Innovation in Nord-Pas de Calais

Innovation, an absolute necessity

Innovation is an absolute necessity for businesses in our region as it is elsewhere. Innovation responds to the new demands of society and can even anticipate them.

Innovation is not restricted to advanced-technology sectors. For many businesses, innovating represents the introduction of a change in a product or service, in production processes, in organisation or marketing methods.

Each business has its own way of innovating… and its own way of following its project through to completion. All have the same objective: to equip themselves with competitive advantages in order to develop.

The innovation support network in Nord-Pas de Calais

The practise of innovation in businesses has not yet made enough headway in our region.

The Nord-Pas de Calais region has the lowest "business expenditure on R&D / regional GDP" ratio: 3.9 per thousand on a regional level compared with 15.3 per thousand on a national level, the creation rate for innovative businesses is also too low.

This fact incited the State (through the DRIRE - Regional Office for Industry, Research and Environment - and the DRRT - Regional Delegation for Research and Technology), the ANVAR (the French Agency for Innovation) and the Regional Council, to create, with their partners, a pluriannual, decisive and specific policy in favour of innovation.

This is how the PRI (Regional Support for Innovation Programme) came into being with its four main objectives:
    –  to develop the culture of innovation in businesses 
    –  to increase the number of innovative business projects and to improve their success-rate
    –  to favour the creation of innovative businesses 
    –  to broaden the Nord Pas de Calais region's scope onto its external environment

The RDT, the PRI's coordination division…

Financed by the Anvar and the Regional Council, the RDT (Technological Development Network) federates and coordinates those involved on a regional level in technological development and innovation.

The two main areas of the PRI

PLI and PTI, 2 additional programmes