MORE-Alps project: The analysis of European and regional policies in Rhône-Alpes. Strategies for enhancing innovation.

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Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia D

IPARTIMENTO DI STUDI LINGUISTICI E CULTURALI

CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE IN

L ANGUAGES FOR C OMMUNICATION IN I NTERNATIONAL

E NTERPRISES AND O RGANIZATIONS

MORE-Alps project: The analysis of European and regional policies in Rhône-Alpes. Strategies for enhancing

innovation.

Progetto MORE-Alps: Analisi delle politiche europee e regionali in Rhône-Alpes. Strategie per accrescere

l'innovazione.

Prova finale di:

Chiara Miliucci Relatore:

Francesco Pagliacci

Correlatore

Margherita Russo

Anno Accademico 2016-2017

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ABSTRACTS

Abstract

Finding its roots in the research project MORE-Alps, which focuses on the study of the EUSALP strategy (the macro-regional strategy for the Alpine area), this work is aimed at providing a detailed analysis of the innovation policies of Rhône-Alpes, one of the region covered by EUSALP.

Moving from a descriptive overview of geographical and socio-economic features of Rhône-Alpes, based on statistical data, the research continues with the analysis of the official documents, describing the challenges the region is needed to tackle and specific targets to be achieved for local and regional development. The Europe 2020 strategy provides these targets, which are in turn translated into national and regional ones. The amount of funds devoted to the implementation of the programmes is also analysed.

In particular, the analysis of the Operational Programme of Rhône-Alpes is carried out.

The OP specifies the objectives to be pursued according to the priorities and the challenges of the region, and it sets out how the ESI Funds will be used. The OP of Rhône- Alpes follows the objectives set at national level and focuses its actions mainly on the field of innovation, to which the most of the ERDF is devoted.

Lastly, a focus on the theme of innovative programmes is introduced, comparing the actions conducted in the region with those applied at European and national level. The presentation of the main documents, institutions and policies concerning innovation, is then followed by the in-depth analysis of the first axis of the operational programme, mainly of the first thematic which aims at strengthening research, technological development and innovation. The focus on topics concerning the cooperation between different actors, the enhancement of innovation and its transfer leads to the introduction of a concrete project. This project involves one of the main actors of the innovation process, that is university. In particular, the creation of the new University Grenoble Alpes by merger, has made possible to underline the innovation background which lies within the Rhône-Alpes territory.

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Riassunto

Trovando le sue radici nel progetto di ricerca MORE-Alps, che si concentra sullo studio della strategia EUSALP (la strategia macro-regionale per l'area alpina), questo lavoro ha come obiettivo quello di fornire un’analisi dettagliata delle politiche di innovazione in Rhône-Alpes.

Muovendo da una panoramica descrittiva, sulla base di dati statistici, delle caratteristiche geografiche e socioeconomiche della regione Rhône-Alpes, la ricerca prosegue con l'analisi dei documenti ufficiali, i quali descrivono le sfide che la regione deve affrontare e gli obiettivi da raggiungere per uno sviluppo efficace a livello locale e regionale. La strategia Europa 2020 fornisce delle linee guida e dei target, che a loro volta possono essere tradotti in obiettivi nazionali e regionali. A tal proposito, si analizza inoltre l’importo dei fondi dedicati all'attuazione dei programmi.

Successivamente, attraverso l’analisi del programma operativo della regione Rhône- Alpes, il quale specifica gli obiettivi da perseguire in base alle priorità e alle sfide individuate dalla regione e definisce il modo in cui i fondi SIE verranno utilizzati, vengono individuati i punti di forza e debolezza della regione. Rhône-Alpes segue gli obiettivi fissati a livello nazionale e concentra le sue azioni principalmente nel campo dell'innovazione, cui indirizza la maggior parte del FESR.

Infine, l’ultima parte del lavoro offe un approfondimento sulle politiche relative all’innovazione, confrontando le azioni condotte nella regione con quelle applicate a livello europeo e nazionale. La presentazione dei principali documenti, delle istituzioni e delle politiche in materia di innovazione è poi seguita dall'analisi approfondita del primo asse del programma operativo, in particolar modo del primo obiettivo tematico, che mira a rafforzare la ricerca, lo sviluppo tecnologico e l'innovazione. L'attenzione agli argomenti riguardanti la cooperazione tra i diversi attori, la valorizzazione dell'innovazione e il suo trasferimento portano alla presentazione di un progetto concreto.

Questo progetto coinvolge uno dei principali attori dell’innovazione: l'università. In particolare, la creazione della nuova Università Grenoble Alpes, attraverso una fusione, ha permesso di sottolineare il fiorente contesto su cui si basa l'innovazione in Rhône- Alpes.

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Résumé

Issu du projet de recherche MORE-Alps, centré sur l'étude de la stratégie EUSALP (stratégie macro-régionale pour l'espace alpin), ce travail vise à fournir une analyse détaillée des politiques d'innovation en Rhône-Alpes.

A partir d'une synthèse descriptive, basée sur des données statistiques, des caractéristiques géographiques et socio-économiques de la région Rhône-Alpes, la recherche se poursuit par l'analyse de documents officiels, décrivant les défis auxquels la région doit faire face et les objectifs à atteindre pour un développement efficace au niveau local et régional. La stratégie Europe 2020 fournit des lignes directrices et des objectifs qui, à leur tour, peuvent être traduits en objectifs nationaux et régionaux. À cet égard, le montant des fonds consacrés à la mise en œuvre des programmes est également analysé.

Ensuite, à travers l'analyse du programme opérationnel de la région Rhône-Alpes, qui précise les objectifs à poursuivre en fonction des priorités et des défis identifiés par la région et qui définit la façon dont les fonds ESI seront utilisés, les forces et les faiblesses de la région sont identifiées. Rhône-Alpes suit les objectifs fixés au niveau national et concentre ses actions principalement dans le domaine de l'innovation, auquel s'adresse la majorité des ERDF.

