Interview with Daniel Moragues, director general of the Impiva
January 19, 2009
Tell us a little about Impiva, how was created and why, goals, etc.
The creation of the Impiva is part of the process of institutional settings of Valencia which began in 1982 with the adoption of the Statute (d) ' autonomy. Valencia assumed responsibilities in areas such as industry or economic promotion and needed to give itself the means to develop and manage their policies in this regard.
On the other hand, small and medium-sized enterprises were, and remain, the basis of the production system and it was therefore logical that the Government had a specific instrument for set up performances focused on SMEs at a time that was also difficult from the point of view of the economic situation.
In this context was created Impiva and its objective, according to the own Impiva Act, is to promote and implement the policy of the Generalitat in relation to the small and medium industrial enterprises, aiming to the promotion of innovation. This objective is specified by the Valencian Government and, more specifically by the Ministry of industry, trade and innovation. Thus, for example, in this parliamentary term Impiva performance focuses on three main pillars: support for r & d in enterprises, the development of the actions proposed by the different sectors in their respective plans for competitiveness, and the strengthening of the network of technological institutes.
The support they give is to help companies to differentiate their products with greater added value, why is so important at the moment?
The companies in almost all sectors, face a continuous transformation due to the new and greater demands of the market. Continuously produce technological breakthroughs that open new possibilities for innovation and increasingly there are more competitors who apply these advances and offered in the market new solutions that, if they are better or cheaper, will enable them to gain market share.
At the same time, have entered with force in the world market countries like China which until recently were not present in it. These countries have the capacity to produce cost very low the same products that already existed before in the market and therefore move to the companies that manufactured them, unless they opt for the relocation to these countries in order to benefit from the same advantages. In any case, the effect is that the manufacture of products with low value added in countries that have high production costs (wages, social protection, by standards of environmental quality, etc.) is unworkable, and only those products that apply a price to compensate the increased costs and they are not easily replicable short term are likely to keep their production in the advanced countries.
Projects that provide at what stage in the production process are framed? (design, producción…).
As regards programmes for enterprises, supported by the Impiva focuses on research and technological development activities and innovation Cheque. On the other hand, intermediate bodies, enterprises can participate on a pooled basis in actions such as the foresight of opportunities for innovation, new product design and the obtaining of certifications of quality or environmental protection, the creation of commercial platforms and on-line services, the creation of networks of cooperation, training, participation in actions of development of markets, etc. In all these cases, the intermediate agency that coordinates the project may have covered up the full costs and, in some actions, the companies may also receive partial support.
Therefore, all stages ranging from the search for an opportunity to market unless the product is ready to pass into the hands of the consumer are served in some way by the Impiva programmes. Simplifying, we could say that r & d and support to design programmes mainly cover aspects of innovation in product and processes, and actions coordinated by intermediate agencies cover the aspects of organizational innovation and generate knowledge that can be transferred to the entire sector.
What other projects do they support?
Impiva has also given support to projects of organisational innovation as the 58 projects requested through the Innoempresa programme or 40 projects of recruitment of advanced services that have been supported through the programme of the innovation Cheque.
On the other hand, we have supported Aimplas and Itene projects to improve its infrastructure to carry out r & d, transfer of technology and innovation promotion actions.
