The promotion of enterprises innovation capability through systemic aggregations at territorial level is one of the main priority objective of the S&T Italian policy as described in the Guidelines (2003-2006).
The aim is to foster a stronger competitiveness of the existing productive areas, highly export intensive, by revitalizing them through research and development activities on key technologies, enabling product and process innovations.
The Italian government has recently adopted two new initiatives to operate in this direction: - the creation of "joint labs" between university or public research bodies and industry, in a specific area (i.e. new materials, biotechnology, nanotechnology and other areas crucial to sustain new high –tech industries); - the creation of technological districts in some carefully chosen geographic locations in Italy.
The main criteria adopted for the creation of new technological districts are:
- The availability of a well structured project incorporating extended foresight studies in the chosen area of interest, the definition of vision, mission and of the regulatory processes for the management, rules for the protection and distribution of intellectual property.
- The coherence of the project with the strategic fields identified in the "guidelines" of the national S&T policy.
- The participation in the district of public stakeholders (University and/or research bodies) provided with the necessary experience in the field of interest and a background of collaboration with industrial partners.
- The presence in the proposed district of private relevant stakeholders, i.e industries with a long record of activity in the field, willing to establish a joint collaboration with public actors, and whose activity is mainly located in the same regional and local environment.
- The existence of a group of individual leaders, with proven experience in the field, belonging to the private and the public partners.
- A well defined structure for the governance of the district, which should involve the main stakeholders and regional and local institutions (i.e. regional or municipal authorities).
- A definite and explicit participation of private Foundations, venture capital or similar organisations able to provide seed money or early stage capital to foster the spin off creation.
- A definite legal entity, "ad hoc" created to represent and manage the new district.
So far, eleven districts in various Italian Regions have been created.
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