ICEDE Research Group, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Group Composition
The ICEDE research group (Innovation, Structural Change and Development) was created in 1999 and is currently composed of nine faculty members of the University of Santiago de Compostela, four of whom are doctors and one is a full-time researcher yet to accomplish his PhD.
At the core of the group are five doctors working in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Santiago. ICEDE also contains four external collaborators pertaining to universities outside USC who partake in group projects on regular basis and three trainees in the process of formation.
Description of Current Research Lines and Most Important Achievements
The ICEDE group has been expanding its size and research objectives in a continuous fashion since the mid nineties. Over the past two years four new group members and three external collaborators have joined in.
Research lines
The main research lines are the following:
A paramount line of investigation focuses on innovation, national and regional systems of innovation and technology policies.
At the time being the ICEDE group is developing a new research line around innovation in the service sector, innovative services, technological centres and innovation policy. In this field two theses have been successfully defended in 2007 and another one is coming underway. Service innovation is a breakthrough line of investigation (it started in the second half of the nineties) and our group has pioneered it both on a European and world-wide levels.
The above mentioned line is combined with studies on regional inequality around Europe, employment dynamics and income inequality in the Knowledge-Based economies.
ICEDE has also done considerable research on Galician economy and industry as well as regional employment and studies on regional innovation policy.
We are among the pioneers in Spain to research the Economics of Innovation, Technological Change and Technology Policies-a line of investigation that was inaugurated during the first half of the 1990´s. Of special significance are the contribution of our group to the analysis of regional innovation systems and the impact of innovation on economic growth and regional convergence. At the present we focus on the analysis, designing and evaluation of innovation policies.
In the last years we have been one of the pioneer groups in Europe in the analysis of service innovation problematics, above all in its specificities, the various innovation models in the respective activities, and particularly, in KIBS innovation (Knowledge Intensive Business Services). Nowadays, we are a group of key importance in Spain and recognized both in Europe and Latin America, not only by academic authorities, but also by public administration entities that refer to us for consultancy.
Following these lines of investigation, we contribute to research locally and Europe-wide. We have obtained significant achievements at a European level and have been asked to assist in consulting in the preparatory works for the 7th R & D Framework Programme, the Committee of SME´s to the Ministry of Industry and other independent regions in Spain.
Research Projects and Agreements
The group has performed continuous innovation activities combining the execution of research work (especially at European and regional levels) with the establishment of agreements with public and private organizations. Since its beginning, the group’s research projects have been financially endorsed by Galician, Spanish R&D, as well as European institutions. Since the mid nineties we have participated in nine projects financed by the EU, of which four were framework. Over the last three years we have taken part in two European projects (“European Policy for Intellectual Property” and “Sustainable growth, employment creation and technological integration in the European Knowledge-based economy) and three projects of the Galician R&D Policy.
The international recognition of our work has paved the way for our contribution to numerous European projects in the past ten years, thus making us one of the first Spanish groups with the highest number of participations in European projects. So far as international performance is concerned, we are members of the EPIP network (European Policy for Intellectual Property) and co-operate with PREST and CRIC of the University of Manchester, IMRI of the University of Paris; MERIT of the University of Maastricht and with the IKE group of the University of Aalborg.
In Spain we collaborate with some of the most active research groups , such as GRINEI, the Complutense Institute for International Studies and the Institute for Industrial and Financial Analysis, both pertaining to the Universidad Complutense and the Politecnic University of Valencia. We have also been invited to partake in projects with the Science and Technology Unit of CSIC and the European Academy of Sciences.
At the core of our research group are four professors pertaining to the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Special acclaim is attributed to the coordinator, Xavier Vence Deza, professor at the Department of Applied Economics, who has been working actively for more than two decades in the field of Innovation Economics and Technology Policies (projects and studies, academic instructor, coordinator of a Master course and doctoral theses, advisor for the application of innovation policies). Regarding our lines of research, Innovation Economics and Technology Policies is our central topic of interest. Moreover, of particular importance are the contributions of the group to the analysis of regional innovative systems and the impact of innovation on economic growth and regional convergence. In particular, we take special pride in designing the Galician Programme for Business Innovation.
During the past years we have been one of the groups in Europe that pioneered the analysis of the problematics of innovation in services. Currently, we are focused on the analysis, designing as well as the evaluation of innovation policies. Nowadays, our group is considered a significant point of reference in Spain and has gained prominence around Europe and Latin America not only in the academic strata but also among public organizations that turn to us for professional advice. On the front of these research lines, we make significant contributions Europe-wide, nationally as well as regionally. In fact we have obtained relevant results on a European level and have been invited to discuss the 7th R&D Framework Programme, in the SME Advising Committee to the Ministry of Industry and other autonomous regions.
