Localisation Motives for R&D in Large Companies
a project in the Framework 6 Programme "Regions of Knowledge 2" of the European Commission

Managing the Links - Global trends and regional policies in R&D location

LOCOMOTIVE FINAL CONFERENCE

Hamburg 5-6 June 2007

Thank You For Your Participation!

Presentation Download now available

 

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LOCOMOTIVE-Conference finished successfully

On 6 June 2007 the conference of the LOCOMOTIVE-Project about the reasons for investment decisions of large multinational enterprises in Research and Development was successfully finished in the Hotel Grand Elysée in Hamburg. 60 experts from industry, universities and administrations had discussed the question, how decisions of large companies to locate R&D in a particular region may be influenced.

„The 700 largest companies in the world spend 80% of all industrial research and development money worldwide“ stated Rob van Tulder, Professor at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. It should be considered wrong with this background to concentrate on supporting small and medium sized companies only, even if they play an important role in job creation. Equally important is the cooperation with universities, but they should not run into the danger of operating like companies in the marketing of their intellectual property rights as was pointed out by Andrew Dearing, general secretary of the European Industrial Research Management Association. Carlos Orozco, European R&D Director of Dow Chemicals, expressed the opinion „that the current labour laws, immigration rules and the attitude towards industry in universities present obstacles for locating R&D in Europe“. He closed his presentation with the words: „Europe is a wonderful location for R&D for Europe, but has to improve to also become a wonderful location for the world!“

The participants agreed that a location of important research and development investors in Europe will only be possible if the regions harmonised their locational and fiscal policies and will be guided less by competing against each other. In addition universities should concentrate more on their research strengths and not to try to offer the full spectrum of possible or fashionable topics in research.

The results of the LOCOMOTIVE-Project will now be summarised in recommendations for the European Commission and regional decision makers, taking into account the results of the conference. These recommendations will be published until 30 September 2007.

 

The presentations from the conference may be downloaded here.

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Read more about the background
Speakers / Programme Committee
Programme

 

 

The conference was organised by the LOCOMOTIVE project with support by the
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg