancy in the fi eld.As of the area of licensing and IPR, there is only one service (preparing and negotiating license agreements) covered by the Technology Centre AS CR as its core activity.Two other intermediaries supply some individual services as their secondary activity.It does not mean, however, that regional intermediaries do not pay attention to these important issues.It means that intermediaries are not spe cialized in practical indepth consultancy because their basic activity is aware ness raising and disseminating of information, including about IPR protection, licensing and so on.Surprisingly, intermediaries in the survey tend to mediate the know-how in the form of technologies and products rather than in the sense of human capital.

Services off ered by category of S&T intermediary
Th e regional intermediation sub-system of the City of Prague is not diversifi ed.Its orientation is generic (i.e., multi-sector) on the one hand and hy brid (i.e.combining technological and non-technological orientation) on the other hand.All intermediaries are strictly generic.Th is is mainly because of the limited demand (or market).As has been concluded by the SUPER-SME Panel Group participants, the network of intermediaries is not covered by the suffi cient network of companies.However, we may expect some tendencies of the intermediary sub-system towards a more sectoral specialization.Mainly with regard to Structural Funds assistance, there are new specifi c running pro jects and platforms with the aim to support technology transfer or interface between research and business sphere regarding diff erent sectors (chemistry, biotechnology, medicine, food and wood processing, mechanics and construc tion, etc.).
Furthermore, the lack of market research is infl uencing a hybrid charac ter of intermediation services (combining technological and nontechnological supply, i.e. supply of various services).Intermediaries are "hybrid" not be cause of complex strategic approach or high demand form the side of knowl edge applicators.Th e off er of intermediaries is signifi cantly shaped by exter nal fi nancial resources (Structural Funds programmes) because intermediaries do what can be fi nanced by Structural Funds.In that respect, however, priori ties of SF programmes have been formulated (both for the 2004-2006 and 2007-2013 programming period) on the basis of the Regional Innovation Strategy for Prague Region.
With regard to the fact that regional intermediaries do not work with data describing a current state of art, it is no surprise that the whole interme diation system is multi-sector oriented and combing technological and non-technological services at the same time (so called "generic hybrid").All this means that the improvement of regional innovation system in the sense of matching needs and supply requires an in-depth market research and needs analysis based on the practical knowledge of customers' situation.

Core activities Secondary activities
Th e Exhibit 3 provides a basic picture about the functioning, strengths and weaknesses of the supply of intermediary services in the analyzed sample.Th e intermediary system ensures a suffi cient production and dissemination of data, consulting support concerning the Structural Funds, and initiating of the cooperation between research and business sector mainly through services such as searching regional and national scientifi c partners.Moreover, the sys tem is also pro-active in the fi eld of technology audit.
On the contrary, the intermediary system is not prepared for practical consulting services requiring specifi c know-how (IPR, licensing, legal support in creating spin-off s and start-ups).Th ere is also a lack of services focused on product development (business plans, product launch and so forth).Th e sys tem is missing qualifi ed consultants (experts) in less developed service areas and qualifi ed in-sight into the demand structure.
Th e main opportunity of the intermediary system is the Structural Funds support.Th e system will have very soon a developed infrastructure of incuba tors, scientifi c parks, university interface units and so on.Th e SF fi nancial support could also strengthen skills and knowledge of specialized managers as well as the fi eld of cooperation between intermediaries and networking activi ties.

