Post on 16-Jan-2016
The innovation policy in Bulgaria: trends and challenges
Assoc. Prof. Teodora GeorgievaApplied Research and Communication Fund
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The ARC Fund’s mission is aimed at concerted development of knowledge-based societies in the countries of Southeast Europe.
• In 2006 ARC Fund was contracted to develop the country report for DG Regional Policy of the European Commission Bulgaria: Strategic Evaluation on Innovation and the Knowledge-based economy in relation to the Structural and Cohesion Funds, for the programming period 2007-2013.
• ARC Fund was also commissioned by the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy to develop the Annual Reports on the Bulgarian National Innovation Policy for the years 2006 and 2007.
• ARC Fund is the national correspondent for the ERAWATCH Network, and recently finalized the work on the ERAWATCH Analytical Country Report on Bulgaria 2008.
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Innovation.bg 2008
Innovation.bg analyzes the development dynamics of the national innovation system during the past year and the growth opportunities in five groups of indicators:
– Gross innovation product– Entrepreneurship and innovation networks– Investment and financing of innovation– Human capital for innovation– Information and communication technology (ICT)
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Innovation firms by number of employees
Source: Eurostat, 2008; New Cronos, CIS 4
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Bulgaria Hungary Czeck Rep. Germany Finland EU-27
10 - 49 50 - 249 > 250
Number of EPO patent applications per million inhabitants
Source: Eurostat, 2007.5
Number of patent applications at the Bulgarian Patent Office
Source: Bulgarian Patent Office, 2008. 6
Bulgarian applicantsForeign applicants
R&D intensity – percentage of R&D expenditures in GDP
7Source: NSI, 2007.Bulgaria EU-10 EU-25 EU-15
Number of PhDs (Higher education and R&D organizations)
8Source: NSI, 2007.
New PhD graduatesStudents
The population aged 20 to 29 holding higher education degree in technological fields (1000)
9Source: Eurostat, 2007.
EU-27Bulgaria
Student mobility to/from Bulgaria, (1000)
Source: Eurostat, 2007. 10
Foreign students in BulgariaBulgarian students abroad
Information and communication technologies
• The computerization of the Bulgarian firms reaches its plateau of 90% during 2007.
• Only one third of firms has their own website.
• Although all Bulgarian enterprises, except for micro businesses, have computers, most of them use them only as a means to reduce costs and for information search (60 % of the enterprises) rather than for the introduction of innovative management and administrative solutions (10 %).
• In 2007, 90 % of the computers in 90 % of the enterprises will have access to the Internet, which is an important prerequisite for making these companies more innovative.
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• The last place of Bulgaria by number of innovative firms and by level of interaction between them in EU
• Serious barriers towards the entrepreneur ideas of Bulgarians
• Lack of adequate and sufficient financial instruments supporting innovation
• Lack of specialized high quality personnel
• Continuing drain of the intellectual capital from the country
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The main challenges for the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy
Recommendations for policy action
• The Bulgarian government should develop an integrated innovation policy, which incorporates research and technological development, as well as coordination mechanisms to other economic policies such as SMEs, investment, etc.;
• Review and update the legal and regulatory framework underpinning the national innovation, technology and research policy;
• Open and focus national innovation and research prgrams towards attracting European and international and reintegrating Bulgarian talent in the Bulgarian innovation system;
• Develop public-private partnerships for increasing investment in R&D and innovation, including providing direct public support and guarantees for Bulgarian organizations, which have successfully bid for projects under the EU framework programs.
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