ROM’s Contribute 80 Million Euros a Year to Mission-Driven Innovation Policy

Annually, the Regional Development Societies (ROMs) create thousands of new jobs and invest billions in the regional economy. By innovating, investing and internationalising, the ROMs are the regional drivers of innovation and competitiveness. By signing the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant, the ROMs are joining forces to bring the mission-driven innovation policy to the market more quickly. Together, they invest 80 million euros a year in the development and financing of innovative businesses and projects.

LIOF, Oost NL, NOM, Impuls Zeeland, InnovationQuarter, Horizon Flevoland and the BOM have the ambition to come, on a short term, to a top-5 of propositions which are important for the economic future of the Netherlands. The ROM’s are going to play an active role in the valorisation and marketing of business ideas by entrepreneurs under the guise of ‘knowledge to skills to cash’. In this way, knowledge is converted to new products and services and there arise enterprises which contribute to successful missions as well as to a strong economy. This requires an intensification of joint programming by governments (central government, provinces, ROMs), the business community and knowledge institutions that has been set in motion by the Knowledge- and Innovation Agendas (KIA).

Knowledge- and Innovation Covenant

The Knowledge- and Innovation Convenant means that businesses, knowledge institutions and governments between 2020 and 2023 jointly invest 4,9 billion euros in 4 innovation themes: Energy transition and Sustainability, Agriculture, Water and Food, Health and Healthcare and Security. For each of the themes the Cabinet Rutte III has established missions. Besides that, the further development of key technologies (such as photonics, AI, nano-, quantum- and biotechnology), which support, enable or even drive forward innovation in these themes, is of great importance.

More info in Dutch here.

More information about the Knowledge and Innovation Convenant.