Enfin, la dernière partie du travail propose un approfondissement des politiques d'innovation, en comparant les actions menées dans la région avec celles appliquées au niveau européen et national. La présentation des principaux documents, des institutions et des politiques en matière d’innovation est ensuite suivie d'une analyse approfondie du premier axe du programme opérationnel, en particulier du premier objectif thématique, qui vise à renforcer la recherche, le développement technologique et l'innovation.

L'attention portée aux thèmes concernant la coopération entre les différents acteurs, la valorisation de l'innovation et son transfert conduisent à la présentation d'un projet concret. Ce projet implique l'un des principaux acteurs de l’innovation : l'université. En particulier, la création de la nouvelle Université Grenoble Alpes, à travers une fusion, a permis de souligner le contexte porteur de l'innovation en Rhône-Alpes.

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Zusammenfassung

Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts MORE-Alps, dessen Schwerpunkt auf der Untersuchung der EUSALP-Strategie (makroregionale Strategie für den Alpenraum) liegt, soll diese Arbeit eine detaillierte Analyse der Innovationspolitik in Rhône-Alpes liefern.

Ausgehend von einem deskriptiven Überblick über die geografischen und sozioökonomischen Merkmale von Rhône-Alpes, der auf statistischen Daten beruht, wird die Analyse der offiziellen Dokumente fortgeführt, die die Herausforderungen beschrieben, die die Region zu meistern hat, um regionale Entwicklung zu erreichen. Die Strategie Europa 2020 bietet diese Ziele, die wiederum in nationale und regionale Ziele umgesetzt werden können. Die Höhe der Mittel für die Durchführung der Programme wird ebenfalls analysiert.

Anschließend werden die Stärken und Schwächen der Region durch eine Analyse des operationellen Programms von Rhône-Alpes ermittelt. Das Programm legt die Ziele fest, die gemäß den von der Region ermittelten Prioritäten und Herausforderungen zu verfolgen sind, und definiert die Art und Weise, wie die ESI-Mittel verwendet werden.

Rhône-Alpes verfolgt die nationalen Ziele und konzentriert seine Maßnahmen hauptsächlich auf den Bereich Innovation, an den sich der größte Teil des EFRE richtet.

Schließlich bietet der letzte Teil der Arbeit eine Vertiefung der Innovationspolitik, indem die in der Region durchgeführten Maßnahmen mit denen auf europäischer und nationaler Ebene verglichen werden. Auf die Präsentation der wichtigsten Dokumente, Institutionen und Politiken zur Innovation, folgt eine gründliche Analyse der ersten Achse des operationellen Programms, insbesondere des ersten thematischen Ziels, das darauf abzielt, Forschung, technologische Entwicklung und Innovation zu stärken. Die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Themen der Zusammenarbeit zwischen den verschiedenen Akteuren, die Verbesserung der Innovation und ihren Transfer führen zur Präsentation eines konkreten Projekts. An diesem Projekt ist einer der Hauptakteure der Innovation beteiligt: die Universität. Insbesondere die Schaffung der neuen Universität Grenoble- Alpes durch eine Fusion hat es uns ermöglicht, den florierenden Kontext zu unterstreichen, auf dem die Innovation in Rhône-Alpes basiert.

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MORE-Alps project: The analysis of European and regional policies in Rhône-Alpes. Strategies for enhancing innovation.

List of figures

Figure 1. The area covered by the EUSALP strategy in relation to other alpine cooperation

programmes ... 6

Figure 2. Map of the new organisation of regions ... 15

Figure 3. Map of the Rhône-Alpes region with departments ... 19

Figure 4. Population, variation 2010-2016 (%). ... 20

Figure 5. Immigrants to Rhone-Alpes, country of origin. ... 22

Figure 6. Urban population and density of municipalities in 2012. ... 23

Figure 7. French regions' GDP. ... 25

Figure 8. Employment rate (left figure) and Unemployment rates (right figure) (%), in Rhône-Alpes and France. ... 25

Figure 9. Share of employment in Rhône-Alpes's key industrial sectors ... 27

Figure 10. Map of EU regions according the Regional Competitiveness Index 2016. .. 30

Figure 11. Areas in km² ... 36

Figure 12. Total population (2016)... 36

Figure 13. GDP (EUR), 2015 ... 36

Figure 14. Employment rate (%) ... 36

Figure 15. Unemployment rate (%) ... 36

Figure 16. R&D expenditure, in terms of GDP (%), 2013 ... 36

Figure 17. Total budget by theme: Rhône-Alpes – ERDF/ESF, EUR million ... 63

Figure 18. Employment rate (%) ... 75

Figure 19. Expenditure in R&D ... 75

Figure 20. Greenhouse gas emissions ... 75

Figure 21. Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption... 75

Figure 22. Energy efficiency, primary energy consumption (Thousands of tonnes of oil equivalent - Mtoe) ... 76

Figure 23. Early leavers from education and training ... 76

Figure 24. Tertiary education attainment ... 76

Figure 25. People at risk of poverty ... 76

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List of tables

Table 1. Urban-rural typology in Rhône-Alpes / NUTS3 classification. ... 24

Table 2. Active population (over 15 years old) employed in the economic sectors in 2013. ... 26

Table 3. Competitiveness clusters in Rhône-Alpes, 2009 data ... 33

Table 4. Europe 2020 strategy – The three mutually reinforcing priorities ... 42

Table 5. Europe 2020 targets translated into national ones by France. ... 53

Table 6. The allocation of support by the Union by thematic objective at national level for each of the ESI Funds. ... 55

Table 7. Summary table of the main priorities funding, by State and Region (million EUR). ... 59

Table 8. The region Rhône-Alpes in response to the Europe 2020 strategy ... 61

Table 9. Total EU contribution by priority axis and thematic objective. ... 68

Table 10. The subdivision of the first axis in thematic objectives, investment priorities and specific objectives ... 96

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1. Introduction

“The Alpine Region is one of the richest areas in the world and among the most economically dynamic, innovative and competitive areas in Europe. However, significant economic differences still exist within the territories, requiring a common response.”

