The approach is based on the existing Trendchart (ERAWATCH), providing similar information on a national level. The project seeks to add a new element to existing regional benchmarking approaches by collecting qualitative indications on policy and governance.
The activities and deliverables of RIM are designed to support sharing of policy intelligence on regional innovation policies, highlighting good practices in delivering regional innovation policies. An annual EU Regional Innovation report will include a concise stand-alone addendum on how to design policy intervention in specific regional contexts, as well as presenting tools and practical methods for comparing regional innovation policies.
The RIM platform will complement to and link to various initiatives bringing together the regional innovation community of policy makers, Structural Funds managers, experts and academics in the field of regional innovation policy. Moreover, the RIM website will offer an easy and interactive access to the different EU analytical activities with relevance for innovation at sub-national level.
Nordregio is a regional expert in the RIM project, responsible for developing regional innovation profiles for the 8 Swedish NUTS 2-regions. The input for each region consists of a Baseline regional profile, including a socio-economic profile, a RTDI (Research, Technology, Development and Innovation) profile, and a presentation of governance and regional innovation policies. There is also a short presentation of key policy documents, regional organisations and innovation policy measures in each region. The documents are developed in close cooperation with regional experts and are subject to regular up-dates on the webpage during the project period.