The level of innovation in regions varies considerably across almost all EU countries. This is one of the main findings of the 2009 Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), published today by the JRC’s Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC), together with the Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry and the Maastricht University (MERIT).
The 2009 RIS, based on the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) approach and methodology, assesses innovation performances across 201 regions in the EU and Norway. Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic are the most heterogeneous countries, where innovation performance varies from low to medium-high. While on average the pattern of innovation is quite stable between year 2004 and 2006, several regions, in particular in Spain and France, have improved their innovation performance. The report also shows that the most innovative regions are typically in the most innovative countries, although some regions outperform their country level.