(European Commission, 2015, p. 4).

The words of the European Commission explain perfectly the background, the strengths and the main challenges of the Alpine area, which represents the subject matter of this research work. Indeed, this dissertation thesis develops within the project MORE-Alps, arose from the cooperation between the CAPP (Research Centre for Analysis of Public Policies), the Department of Economics and the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Studies of Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia.

The project focuses on the EUSALP macro-regional strategy, with a particular interest on the innovation policies of the regions involved in it.

The importance of creating a common strategy, in order to face common challenges in a specific area, lies within one of the key-objectives of the European Union, a topic which has been reiterated also in the Europe 2020 strategy. Cooperation among countries and regions can be an effective tool to strengthen and develop common objectives and to provide a coordinated response to common issues. The creation of a more interconnected alpine area allows therefore the countries and the regions, covered by the strategy, to bring mutual benefits, transferring and sharing knowledge and experiences and achieving economic, social and territorial growth, while meeting common challenges.

Taking into consideration this context, the main goal of the MORE-Alps project is providing a comprehensive framework of the countries and the regions involved in the EUSALP strategy, in terms of social, administrative and economic features and differences. In particular, the present work contributes at improving the knowledge of the French area, with a specific focus on the region Rhône-Alpes, studying this case also in relation to the European objectives and funds provided by the Europe 2020 strategy.

The ultimate objective is therefore achieving a detailed analysis of regional and local development policies, mainly in the field of innovation. The data retrieved and the official

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documents analysed will contribute to shape the profile of Rhône-Alpes and to place the region within the strategy context, making it possible to underline its strengths and weaknesses.

Moreover, the present work will underline the importance of regional and local innovation policies, which will contribute to the consolidation and the improvement of the local social and economic system and to enhancing regional cohesion.

More specifically, this work is structured as follows.

The second chapter provides some information about the project MORE-Alps in more detail. Focusing on the EUSALP strategy, namely the macro-regional strategy for the Alpine area of which a description is provided, the chapter sets out the objectives and the research work of this project.

The third chapter aims at providing a descriptive overview of geographical and social features of the region Rhône-Alpes, as well as an analysis of regional economic performance, provided using statistical data. The description will be produced after having framed the region in the administrative system of France, in order to understand the recent changes that have led to the new organisation of the French territories. Indeed, the Loi NOTRe of 2015, which foresees a new territorial scheme, improves the competitiveness of French agglomerations, giving to the regions greater powers, with the consequent possibility to construct territorial strategies. Within this context, a description of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is returned. However, for the purposes of the research - and considering its greater weight in the new region - only the former region Rhône-Alpes will be taken in consideration, underlining its good performance in terms of economy and innovation ecosystem. Finally, at the end of the chapter, a comprehensive comparison among some regions involved in the EUSALP strategy is provided, in order to place Rhône-Alpes in the area.

Moving from the geographical and socio-economic framework of Rhône-Alpes, the research continues with the analysis of the official documents in the fourth chapter. It describes the challenges the region is needed to tackle and the specific targets to be achieved for local and regional development. The Europe 2020 strategy provides these targets, that are in turn translated into national and regional ones. The aim is therefore to

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define the major provisions and measures provided by France and Rhône-Alpes within the strategy, analysing the type and share of the European Structural and Investment Funds devoted for achieving the objectives set. For this reason, within the European strategy framework and the Regulations applied, the documents presented in this chapter will be: the Partnership Agreement; the State-to-Region agreement of Rhône-Alpes; its operational programme; the Regional strategy for economic development, innovation and internationalisation, which will be the basis for the focus on innovation of the following chapter.

Indeed, the fifth chapter provides a detailed study of the innovation policies in Rhône- Alpes. The role of innovation is of paramount importance in the promotion of national and, thus, regional growth. After the definition of the innovation process and of the actors, involved in it, the chapter focuses on the transition from the European to national and, at the end, to regional policies in France. Indeed, in the last years, the regional dimension of innovation has gained increasing importance in the country, as shown by the numerous documents and actions taken in Rhône-Alpes, in order to increase competitiveness and socio-economic growth. The presentation of the main documents, institutions and policies concerning innovation, is then followed by the in-depth analysis of the first axis of the operational programme, mainly of the first thematic which aims at strengthening research, technological development and innovation. At the end of the chapter a concrete project is presented. It is a project that involves one of the main actors of the innovation process, that is university. Thanks to the dedication and the time of SIRIS Academic researchers, the profile of the project has been laid out. In particular, the creation of the new university Grenoble Alpes, by merger of three universities, Grandes Ecoles and research centres, has made possible to underline the innovation background which lies within the Rhône- Alpes territory.

Chapter 6, at the end, proposes some conclusive reflections.

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2. The EUSALP strategy and the MORE-Alps project

2.1. The EUSALP strategy

2.1.1. EUSALP as an EU Macro-regional Strategy

The EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) is the fourth macro-regional strategy, endorsed by the European Union in order to face common challenges, which characterise a defined geographical area. Macro-regional strategies represent an EU instrument, aimed at promoting concerted actions in cross-border geographic areas, which share common characteristics and challenges. They are important in promoting territorial cooperation and cohesion in Europe in Europe, thus contributing to the achievement of economic, social and territorial results¹. Four macro-regional strategies have been adopted by the European Union so far. In addition to the EUSALP strategy, the European Council has already endorsed (European Commission, 2015):

• the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (2009);

• the Strategy for the Danube Region (2010);

• the Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (2014).

The four macro-regional strategies involve 19 EU Member States and 8 non-EU countries (European Commission, 2015).

