Catalonia has entered the category of territories considered by the European Commission as "strong innovators". A milestone for Catalan science and the economy, which for more than a decade had fallen into the "moderate innovator" category due to the ravages of the financial crisis.
According to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023, an index published every two years, Catalonia has made significant progress from 2020 to 2022, to be above the European average. “In this edition, the territory has climbed 27 positions, to occupy 108th place out of a total of 244”, points out Xavier Ferràs, a professor specializing in innovation at Esade.
According to the report, Catalonia obtained this distinction in the 2012 report and has recovered it eleven years later. The very detailed analysis points out that autonomy currently stands out in scientific publications carried out by public bodies, in university education, in digital skills of society and also in the sale of innovative products by SMEs, in the registration of trademarks and in employment in the ICT services sector.
“The results demonstrate the efforts of the public and private sectors to digitize and reindustrialize the economy since the pandemic broke out. Likewise, the relocation of the industry to the local market, driven by the health crisis, has also had an influence ”, points out Ferràs, who doubts the impact of the Next Generation funds. In fact, the report indicates that Catalonia suspends investment in R D both in the public and private sectors, as it is below the European average, which demonstrates the scant impact of European aid.
The European Commission also alerts that in Catalonia the creation of employment linked to innovation as well as the collaboration between SMEs in this matter continue to be improvable.
With respect to other communities in Spain, Catalonia is in the same category as Madrid and the Basque Country (the latter, with the best result in the State). In previous editions, both communities were already within this category. This year, Navarra has also been considered a "strong innovator". As the graph reflects, the rest of the communities are "moderate or emerging innovators", in line with other regions of southern and Eastern Europe.
Abroad, the situation of Catalonia is similar to regions such as Provence and Brittany, in France; Emilia Romagna, in Italy or Scotland and Wales, in the United Kingdom. The ranking is headed by the category of “leading innovators”, among which are the regions of Paris, London, Munich and other territories of Switzerland, Sweden and Finland. At the tail are several regions of Romania, Latvia and Hungary.