Matching S & T services off er with the needs of SMEs
Th e structure of intermediary services received by interviewed SMEs corresponds with the stage of service development.Most received services are networking, collective actions and support for technological and scientifi c co operation.
Exhibit 4: Services received and unavailable in the regional S&T system a ccording to SMEs (N = 8) According to all interviewed SMEs, the main reason of not receiving or applying services is the lack of information about the off er of inter-mediation services and about the intermediary system as such.It seems that regional in termediaries are very capable of informing about general ideas and concepts such as cooperation between research and business sector (awareness raising activities), but they are not capable of informing about themselves.One inter viewed company mentioned also high costs of services concerning the IPR as the reason of not applying intermediation services.
Most needed service areas by interviewed SMEs are following:  Support for technological and scientifi c cooperation  Support for new product and service development  Support to innovative start-ups and spin-off s  IPR and commercialization  Assistance in accessing public funds  Licensing  Human capital mobility Th ere are only two areas of services needed by SMEs that have a sufficient off er of regional intermediaries (support for technological and scientifi c cooperation and assistance in accessing public funds).Whilst the area of tech nological and scientifi c cooperation has also the highest level of exploitation, the assistance services in accessing public funds are used by SMEs to the lim ited extent.
As of the area of product and service development, in the survey was stressed a defi ciency in terms of the intermediary service portfolio.In spite of the very high demand and usage of this type of services by SMEs, only two intermediaries provide at least one individual service concerning product de velopment.
Th e widest gap between SMEs demand and intermediaries' off er is dedicated to S&T service categories "IPR and commercialization" and "hu man capital mobility".As has been concluded by the SUPER-SME Panel Group participants, intellectual property is the issue of interme-diation which needs essential improvements.In other words, the system requires a shift from awareness raising activities to highly specialized and customized consulting services.

Cooperation within regional S&T intermediation system
Th e cooperation within the intermediation system is aff ected by the position and role of the City of Prague.As the main source of knowledge in the country, Prague's regional innovation system is rather a sub-structure of the national innovation system than independent and separate entity.Th is is obvi ous especially regarding links between intermediaries and other actors of the innovation system.Since main regional intermediaries operate at the national level, we may ask whether the cooperation among them is underpinning re gional or national S&T environment.It means that the national and even the trans-national innovation systems could infl uence the cooperation between intermediaries much more than local needs.Undoubtedly, local SMEs have a direct access to information concerning last world innovative trends.How ever, it seems that needs of local SMEs stand in the shadow of these trends.
Th e Exhibit 5 shows that regional intermediaries cooperate intensively with public and private research institutes (average mark of intensity is 4.6 out of 5), universities and other higher education institutions (3.5) and chambers of commerce, industry and associations (3.3).Each intermediary cooperates with more than one institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Repub lic (AS CR).No other research institute has been mentioned by interviewed organizations.Th ree intermediaries work with the Czech Technical Univer sity, two organizations have a link with the Institute of Chemical Technology Prague and the Charles University.Nevertheless, the intensity of cooperation is lower than in the case of research institutes of the Academy of Sciences.
As of the category "chambers of commerce, industry and associations", all intermediaries have a strong link with the Prague Chamber of Commerce and Industry.Since the intensity of collaboration between intermediaries is at the low level, this institution can be considered as the potential integrating ac tor of regional intermediary system.Intermediaries themselves perceive the current situation and relationships as the mix of "co-operation and competi tion, with no patterns of co-ordination".As has been concluded by the SUPER-SME Panel Group participants, it is necessary to promote networking activities between intermediaries, whether at regional or national level.
Exhibit 5: Collaboration of S&T intermediaries with other regional actors Th e main and dominant attribute in choices of partners is the EU Struc tural Funds.Partner search (and choice) is, together with the structure of sup ply, the typical case of how the Structural Funds determine the intermediary system.For instance, the Prague Chamber of Commerce and Industry cooper ates with other intermediaries mainly on the basis of SF projects.Th us, the creation of partnerships as well as the structure of intermediary services is not driven by local needs but governed by the SF programmes' priorities.In addi tion, there is signifi cant diff erence between searching partners for the direct business contract on the one hand and searching partners for the Structural Funds project on the other.

Mapping S&T intermediation system
Map 1: Regional S&T actors Th e Map 1 presents main actors and the overall network of relationships of S&T intermediation system. 13Th e map is divided into three parts represent ing main functions of the innovation system (knowledge creation, knowledge application and knowledge intermediation/process facilitating). 14Th ere are three S&T actors with double function (the As-sociation of Research Organiza tions, the Technology Innovation Centre and the Technical University).
Strong fl ow (Map 2) means, for instance, that actors are partners in most of S&T projects with shared budget and so on.We can see that each interme diary has such relationship with at least three another organizations/entities.Th e main target of intermediation is the Academy of Sciences.On the con trary, the Charles University has no strong link with involved intermediaries.Nevertheless, following Map 3 with the extended network of intermedi aries confi rms that regional S&T actors have a very good potential to coopera tion through their relationships with intermediaries.In other words, regional intermediaries are signifi cantly a key element of intensifi cation of the overall innovation system.8. General assessment of the regional S&T intermediation system Th e regional S&T intermediation system of the City of Prague is not enough diversifi ed.Th e main functions, specialization and partners of the key regional S&T intermediaries are summarized in Annex 2, and the SWOT analysis is in Exhibit 6.Its prevailing orientation is generic (multisector).Together with its unique university and research base, the system covers full range of research areas.Also the intermediation services are not distributed proportionally.All intermediaries are "hybrid" in the sense of delivering and typology of services (they are combining technological and non-technological orientation).However, the reason is not complex strategic approach but the limited demand and missing in-depth market research.Th erefore, the off er of intermediaries is signifi cantly shaped by external fi nancial resources (Struc tural Funds programmes) since intermediaries do what can be fi nanced by the Structural Funds.

