Lazio Region: Smart specialisation and food: food, gastronomy and bio-economy as elements of regional innovation strategies

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Lazio RegionSmart specialisation and food
food, gastronomy and bio-economy as elements of
regional innovation strategies
Internationalization policies and EXPO 2015 A
first test-bed for the RIS3 of Lazio
EXPO 2015 in Milan (Italy) 22 September
2015Luigi CAMPITELLI Lazio Innova
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What issues would we like to discuss and why

• 2 field experiences of successful integration
  between internationalization and innovation
  policy in a food-related domain in the Lazio RIS3
  framework
• Lazio Deli A project aims to qualify and
  categorize the range of products of regional
  excellences
• The Call 4 Innovators_at_EXPO 2015 a pilot action
  aiming at involving the different local actors in
  the designing/development/promotion of
  projects-product-ideas of business-research
  projects
• 3 main questions for the discussion
• how to combine product qualification local
  branding strategies
• how reduce risk of economic marginalization of
  the products
• how to strengthen and stabilize the process
  from pilot applications to services and products
  to the market.

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The RIS3 Of Lazio VISION

• Three-component model in which technological
  excellence, both in research and industrial are
  at the heart of the process of transformation.
• Contribution of ICT and creative industries, for
  their adoption in innovative solutions
  (processes, goods and services)
• 7 AREAS OF SPECIALISATION
• Aerospace
• Life Sciences
• Cultural activities and technologies for cultural
  heritage
• Digital Creative Industries
• Agrifood
• Green Economy
• Security

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The Regional Agrifood Ecosystem some evidence

• The Agrifood Sector in Lazio Region
• 3400 enterprises
• 16.626 workers
• 580 Million of euro for Food-industry Exports
  (3.3 of total manufacturing export )
• 5 of the national turnover per year
• 3 of the total wealth of the entire regional
  economy
• Rome is the largest agricultural municipality in
  Europe in Rome there are 2.656 agricultural
  companies (329 with direct sales)
• Major logistics platforms as the
• Agribusiness Centre of Rome (CAR),
• The Fruit and Vegetable Market in Fondi (MOF)
• The Fruit and Vegetable Market of Latina (MOL)
  which make the Lazio region of first importance
  for the commercialization products of the
  agrifood sector
• Important research facilities as the
• CRA (Council for Research and Experimentation in
  Agricultural), AINRAN (National Research
  Institute for Food and Nutrition) now CRA-NUT,
  INEA (National Institute of Agricultural
  Economics), ARSIAL (Regional Agency for
  Development and Innovation of 'Agriculture of
  Lazio), ENEA (Italian National Agency for New
  Technologies, Energy and Development sustainable
  economic), CNR (National Research Council), IZSLT
  (Istituto Sperimentale Zooprofilattico Lazio and
  Tuscany), IAgri BIC Lazio (Incubator of food and
  agriculture).

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Entrepreneurial discovery process

• Three steps
• Thematic focus groups, involving representative
  of the business community, business
  associations, research institutions and local
  universities.
• Questionnaires, submitted to all participating
  stakeholders. They covered the KETs (Key Enabling
  Technologies) and the Societal Challenges as
  defined in Horizon 2020. to each participant has
  been asked to express opinions about the
  positioning and the current and future
  technological priority of the Agrifood
  specialisation area.
• Results, an extensive picture of the
  specialisation area and of its main trends.
• Identified main strengths in terms of production
  and key competencies for innovation and
  technology transfer, as well as potential for
  cross-fertilisation major benefits from the
  application of many Enabling Technologies (ICT,
  nanotech, new materials, biotechnology, etc.) and
  new opportunities to health, bio-economy,
  environment, tourism, life science.
• Furthermore
• The Call 4 Innovators_at_EXPO 2015 is itself part of
  the Entrepreneurial discovery process.
• The new supporting schemes are taking profit from
  stakeholders consultation process.

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Lazio Agrifood Key elements for the innovation
strategy

Strengths Quality products Priority areas for improvement Cross Fertilisation
Wide range of quality products PDO-PGI-TSG products highly recognised on international markets Close links with the local identity and the cultural heritage High safety standards Matching of Tradition with Innovation Thanks to the main regional key specialisations, the agrifood sector can take benefit of a wide range of competences and solutions Precision farming Plant production in challenging environments Packaging and preservation Certification Inspection Cold chain

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Lazio Agrifood priority and objectives for
internationalization policies
Priority Objectives
Better positioning on international markets for quality products deeply-rooted on the local culture and linked to the local gastronomy avoid risks of economic marginalization for niche products connect products with the local identity and its lifestyle. Exchange of know-how and technology transfer in the fields related to food processing and to the new challenges (precision farming, plant production in challenging environments, etc.)

