Title: Critical technologies for the North of Portugal in 2015: the case of ITCE sectors – information technologies, communication and electronics

Authors: Antonio Carrizo Moreira, Luis F. Maia Carneiro, Marta P. Teixeira Tavares

Addresses: DEGEI – Departamento de Economia, Gestao e Engenharia Industrial, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. ' INESC-Porto/UESP, Campus da FEUP, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal. ' INESC-Porto/UESP, Campus da FEUP, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

Abstract: The Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the North of Portugal (CCDR-N) promoted NORTINOV 2015, a project created to define a regional innovation strategy for the North of Portugal based on automotive clusters and Information Technology, Communication and Electronics (ITCE) clusters. Accordingly, it developed a technology forecast for the year 2015 in order to help the North of Portugal cope with the intensifying global competition and rapid technological changes. This paper describes the methodology used to identify critical technologies for the regional economy of the North of Portugal under the project NORTINOV 2015. It involved three main steps: technology identification and study, in which a list of emerging technologies was implemented; refinement of emerging technologies, in which 90 technologies were identified and finally, classification and hierarchisation of technologies, in which 30 technologies were identified as critical for the crafting of regional innovation strategy. In this final step, a workshop involving major stakeholders of the three clusters under study played a major role.

Keywords: communications; electronics; information technologies; innovation systems; Portugal; emerging technologies; innovation strategy; technology forecasts; regional strategies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFIP.2007.011624

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy, 2007 Vol.3 No.2, pp.187 - 206

Published online: 06 Dec 2006 *

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