As far as EUSALP is concerned, its development started when the European Council of 19/20 December 2013 invited the Commission and the Member States to draw up a strategy which would englobe the alpine states, by June 2015 (European Commission, 2015). Founded on a long tradition of cooperation, the strategy was endorsed by the Council of European Union in November 2015.

The main aim of the EUSALP strategy is to strengthen cooperation between regions and States in the area, with the objectives of economic, social and territorial cohesion.

Initiatives and projects are designed to ensure that this region remains one of the most

1 In particular, the macro-regional strategies represent the opportunity to develop a multilevel governance approach, that makes, moreover, more effective the use of available financial resources (European Commission, 2015).

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attractive areas in Europe, making the most of its resources and seizing opportunities for sustainable and smart development in a European context. Indeed, the regions involved in the strategy work together to enhance competitiveness, innovation, connectivity and preserve environment in the area (European Commission, 2015b).

The EUSALP strategy involves seven Countries, including five European Union Member States (Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia) and two non-EU countries (Liechtenstein and Switzerland), for a total of 48 regions and two countries as a whole². As stated before, the alpine area has always been involved in a large number of cooperation projects, such as the Alpine Convention or the Alpine Space, as well as in bilateral or trilateral agreements. Nevertheless, the area supported by the EUSALP strategy covers a wider surface (Figure 1).

2 The participating Members are:

• Austria with all its Länder (Burgenland, Kärnten, Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg and Wien);

• France with the regions Franche-Comté, PACA and Rhône-Alpes; Germany with the Länder Baden-Würrttember and Bayern;

• Italy with the regions and Autonomous Provinces Bozen, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trento, Valle d’Aosta and Veneto;

• Lichtenstein;

• Slovenia;

• Switzerland with all its cantons (Aargau, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerhoden, Bern, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Fribourg, Geneva, Glarus, Graubünden, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug and Zürich).

Across countries, different NUTS levels are involved (as specified in Section 1.2).

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Figure 1. The area covered by the EUSALP strategy in relation to other alpine cooperation programmes

Source: European Commission (2015).

This area is characterised by particular features, making it a unique territory with high potentials and enjoys levels of economic development, environmental sustainability and social cohesion above the European average (European Economic and Social Committee, 2015). It covers a surface area of about 40,000 square kilometres in the heart of Europe, where about 70 million people live and work and where important metropolitan areas of medium size are situated. It is also characterised by high quality life and political stability.

However, the presence of the Alps requires concerted actions among the participating countries, which show differences within their territories, in order to face common economic, social and environmental challenges. Indeed, the territory appears unbalanced:

besides areas, characterised by intense urbanisation, there are others which have to face specific challenges in terms of low population density and poor accessibility to services, notably in the rural and mountain areas. The area is therefore affected by demographic trends due to population ageing and new immigration patterns, but also by climate change with its effects on the environment and biodiversity.

The actions supported by the EUSALP strategy are based therefore on three main pillars (EUSALP, n.d.):

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1. Economic growth and innovation, supporting a fair access to job opportunities and enhancing the competitiveness of the region;

2. Mobility and connectivity, ensuring sustainable accessibility and connectivity to all inhabitants;

3. Environment and energy, making this region ecologically sustainable and attractive.

Each of these policy targets are then concretised by three thematic objectives and nine action groups that implement specific measures. Next to these main priorities, there is also a cross-cutting policy area which aims to create a macro-regional model based on cooperation and coordination.

2.1.2. The governance and the implementation of the EUSALP strategy

The EUSALP governance model is shaped by the Milan Declaration of the Alpine States and Regions, adopted in the occasion of the EUSALP Stakeholder Conference in Milan on 1 December 2014. The aim is to coordinate actions among all institutions, involving the European Commission, the European Council, local authorities, organisations, including the non-governmental ones, research centres, in order to collaborate for the achievement of the objectives of the strategy.

The governance is based upon three main authorities (EUSALP, 2014):

1. the General Assembly, which is in charge to lay down the guideline of the strategy and which brings together the representatives of the States and regions and the representatives of the Alpine Convention and the Alpine Space programme, which act as observers;

2. the Executive Board, which gathers the representatives from the States and the regions, those of the European Commission, the Alpine Convention and the Alpine Space programme as observers and it is responsible for “overseeing the implementation of the EUSALP Action Plan”;

3. the Action Groups, representing the core of the implementation projects.

Moreover, in order to ensure a balanced coordination, a rotating presidency is set up. This political leadership is in charge to ensure the global orientation of the strategy and to

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provide political and operational links among all the participating members. The first presidency in 2016 was attributed to Slovenia, the actual one is held by Bavaria.

As far as the implementation of the strategy is concerned, the principle of “three no’s” is applied, in line with the provisions which regulate all the macro-regional strategies (European Commission, 2015). In this regard, the Grenoble Resolution (EUSALP, 2013) reiterates the provision:

• no new EU legislation,

• no new EU funding

• no additional legislation.

The strategy is financially supported through programmes under the European Structural and Investment Funds or other financial instruments.

From an administrative point of view, the strategy is implemented at national level only in two cases, for Slovenia and Liechtenstein; in all other cases it is applied at regional level. However, when we refer to regional structures, some differences occurred, as the countries involved in the strategy present different administrative systems. Thus, the classification according the NUTS³levels (Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) is applied. At regional level, the strategy is therefore handled following this classification:

NUTS 1 in the case of German Länder, NUTS 2 for Austria (Länder), France (Régions) and Italy (Regioni and Province Autonome) and NUTS 3 in the case of Switzerland (Cantons).

3 The NUTS classification provides a breakdown of the European territory for statistical purposes.

Established in 1988, it identifies territorial units for regional statistics production and for implementing political actions. The main objective of this classification is to provide a uniform geographical scheme and harmonised data. Besides a national level, which corresponds to the NUTS 0, the classification is composed of three hierarchical levels, which are identified on the basis of the size of the population, resident in each area. NUTS 1 comprises territories with a population between 3 and 7 million; NUTS 2 gathers a population between 800,000 and 3 million people; NUTS 3 includes territories with a population between 150,000 and 800,000 inhabitants. (Eurostat, 2015)

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9 2.2. The MORE-Alps project

Within the EUSALP strategy and in line with the goals shared by the Action Group 1⁴, the cooperative work between CAPP-UNIMORE (Research Centre for the Analysis of Public Policies), the Department of Economics Marco Biagi and the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Studies of Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia has led to the development of the MORE-Alps project.

The aim of the project is to provide a comprehensive framework of the countries and the regions involved in the strategy, in terms of social, administrative and economic features and existing differences. Moreover, it focuses on the analysis of the policies aimed at developing the alpine area, above all in the sector of innovation.

In this regard, the collaboration with students of the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Studies, having skills in at least one of the official language of the EUSALP area, proved to be important, as the main official documents were issued in the official language of the participating members. Thus, the knowledge of one language, among Italian, French and German, has been essential, in order to provide information about regional policies, collect data and analyse official documents. At the end, any communication within the research group has been conducted in English.

The project has developed starting from preliminary lectures on EU institutions, EU policies, concerning especially macro-regional actions, the administrative systems of the countries and regions involved, in order to provide a general framework of the alpine area in question.

Each student has been entrusted with the task to provide information on a given country or region, according to the language studied. Retrieving textual and quantitative data has represented the empirical part of the research. The collection and the analysis of original policy documents, properly shared within the research group in order to compare them with the other results, have been conducted at European, national and regional level.

4 The Action Group 1 belongs to the first thematic objective of the EUSALP strategy, namely “Economic growth and innovation”. It focuses on the development of an “effective research and innovation ecosystem”

in the Alpine region. (EUSALP, 2016)

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Indeed, the activity of the research was focused on the analysis of European policies, European funds allocated to the Members, in order to implement their national and regional development, regional policies with an interest on R&D and innovation.

The analysis of the operational programmes has represented the core point of the research, as this document provides the strategic objectives to be implemented by the countries and the regions in order to achieve territorial development.

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3. A descriptive overview of the region Rhône-Alpes

3.1. The administrative system in France

3.1.1. Historical insights

Within the research framework of the present work, it has been important to define the administrative system of the countries involved in the EUSALP strategy, as starting point to understand the main topics and the main economic, institutional and financial features, which are going to be progressively developed hereafter.

Thus, with the aim of further analysing the main socioeconomic characteristics of the region Rhône-Alpes, it is appropriate to briefly reconstruct the complicated administrative framework of France, considering the profound territorial changes that have affected the French regions in recent years.

From an administrative point of view, it is widely accepted that France has historically been the main point of reference for European continental constitutionalism (Bardusco, 2015). As it is well known, the French Revolution constitutes one of the cornerstones in the evolution of the form of the State, concerning mainly the transition from the absolute monarchy to the liberal system.

Moreover, France has always been regarded as the cradle of state centralisation. Indeed, in a European context strongly characterized by the recognition and valorisation of local governments (Perno in Morelli and Trucco, 2015), France is certainly one of the systems which struggles most to separate itself from its centuries-old tradition of a centralised and unitary State.

The first article of the French Constitution, currently in force, identifies indivisibility as the first and most important characteristic of the French Republic, referring itself to the three components of the State: sovereignty, territory and people.

However, the Constitution of the Fifth Republic recognises some French territorial authorities, known in French as collectivités territoriales (hereinafter referred as local authorities): Communes, Départments and Départments et territoires d’outre-mer (municipalities, departments and overseas departments and territories). Since the 1980s,

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these local authorities have progressively acquired a central role in the fields of urbanism, environment, culture, social affairs, education and local economic development. Thus, they have moved from being merely components of the administrative organisation to important bodies with specific competences (Bardusco, 2015).

The French territory comprises more than 36,000 municipalities, which are very heterogenous in terms of size and population. They are responsible for the management of municipal territory, the administration of public services and the master plans.

At a secondary level, we can find the departments, currently 101 in both metropolitan France and overseas territories, with various competences in social and infrastructural matters.

Lastly, it is interesting to highlight that according to Art. 72, other territorial entities can be created by law: consequently, in 1982 Regions have been created as territorial authorities, endowed with non-marginal powers and administered by elected councils (Scagliarini, 2017).

In 2003, a major constitutional reform, concerning the organisation of the territory, was approved. In addition to the extension of the autonomy to all local authorities, it provides for recognition of the regions and the principle of subsidiarity.

With this reform, Art. 1 of the Constitution has been amended, adding the sentence stating that the organisation of the State shall be decentralised.

« La France est une République indivisible, laïque, démocratique et sociale. […] Son organisation est décentralisée.⁵»

3.1.2. The process of decentralisation in France: The Third Act

According to the first article of the French Constitution states, France is a decentralised republic. Started in 1982, the process of decentralisation has taken place through several

5 “France is an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. […] Its organisation is decentralised.”

(Translated by the author)

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laws, transferring during the years more and more power and autonomy to local authorities.

The last set of laws and reforms are included in the so-called Acte III de la décentralisation (The Third Act of Decentralisation), adopted from 2013 under the presidency of François Hollande. It refers to the organisation of the different levels of local governments, to their interactions and their competences. The main objective of this process can be presented as a way to improve the competitiveness of French agglomerations and to give the regions a sufficient and important weight, thus building a territorial organisation around a strategic economic centre, representing by regions and departments, and a community centre (centre de proximité), which offers local services thanks to the creation of inter-communalities. In other words, and quoting the Secretary of State for the territorial reform André Vallini, the Third Act of decentralisation aims at separating roles and powers: the economy to the regions, solidarity to the departments and local public services to the inter-communalities (« Aux régions, l’économie ; aux départements, la solidarité ; au bloc communal, les services publics de proximité ») (Carroué, 2017).

