all projects

Innovation strategy for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region

Client

Projektbüro Metropolregion Hamburg e. V.

Year

2022

Partner

IMP³ROVE – European Innovation Management Academy


Innovation is of paramount economic importance – for economic renewal, the labour market, social progress, and the improvement of living conditions. Based on an analysis of key competencies in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (MRH), together with IMP³ROVE, we have developed a interregional innovation strategy with high synergy and growth potential for the region.

Six lighthouse topics and projects

The systematic and critical status-quo analysis revealed six lighthouse topics in which the MRH boasts particularly high competences:

  • Sustainable and smart energy systems
  • Sustainable materials and production processes
  • Life sciences and health
  • Bioeconomy and the food industry
  • CO2-free mobility solutions
  • Digitalisation and AI

These are also areas in which the MRH can be internationally competitive.

From these lighthouse topics, four fields of action with specific measures were derived. The measures are intended to remove barriers and complement existing regional measures in a target-oriented and cross-regional manner. These include:

  • Promotion of innovation in individual companies
  • Promotion and support of innovative start-ups
  • Development of R&D infrastructures (focal points)
  • Promotion of cooperation and knowledge and technology transfer

Linking the lighthouse projects with strategic fields of action, resulted in the following lighthouse projects for the MRH, which all show positive development opportunities:

  • Experimental and demonstration labs for Green Mobility
  • Development of a primary contact and coordination office for AI in the MRH
  • Establishment of a quantum computing technology platform
  • Creation of a decentralised medical open-source data platform
  • Initiation of new research alliances for the bioeconomy and the food industry
  • Innovation and Science Park (IWP) - renewable energies and green hydrogen

The assignment

The ability of a region to develop in a fragile environment depends to a large extent on its innovation capacity. As early as 2018/2019, the MRH was the first German metropolitan region to commission a territorial review through the OECD. The key insight was that greater cooperation between the MRH’s actors is required to ensure the global competitiveness of the region. Consequently, the Regional Council commissioned the development of an innovation strategy for the MRH. Above all, innovation, and knowledge and technology transfer in the MRH should be promoted across institutions and regions.

Our approach

The extension of the MRH to include the four federal states of Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein, presented specific challenges for the methodological approach. We carried out the following four steps:

  • Evaluation and comparison of the existing RIS3-, cluster-, start-up-, and industrial strategies of the four federal states as part of a desk research. Particular attention was paid to the identification of strategic and thematic commonalities. The first potential lighthouse topics and strategic fields of action were defined.
  • Evaluation of potential lighthouse topics and strategic fields of action in the context of a regional workshop with the actors of the four MRH federal states.
  • Validation of the suitability of the identified lighthouse topics by means of interviews and industry-specific workshops with experts; identification of concrete fields of innovation and initial implementation projects.
  • Assignment of the lighthouse topics to three societal fields that are of particularly high social relevance in the MRH.
  • Linking the lighthouse topics and their fields of innovation with tailored strategic fields of action and measures.

Links und downloads

About the strategy (PDF metropolregion.hamburg.de in German)

Project team: Dr Olaf Arndt, Dr Jonathan Eberle, Renke Janshen, Jan Lukas Röbke

 

Last stand: 21.12.2022

Do you have questions?

Your contact at Prognos

Dr Jonathan Eberle

Project Manager

View profile

Mehr Studien & Projekte zu diesem Thema

More studies & projects on this topic

The economic and social situation of the creative industries

2024
| Project

On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Prognos and partner analysed the economic and social situation of self-employed solo artists in creative professions.

Contribution of the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation to a Resilient Europe

2024
| Project

With the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes, the EU Commission is promoting research and innovation in Europe. Prognos evaluated parts of the funding programmes in terms of their contribution to a resilient Europe.

Contribution of the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation to an innovative Europe

2024
| Project

With the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes, the EU Commission is promoting research and innovation in Europe. Prognos evaluated parts of the funding programmes in terms of their contribution to an innovative Europe.

Evaluation of the ERDF programmes of several federal states

ongoing
| Project

How effectively do the federal states utilise ERDF funding? Prognos supports various federal states with the evaluation of their ERDF programmes.

Monitoring and evaluation of the North Rhine-Westphalian innovation strategy (RIS3)

ongoing
| Project

As part of ERDF funding 2021-2027, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has developed a regional innovation strategy (RIS3). Prognos is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the strategy.

Evaluation of the "Smart Cities Model Projects" funding programme

ongoing
| Project

Prognos evaluates the "Model Projects Smart Cities" (MPSC) funding programme as part of the Coordination and Transfer Office under the direction of the DLR Project Management Agency.

Germany Potential Index: Digitalisation to counter the skilled-worker shortage

2024
| Project

The skilled-worker shortage is only due to get worse in the future. Our Potential Index shows: Increased digitalisation can help to cushion the negative consequences of the skilled-worker shortage in Germany.

European Cluster Panorama Report 2024

2024
| Project update

Cluster organisations have a significant positive influence on the green and digital transformation. This is a key finding of the Cluster Panorama Report 2024, which Prognos compiled for the European Commission.

Foresight on Demand: Future-oriented expertise for the EU

ongoing
| Project

As part of the Foresight on Demand consultancy contract, the European Commission is provided with future-orientated knowledge. Prognos supports the expert consortium.

Strengthening Europe’s innovation power

ongoing
| Project

Prognos supports the European Commission’s General Commission for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) in the strategic development of EU research and innovation policy.

About us

Prognos – Providing Orientation.

Prognos is one of the oldest economic research centres in Europe. Founded at the University of Basel, Prognos experts have been conducting research for a wide range of clients from the public and private sectors since 1959 – politically independent, scientifically sound.

Learn more