Making Knowledge Work
The Making Knowledge Work (MKW) consortium consists of 12 ambitious regions wishing to improve their regional innovation capacity. They all observe that excellent research does not always find its way into commercially valuable innovations and excellent ideas are often not used. Policy action is needed to bridge the gap in the innovation chain. It asks for projects on micro level and meso level strategies, measures and platforms that improve RTD-support by the regional innovation ecosystem. All actors within the triple helix must be involved.

Overall objective:
Transferring and mainstreaming good practices to improve the innovation capacity of regions, by bridging gaps within the innovation chain. The focus will be on the link between RTD and the final stage of innovation: MKW will mainstream activities, policies and measures that stimulate the take up of innovative ideas and knowledge to transform them into chances for economic value added.
MKW will mainstream good practices that involve all actors of the triple helix, for example:
- activities that pick up and valorise unused ideas and patents from universities or larger companies
- good practices that are putting researchers into contact with potential launching customers
- public authorities stimulating innovation by asking for innovative products in their procurement policies
- improving the availability and entrance to (pre) seed capital
- strategies to address intellectual property and patents (IPR)
Sub-objectives are:
A. Exposing and analyzing good practices that support the transformation from knowledge and ideas into chances for economic value added.
B. Preparing the ground for their transfer by investigating the conditions for transferability and necessary supportive actions.
C. Joint development of demand-oriented regional Action Plans.
D. Promoting good practices, transferability and consortium-building beyond the project partnership.
Partners will participate in Fact Finding Missions to visit successful good practices and to investigate the opportunities to transfer (elements of) them to their own region. Subsequently, partners will work on their regional action plans that will elaborate how the identified practices will be implemented through the mainstream programme of their region. Partners will gather regularly in Central Sessions and will receive additional information and training on specific topics, according to their needs. Project activities also include Brussels Briefings on specific MKW-themes, for daily practitioners, experts and policy makers beyond the project consortium.

MKW aims to achieve intensive stakeholder involvement. Partners will act demand oriented. The Regional Managing Authorities will be closely involved. The European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN) will guarantee that the project will be accompanied and reflected throughout its network of 70 dynamic regions in Europe.