Otherwise stated, this series of laws and reforms concerns and applies to three main levels: inter-communalities, departments and regions.

As already mentioned, France has about 36,000 communes, which are grouped in inter- communal bodies. However, these inter-communalities present a different-size and a different availability of resources used to support major projects. The reform aimed at amplifying the process of integration of communes in order to create a common scale among inter-communal groups. Each of them shall have to gather at least 15,000 inhabitants, compared to the 5,000 today, with a special adjustment for mountain areas and sparsely populated areas (Gouvernement.fr, 2014).

As far as the departments are concerned, the Conseils généraux (General Councils) were initially obliged to disappear, as a result of the creation of larger regions and the strengthening of inter-communal cooperation. The government then changed course, by introducing three main scenarios for departments:

• in presence of a metropolis, the merger with the metropolitan territory;

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• the merger with a group of inter-communalities, if strong and of a sufficient mass;

• the continued existence of the department with simplified competences.

Finally, as far as regions are concerned, the objective was to reduce its number and strengthen their weight, particularly in terms of economic development.

Under the third decentralisation process, the government has adopted three important laws (Direction de l’information légale et administrative, 2016), applying the aforementioned objectives:

1. The law concerning the modernisation of territorial public action and the assertion of metropolis (also known as Loi MAPTAM) of 27 January 2014;

2. The law concerning the delimitation of regions, the regional and departmental elections and amending the electoral calendar of 16 January 2015;

3. The law regarding the new organisation of the territory of the Republic (also known as Loi NOTRe) of 7 August 2015.

3.1.3. New regions and new competences

Focusing on the role and on the importance of regions in the French administrative system, the law of 16 January 2015, which provides a new territorial division, supported by the Loi NOTRe of 7 August 2015, which foresees the divisions of powers following this new territorial scheme, gives the regions greater weight in relation to the European ones and it aims to improve territorial governance, efficiency and effectiveness of public policies implemented in the territories. The regions will be able therefore to construct territorial strategies and offer skills and tools to support economic growth.

The law, with effect on 1 January 2016, changes therefore the wording of Article L4111- 1 of the Code général des collectivités territoriales, containing laws and regulations relating to regional and local authorities, and it redefines the French map, reducing the number of regions from 22 down to 13. Thus, excluding the provisions applicable to the overseas regions and to the territory of Corsica, the new regions of France are: Alsace- Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes, Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Bretagne, Centre, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-

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Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées, Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, Normandie, Pays de la Loire, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Map of the new organisation of regions

Source: Gouvernment.fr available at www.gouvernement.fr

As far as competences are concerned, regions may intervene around three main areas.

Firstly, regions may intervene on training. Since the first decentralisation laws, regions have been involved in the construction, maintenance and functioning of general, vocational and agricultural secondary schools (Carroué, 2017). In the field of higher education, the recent laws have reinforced and strengthened the role of the regions, recognizing them as privileged interlocutor of the State and as the leader of local policies.

In this way, regions can develop regional strategies for higher education, research and innovation (Schéma régional de l'enseignement supérieur, de la recherche et de l'innovation – SRESRI) in order to better coordinate their actions on the territories and to be closely linked to the economic development strategies (Schéma régional de développement économique, d'innovation et d'internationalisation – SRDEII).

Regions intervene also in the field of vocational training, apprenticeship and lifelong learning and they are entrusted with the training of both young people and adults and jobseekers.

Secondly, French regions are responsible for policies concerning economic and territorial development. In this regard, they have to prepare a regional scheme for economic

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development, innovation and internationalization (SRDEII), which defines the guidelines for supporting enterprises and SMEs and the orientations concerning the attractiveness of the regional territory. Each region has also to present a regional plan for sustainable development and territorial equality (SRADDET), which sets out the objectives in terms of equilibrium and equality of territories. It also lays out the targets for controlling energy, combating climate change and air pollution and sustaining biodiversity (Mergy, n.d.).

Thirdly, regions are in charge of managing regional infrastructures and transports. They are indeed the organizing authorities for transport and they may be able to invest to acquire new modern trains and to modernise the transport networks (Direction de l’information légale et administrative, 2016a). The competences in terms of intercity transport and school transport have been transferred from the departments to regions, too.

However, delegation of their responsibility to the departments in the field of school transport may occur.

The regions play also an important role at the European level, as they are the managing authorities of some European Funds: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EARDF) and part of the European Social Fund (ESF), writing and implementing regional operational programmes.

3.2. The new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

On 1 January 2016, a new regional group has been formed, merging the territories of the former regions Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. It is situated in the Centre-East of France and it is conform to the NUTS 1 Region FR7.

By its size, its demographical weight and economic power, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is becoming one of the very first regions in Europe, more populated than 13 of the 28 countries in the European Union. Covering an area of 69,711 km², which corresponds with about 13% of the metropolitan territory, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the second region with the largest population in France with its 7,874,586 inhabitants, gathering 12% of the total French population.

It is characterized by a greater degree of urbanisation then the French average. The urban concentrations are situated in the basins of the capital city Lyon and Saint-Etienne and

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along the major axes of communication. The alpine corridor, the Clermont-Ferrand area and the Rhone valley are also densely populated. However, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes remains a region marked by strong disparities: being one of the main mountain region in France and in Europe, it combines vast high density urban territories with rural and mountain areas with little and very little density, mainly in the regional part of the Massif Central (Oger, Roussel, and Depil, 2015).

From an economic point of view, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes establishes itself as one of the strongest economies in France. With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of nearly EUR 240 billion (Insee, 2013), it is second only after Ile-de-France and it ranks 8^th among the European regions. Together with Baden-Württemberg (Germany), Catalonia (Spain) and Lombardy (Italy), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes takes part to the long-lasting cooperation

“Four Motors for Europe”⁶ (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 2016), regrouping the four highly industrialized regions in Europe.

