RAAK (Regional Attention and Action for Knowledge circulation): Knowledge Transfer

Background

The background for the RAAK scheme is that, to remain competitive,  the Dutch business sector needs to be more innovative. Access to knowledge, and the timely availability of knowledge, is a vitally important element in this. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW)  asked the Foundation (SIA) to undertake the RAAK scheme. This is, in effect,  two schemes: one aimed at  SMEs, and the other aimed at not-for-profit organisations in the public sector. In this initative, the bridging function of universities of applied sciences and the SMEs, the not-for-profit organisations and the whole knowledge infrastructure should be enhanced.

Aims and targets

The aim of RAAK is  quite straightforward: to improve the knowledge exchange between Universities of Applied sciences and the SME and not-for-profit sectors.

Strategy and actions

The RAAK scheme is managed by the Foundation Innovation Alliance  with funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).  SME-Netherlands (branch organisation for SMEs), VNO-NCW (Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers), the HBO-raad (Netherlands Association for Universities of Applied Sciences), TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research), the Telematics Institute (one of the four Leading Technological Institutes ) and Syntens (public intermediary to support SME with innovation advice) have jointly established the  Foundation with the aim to  improve the knowledge infrastructure around SMEs. Subsidies have been awarded to regional innovation programmes that are aimed at the exchange of knowledge, and are executed by a consortium of one or more education institutes and one or more businesses. These regional innovation programmes have to focus on innovation demands from SMEs in the region. In addition to the aim of strengthening the bridging function of the universities of applied sciences and innovation within SMEs, the RAAK scheme also aims to generate and distribute policy relevant information and best practices regarding new and existing forms of collaboration and activities in the field of knowledge exchange between universities of applied sciences and SMEs.

Monitoring and evaluation

Funding/Cost effectiveness

The RAAK scheme is managed by the Foundation Innovation Alliance (SIA - Stichting Innovatie Alliantie) with funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).

Sustainability/Transferability

Sustainability need to be viewed in the light of the SIA's ambition to increase the number of Dutch SMEs that have a structural relationship with the knowledge infrastructure from 10,000 to 20,000.

Outcomes/impacts

Achievements

Amongst the outcomes has been the establishment of RAAK-International with the specific aim to add international partners to the knowledge networks that are being created. Those international partners can be universities (of applied sciences), SMEs or other businesses, public organisations or other knowledge institutes. The choice of international partners depends on the (innovation oriented) questions the Dutch partners have. The first call for this initiative was closed in December 2009, for 2-year projects.

Success factors

The initiative for the development of the regional consortia lies with the regional SMEs. Universities of applied sciences can use their regular contacts and their own networks to determine the specific knowledge demands of SMEs.

Unintended impacts

Strengths and weaknesses

There is a strength in the clarity of the RAAK performance indicators, for example:

• the number of SMEs that have structural contacts with a particular education institutes with regard to knowledge exchange
• the proportion of teachers involved in knowledge exchange with SMEs
• the proportion of students  involved in knowledge exchange with SMEs