Map 3: Main fl ows between intermediaries -extended network
Th ere are only two areas of services needed by SMEs that have a sufficient off er of regional intermediaries (support for technological and scientifi c cooperation and assistance in accessing public funds).Th e widest gap between SMEs demand and intermediaries' off er (according the survey results) is dedi cated to S&T service categories "IPR and commercialization", "human capital mobility" and "support to innovative start-ups and spin-off s".Especially intel lectual property is the issue of intermediation which needs essential improve ments.Main defi ciency as well as the biggest market opportunity of the inter mediary system is regarding the area of product and service development.In spite of the very high demand and usage of this type of services by SMEs, only two intermediaries provide at least one individual service concerning pro duct development.However, more accurate matching of needs requires a shift of the whole intermediation system from awareness raising activities to highly specialized and customized consulting services.
Th e main reason of not receiving or applying services form the side of SMEs is the lack of information about the off er of intermediaries.It seems that regional intermediaries are very capable of informing about general innovation ideas (as a part of their awareness raising activities), but they are not capable of informing about themselves.It is certainly connected with patterns of coop eration.Th e only intermediary with strong relationships with other intermedi aries is the Prague Chamber of Commerce and Industry.Out of an ideal num ber of links between fi ve intermediaries, three are totally missing and only four are considered as strong.More networking between intermediaries would signifi cantly strengthen shared marketing of intermediation services and in forming SMEs about the off er.However, mapping of relationships has shown that SMEs have a very good potential to cooperate with other regional actors, especially public and private research institutes, through their relationships with intermediaries.More precisely, regional intermediaries play the role of a key element of intensifi cation of the overall innovation system.Th e intermediary system ensures a suffi cient production and dissemina tion of data, consulting support concerning the Structural Funds, and initiating of the cooperation between research and business sector mainly through ser vices such as searching regional and national scientifi c partners.Moreover, the system is also pro-active in the fi eld of technology audit.On the contrary, the intermediary system is not prepared for practical consulting services requiring specifi c know-how (IPR, licensing, legal support in creating spin-off s and start-ups).Th ere is also a lack of services focused on product development, qualifi ed consultants (experts) in less developed service areas and qualifi ed in-sight into the demand structure.
Th e main opportunity of the intermediary system is the Structural Funds support in the forthcoming programming period.Th e system will have very soon a developed infrastructure of incubators, scientifi c parks, university inter face units and so on.Th e SF fi nancial support could also strengthen skills and knowledge of specialized managers as well as the fi eld of cooperation between intermediaries and networking activities.On the other hand, the threat of the intermediary system would be a low intensity backing from the side of the Ci ty Hall, especially aft er the completion of SF programmes.In the survey was observed single link of the Prague City Hall with the whole innovation environment through the Technology Centre AS.In spite of suffi cient rela tionships of the Technology Centre AS with other regional S&T actors, the regional policy authority can be seen as relatively separated actor of the re gional innovation system.Nevertheless, the main threat and constraint of in termediation system is the mismatch problem of Structural Funds programmes priorities.In order to ensure the accurate matching of regional needs and in termediation services, the system requires continuous amendment of the Re gional Innovation Strategy which will be used as the reference point for as sessing projects, partnerships and products fi nanced by the Structural Funds.
Exhibit 6: Strong and weak points of the regional S&T intermediation system

