Dutch innovation clusters call on the government to consolidate investment policy

Thanks to their knowledge position and international export position, innovative ecosystems lie at the core of every innovation strategy. They make major transitions possible and provide the Netherlands as a whole with earning potential. Our country has some of the world’s best innovation clusters. It is time for the Dutch government to attune its innovation policy accordingly.

At the heart of this potential are the innovation clusters surrounding the universities of Delft, Eindhoven, Leiden, Rotterdam, Twente and Wageningen. Their strong technological position and their collaboration with knowledge institutes, corporations, the business sector, start-ups and governments have earned these ecosystems a global position. With other innovation clusters in the Netherlands, they work on solutions for our major societal challenges as well as boosting our economy.

A new cabinet should strive to provide targeted support for the large Dutch innovation ecosystems. Economic Board Zuid-Holland, Brainport Eindhoven, Twente Board, Wageningen Campus and Regional Development Societies support their plea through a vision document that details the value of the Dutch innovation clusters. They outline the extent to which international solutions in agri-food, biotech, high-tech, MedTech, quantum, AI and photonics are hinged on precisely these clusters.

Public and private players collaborate on issues such as the protein transition, quantum computers, the mobility of the future, electrolysers and smart batteries for the energy transition. In the fertile soil of these innovative ecosystems, new businesses emerge that ‘create’ these transitions and are responsible for new employment and earning opportunities. Thanks to the knowledge available through the universities and corporates, and with public and private funding, they work to find solutions to our critical challenges. Ecosystems thus form the breeding ground for our mission-driven innovation policy.

To safeguard that innovation policy for the coming years, a more coherent government funding instrument is needed. To date, the support is often incidental and fragmented, which hampers rather than fosters the required collaboration. A new cabinet would do well to offer the large Dutch innovation ecosystems more targeted support.

The four innovation clusters pose that a solution is to be found in smarter governance. They call on the future cabinet to offer the innovation ecosystems a permanent position within the Dutch innovation policy and to join forces with the different regions to achieve sustainable investment in the ecosystems.

Jaap Smit (Economic Board Zuid-Holland): ‘The answer to the COVID19-pandemic lies in an innovative economy in which businesses and knowledge institutes collaborate to achieve new employment opportunities, sustainability, major transitions and welfare for all. These innovation clusters merit a solid position within the European knowledge and innovation chain. This will allow us to shape major transitions, stay ahead of the global competition and guarantee prosperity for our country.’

Sebastiaan Berendse (Wageningen Campus): ‘Action is needed because the rest of the world is investing heavily in new technologies. In Europe, industrial alliances are being formed. We could jump on the bandwagon. The Netherlands has ecosystems that are among the best in the world. We cannot pass up on this opportunity.’

John Jorritsma (Stichting Brainport): ‘The challenges we face can only be met if the Netherlands remains at the top of the most important key technologies. Our drive to innovate creates thousands of future-proof jobs. In order to achieve this goal, the business sector structurally invests billions in R&D to maintain our leading global position. A similar push from the government would make our strategy unbeatable.’

Wim Boomkamp (Twente Board): ‘Our country can count on the commitment of both public and private partners, both regional and national. Funding from corporates and strong involvement of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and scale-ups are essential in achieving our goals. But, our mission will only have a true impact if we manage to transform the incidental and fragmented government support into something structural.’

Rinke Zonneveld (Regionale Ontwikkelings Maatschappijen Nederland): ‘The close collaboration between knowledge partners, start-ups, SMEs and corporates in different ecosystems has led to leading positions in the domain of several key technologies. Targeted support of this approach will help us fortify and expand these positions.’