Thus, this large region represents 11.4% of the national wealth and its GDP is higher than that of Portugal, Finland or Greece.

Its economy is mainly based on industry and the tertiary sector. While agriculture and the primary sector is in decline, the industrial base is very solid, notably in innovative sectors such as metallurgy, electronics, IT, plastics, chemistry, textile. Metropolitan functions (research, management, culture, public services) have developed considerably in the last years, as well as residential activities, namely those which are aimed directly at the resident population (education, community services, health, social work).

Tourism plays also an important role in terms of economic activities. According to the Comité régional du tourisme (Regional Committee of Tourism), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

6 The “Four Motors for Europe” is a long-lasting, interregional association composing of four highly industrialised regions in Europe: Lombardy in Italy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France, Baden- Württemberg in Germany and Catalonia in Spain. The Agreement was signed in 1988 with the aim to establish a strong cooperation between the four most dynamic economic regions of Europe in order to boost strengths and growth. Sharing some similarities, such as a GDP higher than the European average or an orientation towards innovation, the four Motors work for the promotion of socioeconomic, scientific, cultural and competitive development of the territories (Four Motors for Europe, n.d.) .

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is one of the most attractive regions in France, placing itself in the third position in terms of top destination chosen by both French and foreign customers.

Open to international markets, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes exports its production throughout the world. In 2015, the region exported 56 billion euros of products, about 12% of the national exports (Douanes, 2015). The key industrial sectors, like metallurgy, chemistry, plastics, electronic, play an important role in the international market, even if the region concentrates much more attention to the production than it exports. Exports are higher in electronics manufacturing, thanks to the presence of international companies on the territory such as STMicroelectronics, Schneider Electric, Somfy, Sagem. Export destinations remain mainly linked to the European countries: Germany is the main commercial partner with 15% of exports (Douanes, 2015). The United State represent the second trade area with region after the European Union with 7% of exports.

In other words, the merger after the law concerning the delimitation of French region gives more strength to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in all economic, social, cultural and administrative sectors.

3.3. Rhône-Alpes

For the purposes of the present work, it is appropriate to focus the attention on the former administrative entity Rhône-Alpes, being the region involved in the EU-strategy for the Alpine area (EUSALP).

Given the above-mentioned characteristics, the previous regions Auvergne and Rhône- Alpes present very significant disparities, not only from a territorial point of view, but also in terms of GDP and economic development. Rhône-Alpes is remarkably bigger than Auvergne and its economic and demographic weight represents respectively 85% and 83% of the NUTS 1 level. In other words, Rhône-Alpes is the biggest player in the whole new region.

Located in the East of France, Rhône-Alpes is made up of eight departments: Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie and Haute-Savoie. Since 2015, the city of Lyon gained the statute of Metropolis. It has benefit from a strategic central position among other European regions, bordering highly industrialised regions and countries, such as Northern Italy and Switzerland, and it takes advantage from the conformation and

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the human structure of the territory, promoting and adapting them to economic activities.

Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne, three of France’s largest cities, form a triangle which represent the economic core of the region.

Figure 3 shows in detail the map of the region, taking into consideration its division into departments and its main cities.

Figure 3. Map of the Rhône-Alpes region with departments

Source: Elaboration on Gouvernment.fr available at www.gouvernement.fr

3.3.1. Demography

Always taking in consideration the administrative division of the French territory before the law of 16 January 2015, concerning the redefinition of the map of France, and the Loi NOTRe, Rhône-Alpes is the second region, after Ile-de-France, in terms of population.

On a surface area of 43,698 km², the region hosts about 10% of the French population with its 6,574,708 inhabitants (Insee, 2016).

The average population density is 149.8 inhabitants per km², quite over the value of metropolitan France or the European Union (about 117 inhabitants per km²) and much lower than that of large European regions of comparable population such as Catalonia (234 inhabitants per km²).

According to Eurostat data, Rhône-Alpes has experienced a demographic growth of 5.52% from 2010 to 2016, which is equal to an annualised growth rate of about 0.8%

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(Figure 4). In Rhône-Alpes population growth has been significantly higher than in the rest of metropolitan France (total population in France has increased of 3.25% from 2010 to 2016).

Figure 4. Population, variation 2010-2016 (%).

Source: Elaboration on Eurostat (2016) data

This demographic increase concerns almost the whole region: between 2010 and 2016, population increases in each of the eight departments. Furthermore, Rhône-Alpes is one of the few regions in France where growth is balanced by the two population drivers, namely a natural increase and a positive net migration (Insee, Brouillet, 2014).

Growth due to natural balance is higher than the French average thanks to higher fertility rates, younger population and a higher life expectancy than at national level. Haute- Savoie and Ain are the departments where natural increase is more favourable with respectively +1.4% and +1.3%, recorded between 2007 and 2012 (Insee, 2012), ranking, therefore, among the most dynamic departments in metropolitan France. In addition to a sustained natural increase, Rhône-Alpes experiences a particularly high migration rate.

The annual migratory surplus (25,403 in 2012) contributes to a population increase of +3%, fuelled by arrivals well above departures.

The metropolis of Lyon is the main engine of regional demographic growth, in terms of both natural and migration increase: half of population resided there in 2012 (Insee,

-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

France Île de France Champagne-Ardenne Picardie Haute-Normandie Centre (FR) Basse-Normandie Bourgogne Nord Lorraine Alsace Franche-Comté Pays de la Loire Bretagne Poitou-Charentes Aquitaine Midi-Pyrénées Limousin Rhône-Alpes Auvergne Languedoc-Roussillon Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Corse

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Brouillet, 2014). On the other hand, births do not compensate deaths in the mountain and rural areas of Ardèche or Drôme, which are strongly marked by the aging population.

The increase of population derived from immigration may be explained in terms of attractiveness of the region.

