SWOT analysis

+ Strong points

- Weak points

Location of the region

Higher share of R&D expenditure in some business sectors (e.g. motor vehicle parts and accessories, electronics/electrical engineering, textiles, ICT, rubber/plastics)

Investment of regional companies abroad (textiles, production of rubber products)

Share of unemployed persons below the Czech average in the long term

Growth of regional real convergence of GDP per capita in PPS vs. EU 28 (78% in 2016)

Transport accessibility of Hradec Králové on the D11 highway (one of the potential factors of RDI worker mobility)

Broad possibilities of workers' leisure time activities (work-life balance)

Low cooperation between companies and research organizations in the region, primarily due to different fields of specialization (= necessity of cooperation of research organizations and companies with entities outside the region)

Low overall R&D expenditure by organizations in the Hradec Králové Region compared to other regions

Low overall number of R&D employees in the Hradec Králové Region compared to other regions

Decreasing investment attractiveness of the region (according to FDI development)

High proportion of foreign-controlled companies on the lower levels of global value chains/production networks

Lower expenditure of public self-government budgets to support research, development and innovation

Shortage of workforce demanded in the regional labor market

Innovative entrepreneurship

Stable high share of business sector in regional R&D expenditures

Active clusters based in the region (packaging, stone)

Significant involvement of CIRI, CLUTEX - Cluster of Technical Textiles and CTPT in connecting key players within NUTS 2 Northeast and in relation to the European RegioTex initiative

Potential for interdisciplinary cooperation in the region

High involvement in the MPO TRIO project in an interregional comparison

High volume of investment incentives in automotive and engineering

High product diversification in the field of electronics/electrical engineering

Increasing innovation activity of enterprises

Insufficient accompanying R&D infrastructure: low capacity and efficiency of some science and technology parks, business incubators

Lower internationalization of SMEs

Low participation in H2020 and TACR in an interregional comparison

Low number of successful start-ups in Europe/globally

Research and development

Existence of international research excellence in research organizations (e.g. immunology, gynecology/obstetrics, pharmacology/pharmaceutical chemistry, hygiene, military, medical devices, textiles)

The potential of research organizations to be more application-oriented, e.g. by applying a diversity/interdisciplinarity-related concept.

Research and development companies can find cooperating research organizations outside the region (maintaining competitiveness)

Development of activities of Technology Transfer Centers operating in the region

Strong background in life sciences, mechanical engineering, ICT or the textile industry

Existence of several important foreign-controlled R&D companies (e.g. automotive, ICT, medical devices, rubber products)

Low commercialization of research organization results

Low proportion of general government in regional R&D expenditures

Low share of total R&D expenditures in the region's GDP in an interregional comparison

Wages of specialists in science and technology have long been below the Czech Republic's average

The absence of technical fields at universities and, conversely, the absence of the critical amount and size of companies with a focus coinciding with regional research organizations

Low level of non-technical competences (e.g. entrepreneurial thinking in the academic sphere)

Insufficiently developed services for starting (especially technological) entrepreneurs

Absence of mass promotional activities highlighting potential successes/projects in the field of RDI, both in terms of individual marketing activities of individual entities and joint promotion

Low level of cooperation between promoters

Human resources for innovation, research and development

Existence of recognized scientists and R&D teams with elements of international excellence linked to the application sector

Interdisciplinary cooperation between research teams (e.g. ICT in biomedicine)

Secondary education institutions cooperating with companies

Secondary education institutions cooperating with companies

Regional innovation brand as a tool for promoting cooperation between the academic and commercial sector

Low share of unemployed persons

Low entrepreneurial spirit in the academic sphere among students

Lower attractiveness of the region for foreign researchers

Low share of economically active population

Persistent inconsistency in the profile of initial education graduates with regional labor market needs

Low effectiveness of career guidance

Declining proportion of doctoral students in the total number of university students

Low interest of students in polytechnic and vocational education

Non-systemic support of gifted and exceptionally gifted pupils

Insufficient number and limited possibilities for involving specialists and practitioners in polytechnic and vocational training

Generational problem of succession of researcher/development workers, especially in industrial branches

ü  Opportunities

!        Threats

Political/legislative influences

Reducing barriers to entrepreneurship (administration, bureaucracy)

Immigration law reform facilitating the employability of foreigners in knowledge-intensive fields

Indirect support for research and development (e.g. greater tax advantages in general and increased tax advantages for the use of research services from research organizations)

Enforcing the principles of smart specialization in public policies

Potential possibility of marketing activity support and promotion of the Regional Innovation Brand by the Hradec Králové Region

Research and development legislation (funding system - instability, discontinuity, administrative demands)

Inconsistent legislation interpretation (e.g. R&D tax deductions) and lower law enforceability

Low degree of willingness by stakeholders to cooperate within the Regional Innovation Brand platform

Economic/financial influences

Potential for the influx of external investments into more knowledge-intensive disciplines, ideally using a regional knowledge base

Utilization of EU and CR funds for the implementation of projects from the Action Plan of RIS3 KHK

Outflow of foreign direct investment (exhaustion of low-cost and incentive benefits, changes to the tax system)

Increasing prices of production inputs

Decrease in foreign demand for production from the region with insufficient support through innovation and interdisciplinary coordination to expand subcontracting links in the region

Social/demographic influences

Potential of a broad portfolio of secondary schools for closer cooperation with research organizations and businesses

More intensive cooperation between the education system and employers

Development of popularization activities of science, research and innovation towards the public (e.g. Digital Planetarium Hradec Králové)

Possibility to attract foreign qualified workers to research organizations and companies

Possibility to pilot test dual education elements

Restructuring of the offer of educational fields and types of schools in the region based on the needs of the regional labor market

Outflow of qualified human resources outside the region

Deepening discrepancies between educational institutions and regional labor market requirements

Lack of skilled workers (structural problem)

Lack of teachers of vocational subjects at secondary schools

Technological influences

Possibility of the internationalization of regional entities (H2020, COSME, involvement in technology platforms or international activities of clusters)

The potential of an interdisciplinary approach (related variety) in RDI.

Successful cases of upgrading within global value chains (e.g. automotive industry, rubber industry, mechanical engineering, ICT)

Greater focus of research organizations on applicable results with market application or a public end user

Development of field cooperation among companies and research organizations outside the region

More accredited/certified workplaces of research organizations (for cooperation with the application sphere)

Development of RDI activities in emerging technological trends (e.g. big data, 4th industrial revolution, smart city, Internet of things/people, personalized medicine…)

Unutilized potential and obsolescence of regional research, development and innovation infrastructure

Decreasing attractiveness of the region for investment in knowledge-intensive fields