SUPER-SME Guidebook 15
Th e Guidebook of science and technology intermediary services for SMEs is intended to be a manual introducing regional return on experi ences/ practices/feedbacks of 7 European regions in the fi eld of S&T intermediation system.It summarizes and concentrates the results of the work done during two years into some sort of a "practical guide" for the sphere of public support interventions into regional S&T system, especially its intermediation sector.It could also serve as a reference point for those interested in regional experiences on S&T services or regional tools to increase in quality of system for R&D intensive SMEs.
In 2002, the Barcelona European Council set the goal of raising overall research investment in the EU from 1,9 % to around 3 % by 2010.However, instead of rising, the overall level of European research is, in a substance, stagnant.What to do in the regional innovation systems to change this situa tion?What are the specifi c tasks of regional intermediaries in this eff ort and how to improve their performance?Upgrading research and innovation policy does not only mean to increase R&D investments but also to increase their effi ciency and eff ectiveness and link R&D and SME more tightly.Th at is ob viously the specifi c role of regional intermediation system.
Th e main target group of this manual is regional authorities in charge of innovation policies.Th e role of public regional authorities in upgrading re gional innovation policy is of a major relevance.Th e manual describes and analyses the whole variety of practices and measures of public support the re gional authorities may apply in an eff ort to improve innovation capacities of the regional SMEs in the fi eld of intermediary activities.Th e judgment is based on practical experiences of the 7 partners who represent the regions with various socio-economic profi le and setting. 15See Science and technology intermediary services for SMEs for SMEs: A guide via practices [online].Available at: http://www.e-innovation.org/supersme/files/ WP5/BOOKPRINT_FINAL_COMPRESS.pdf [quoted 1. 4. 2008].
Th e manual also seeks to address signifi cantly the regional S&T intermediaries.Th ey play a decisive role in regional innovation system while sup porting interacting, cooperating, networking.Again based on practical experi ence of the partners, the manual tells how S&T intermediation systems may function -what types of services are provided, what segments of innovation policy are covered, what issues are being solved, what are the results in in creasing innovation capacity of SMEs.In a sense, there is indicated what "best practices" in intermediation fi eld may be.
Th e manual covers the theoretical and methodological background in the chapter 1; including generic questions at national level, the basic defi ni tions and the methodology used both for qualitative survey and case study analysis.Roadmap of regional public supporting high growth in research in tensive SMEs and identifi cation of breakdowns/defi ciencies in development and creation of these research-intensive SMEs is described in chapter 2 and is followed by illustration boxes, practical recommendations and proposition of regional actions for regional authorities and S&T intermediaries.Th e impor tant conclusions and other information are possible to fi nd there, too.
Adolf Filáček is director of the Centre for Science, Technology, and Society Studies at the Institute of Philosophy (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Re public).His interests encompass research policy (in Czech Rep., EU, etc.), so cial functions of science and research, and evaluation and benchmarking R&D.in research and development.He has published numerous articles and participated in many international networks focused on these topics mapping template was developed by Technopolis Ltd. (Brussels), the subcontractor of the SUPER-SME project.

Exhibit 3 :
Core and secondary activities of S&T intermediaries in Prague and private research intitutes/laboratories C. Private companies and private consortia (gro of companies) D. S&T intermediaries betw een research and business E. Netw orks of organisations active in the field of research, technology and innovation F. Chambers of commerce, industry and associations G. Regional S&T policy-makers H.Other relevant RDTI organisations

Map 2 :
Strong fl ows between S&T actors

Table 1 :
Main organizations of the regional innovation system

Table 2 :
Coverage of research areas by surveyed regional intermediaries

Table 3 :
Number of clients by the size of companies Employees of the Scientifi c Incuba tor of the Technology and Innovation Centre as well as the Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences are dealing exclusively with S&T intermediation.Main position of employees involved in the innovation process is "specially trained manager" (68 %).As of the time spent on intermediation, there are 9 full-time managers out of the overall number of 22 employees.Interviewed organizations are using services of the external experts; however the collected data are not clear in that respect.It is also important that interviewed organiza tions mentioned the lack of human resources and managing capacity as their key internal problem.

Table 4 :
Categorisation of regional S&T intermediaries * Prague Chamber of Commerce and Industry * Scientifi c Incubator of the Technology and Innovation Centre of the Czech Technical University * Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences

Table 5 :
Services in the regional S&T intermediation system

Table 6 :
Summary of intermediation service areas