According to the Census of 2012, Rhône-Alpes is destination of 614,341 immigrants, representing 9.7% of the total regional population, a higher share than that of Metropolitan France. The largest part of immigrants resides predominantly in large urban areas, Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne for instance, combining thus the possibility of finding employment and housing. As a result, immigrants are more present in highly urbanised departments such as Rhone or Isère. Differently, Ardèche and Drôme, characterised by fewer urban areas, are the two departments with the lowest share of immigrants (Insee, 2016). Other factors may explain these territorial imbalances: acting as boarder regions, Ain and Haute-Savoie have a high proportion of immigrant flows, coming from Switzerland and Italy, attracted by strong economic and employment factors (Insee, Reynaud, and Gilbert, 2016).

Indeed, immigrants from the European Union still form the largest group of people who move to Rhône-Alpes because of the high share of employment: Italy and Portugal are the most represented countries of origin of the European Union, as geographical proximity has a strong influence in movements of people. Along with it, flows from Africa represent the main contribution to the increase of net migration, mainly from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (Figure 5).

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Figure 5. Immigrants to Rhone-Alpes, country of origin.

Source: Insee (2012) data

Notwithstanding its level of industrialisation and development, Rhône-Alpes is a region marked by strong disparities in terms of demography, and thus of territorial strength. It combines vast urban concentrations characterized by high population density with mountain and rural areas which are sparsely populated (Figure 6).

The Lyon conurbation extends its influence over a very broad perimeter along the main communication axes, making it one of the largest population pool of France. A continuum of densely populated cities and towns extends over all the valleys of the Rhone and Saône until Chambéry. Analogously, the cities of Saint-Etienne and Grenoble represent an important demographic basin, which concentrates and attracts a large share of total regional population.

The high concentrations in metropolitan areas contrast with the low densities of rural and alpine spaces, such as the department of Drôme and the Western part of Ardèche. Because of the unfavourable conformation of the territory, the most of population is concentrated in the urbanised parts located at the bottom of the valley.

61,269 58,843

107,911

614,341

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Portugal Italy Spain Other countries of EU28 Other European countries Algeria Morocco Tunisia Other African countries Turkey Other countries Total

Thousand

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Figure 6. Urban population and density of municipalities in 2012.

Source: Insee (2012) data

Considering a more comprehensive approach, it may be possible to analyse the territory of Rhône-Alpes adopting the urban-rural typology divide⁷, providing by the European Union on the basis of the OECD methodology and contributing thus to a deeper study of the differences among the region.

Applied to NUTS level 3, regions may be classified into three main groups:

1. Predominantly urban region (PU): the rural population accounts for less than 20%

of the total population.

2. Intermediate region (IN): the rural population accounts for a share between 20%

and 50% of the total population.

7 The methodology used to define the urban-rural divide is based on the calculation of the share of regional population living in rural grid cells and urban clusters. The urban clusters are composed of contiguous grid cells of 1 km² with a minimum population density of 300 inhabitants per km²and a population of at least 5000 inhabitants. All the cells outside the urban clusters are considered as rural. In this classification the presence of cities is also taken into account, considering the size id the urban centres. A predominantly rural region with an urban centre of more than 200,000 inhabitants becomes intermediate; an intermediate region with an urban centre with more than 500,000 inhabitants becomes predominantly urban. (Eurostat, 2017)

Region Department Motorways

Density degree

High density municipalities Intermediate density municipalities Low density municipalities Very low-density municipalities

Urban population (above 10,000 inhabitants)

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3. Predominantly rural region (PR): the rural population accounts for 50% or more of the total population.

Thus, according to this classification Rhône-Alpes does not appear an urban region.

Among its eight departments, only one, Rhône, is classified as predominantly urban, taking advantage from the presence of the regional capital city Lyon. Drôme, Isère, Loire and Haute-Savoie are considered intermediate departments, as they host some important cities and urban agglomerations, such as Grenoble (in Isère) and Saint-Etienne (in Loire).

Ain, Ardèche and Savoie are the most rural departments in the region (Table 1).

Table 1. Urban-rural typology in Rhône-Alpes / NUTS3 classification.

NUTS 3 CODE DEPARTMENT URBAN-RURAL

TYPOLOGY

FR711 Ain PR

FR712 Ardèche PR

FR713 Drôme IN

FR714 Isère IN

FR715 Loire IN

FR716 Rhône PU

FR717 Savoie PR

FR718 Haute-Savoie IN

Source: Eurostat (2010) data

3.3.2. Economy

Being the second French region in terms of geographical size and population, Rhône- Alpes is also the second region as concerns GDP and creation of wealth. Evaluated at EUR 213,603 million in 2015 (Insee, 2017), it is second only to Ile-de-France (Figure 7).

Accounting for about 10% of the national GDP, Rhône-Alpes is thus its second most contributor (Ile-de-France accounts for 30.4%).

Between 2010 and 2015, it has experienced an increase of 11.44%.

MORE-Alps project: The analysis of European and regional policies in Rhône-Alpes. Strategies for enhancing innovation.

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia D

CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE IN

L ANGUAGES FOR C OMMUNICATION IN I NTERNATIONAL

E NTERPRISES AND O RGANIZATIONS

MORE-Alps project: The analysis of European and regional policies in Rhône-Alpes. Strategies for enhancing

innovation.

Progetto MORE-Alps: Analisi delle politiche europee e regionali in Rhône-Alpes. Strategie per accrescere

l'innovazione.

Prova finale di:

Chiara Miliucci Relatore:

Francesco Pagliacci

Correlatore

Margherita Russo

Anno Accademico 2016-2017

ABSTRACTS

MORE-Alps project: The analysis of European and regional policies in Rhône-Alpes. Strategies for enhancing innovation.

Table of contents

List of figures

List of tables

1. Introduction

2. The EUSALP strategy and the MORE-Alps project

3. A descriptive overview of the region Rhône-Alpes