The study which has led to the production of this document has been structured into the following phases:

Phase 0. The first stage was to examine the current state of collaborations between members of the Andalusian Technology Corporation (CTA) and Universities: quality, frequency and kinds of interaction, needs, obstacles and key factors in successful collaboration. The completion of this preliminary analysis and the results obtained allowed recommendations to be structured according to the suggestions and needs of the Companies.

Phase 1. A research study was then carried out which took a broad overview of the academic, business (industrial fabric and clusters) and institutional aspects of different regions around the world, identifying examples of good practices which could have a similar impact if adapted to the Andalusian context.

Phase 2. After obtaining the initial conclusions, 16 regions which displayed to a lesser or greater extent an equilibrium between the three aspects identified in the previous phase, and were comparable in some respects to Andalusia, were analysed in detail. Efforts were made to avoid examples which were very different to the situation in Andalusia so as to prevent making recommendations which were unviable in terms of context or economic characteristics.

In all of the regions studied we were able to identify a well-developed university system and significant business organisations.

In terms of the socio-economic support framework for Innovation, the regions selected displayed the following and differentiating characteristics when compared with Andalusia:

1. Regions with a similar situation to Andalusia in terms of institutional support, but greater business involvement and performance in terms of achievements and results:Catalonia (Spain) and Nord-Pas de Calais (France).
2. Regions which form part of the “TOP 40” most innovative in Europe (Regional Innovation Scoreboard, RIS 2009), with a similar level of public support to Andalusia. These regions have growth indicators with results and performance which are far higher than those of Andalusia: Südösterreich and Westösterreich (Austria), Unterfranken (Germany).
3. Regions with the highest European growth rates in terms of Innovation indicators (RIS 2009):East Anglia and Oxfordshire (United Kingdom), Karlsruhe (Germany), Rhône-Alpes (France).
4. Other regions or countries, which have been chosen for a variety of reasons for an in-depth study to broaden the scope of the study:Piamonte, Tuscany and Veneto (Italy), Eastern Scotland (United Kingdom), Israel, Massachusetts (USA), Midi-Pyrénées (France).

Phase 3. Finally, six field studies were carried out to analyse the regions of Karlsruhe, Nord-Pas de Calais, Styria, Veneto, Oxfordshire and Massachusetts in depth.