• EXPO 2015, a great promotional engine,
• an opportunity to mobilize all the different
  actors and stakeholders
• the CALL4INNOVATORS

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Field experiencesCall 4 Innovators_at_EXPO 2015

• The project involved the most prestigious
  Universities and Research Center of Lazio,
  together with the regional "Innovators, to
  represent the excellence of our territory.
• All projects have been grouped for thematic areas
  with a scientific coordination (from universities
  and/or leading research centers specialized on
  the issues), with the aim of organizing a
  workshop to be held between June and October
  2015, at the Museum of Pacis in Rome.
• 18 Thematic whorkshops combining the scientific
  community and the business experience 11
  scientific coordinators over 270 companies and
  projects candidates, including 70 startup.

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Field experiencesCall 4 Innovators_at_EXPO 2015

• Main achievements
• Enhancement of RD projects in the local context,
  but also promoting international networking
• Matching between business projects and potential
  partners
• Each thematic area is now a new RD and Business
  support Lab
• Thematic whorkshops regarding Agrifood (9 of 18)
• Food and Health
• Food safety. The citizen protagonist of food
  security prevention, training and control for
  consumer protection
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Agrispazio - Colonize the Moon and Mars to feed
  the Earth
• Waste Management
• Edutainment the science of nutrition for
  everyone - big and small questions of nutrition
  scientists
• Nutritionally balanced menu with products of the
  Basket Lazio
• Color and smell of food
• International cooperation on food security and
  rural development promoting innovative actions
  from below and partnership

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Field experiences Lazio DELI

• The new Regional Internationalization Strategy
• Started in 2014, a new strategy has been designed
  to support internationalization.
• Lazio Deli is the first pilot project improved in
  this framework to promote local food products
• Thanks to EXPO 2015 the basket has enlarged to
  125 Lazio Map of Excellences.
• Lazio DELI is a project aimed to the promotion of
  fine foods beverage from Lazio.
• The action, part of the Regional Guidelines for
  Internationalization, aims to qualify and
  classify some of the most important niche food
  products, providing also technical support and
  counselling to the participating companies.
• A two years project involving 108 companies in
  the regional food-industry, selected to offer to
  the Canadian market more than 200 quality
  products - such as wines, olive oils, preserves,
  cheeses, baked goods and spices for seasoning.
  Each product has been firstly submitted to a
  panel of North American consumers to understand
  how it meets the target market.

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Field experiences Lazio DELI

• Stages of the project
• Enlargement of Export Basket Lazio,
  identification and estimation of other companies
  and products
• Support to obtain certifications required by the
  Canadian market
• Incoming trade mission (October 2014) Canadian
  importers and distributors, business to business
  meetings, tasting of 140 products, company visits
  
• Show-window and starting of sales in the Toronto
  area (from April 2015)

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Field experiences From Lazio DELI to Lazio Map
of Excellence

• EXPO 2015 provides the opportunity to list the
  food and gastronomy products more closely linked
  to the territory, its identity and its culture.
• 125 products, whose production meets the
  standards defined by tradition and by the EU
  regulation.
• 125 products, of which the production can be
  increased, but especially improved visibility and
  positioning on the market, firstly linking
  promotional strategies to those of the territory.
• 125 products on which focus the promotional
  strategies.
• 125 products messengers in the world of our food
  and gastronomy, but also a leverage to - both -
  cultural heritage promotion and territorial mktg

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Lazio DELI Map of ExcellenceFirst results

• Sales in the East-Canada
• Business meetings with a large number of
  delegations visiting Lazio during Expo
• A promotional program at Expo
• Starting of a new promotional strategy
• A change in the entrepreneurs mind-set
• not only local products, but messengers of our
  lifestyle in the world

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Next Steps

• Support to innovation and internationalization
  are the two sides of the same strategy, focused
  on the selected 45 "key actions" for a smart,
  sustainable and inclusive development of the
  Region, This strategy has to be consistently
  pursued and monitored.
• Supporting networking at both levels of niche
  products and of exchange of know-how, enhancing
  the entrepreneurial discovery process (Peer to
  peer and Co-operation along the value chain).
• Monitoring the strategy and the main actions in
  order to re-schedule activities on the basis of
  feedback received.

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Thanks for your
attentionLuigi CampitelliInternationalization
, Networks Studies Head of UnitLazio Innova
SpAl.campitelli_at_lazioinnova.it
www.lazioinnova.it www.laziointernational.it