The gap in the innovation potential of the regions has widened. As many as 9 voivodeships have moved further away from the leader, the Masovian Voivodeship. Disparities between the others have also increased, and there have been changes at the top of the index – according to this year’s edition of the “Millennium Index – Regional Innovation Potential” study.
“Millennium Index – Regional Innovation Potential” is an annual study by Bank Millennium, which ranks voivodeships according to their innovation potential. Regions are evaluated based on the following criteria: labor productivity, value-added rate, research and development expenditures, post-secondary education, the number of people working in the research and development sector, and the number of patents issued. This year’s edition of the study showed an increase in disparities between individual regions compared to the previous year.
– Among the voivodeships with the greatest innovation potential were: the Masovian Voivodeship in first place, the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in second, and the Pomeranian Voivodeship in third – says Grzegorz Maliszewski, Chief Economist at Bank Millennium.
As the expert points out, the advancement of the Pomeranian Voivodeship was one of the biggest surprises of this year’s results. In previous years, it remained in fourth position, right after Masovian, Lesser Poland, and Lower Silesian. The change in ranking is mainly the result of consistently developed scientific and research activity, which is visible in the increase in R&D expenditures and R&D personnel, as well as the number of patents obtained.
– Among the interesting conclusions of this year’s edition of the study, it is worth noting the clear advancement of the Opole Voivodeship, which jumped up by three positions, as well as the Łódź Voivodeship, which improved its ranking by two positions – adds Maliszewski.
Both regions have significantly increased expenditures on research and development activities, and consequently, have also improved their position in the category of patents obtained. Additionally, the Łódź Voivodeship clearly advanced in the “value added” category, returning to the leader’s position after falling to eleventh place in last year’s edition of the study.
The first two places in the ranking remained unchanged – these are the Masovian and Lesser Poland voivodeships. Strong urban agglomerations – Warsaw and Krakow, with an extensive scientific base and developed business, allow for a synergy effect in the form of the development of the innovative services and industry sector.
As in previous years, the Świętokrzyskie, Warmian-Masurian, and Lubusz voivodeships were at the bottom of the list. The lower position in the ranking results from the relatively low industrialization of these regions and the small development of the service sector and educational infrastructure.
– Innovation is very important in the context of long-term economic growth and building an economic growth model. Until now, the main advantage of the Polish economy was low labor costs. Now, if Poles want to get richer, they must compete on quality. In order to improve quality, we should increase spending on innovation to produce more technologically advanced goods. This will allow the economy, and Poles, to get richer and earn higher wages – concludes Grzegorz Maliszewski.