Czechia boasts hundreds of science and technology parks, innovation centres and incubators. But the impressive number – over 300 facilities – dangerously masks the reality. Analyses show that most of them do not work effectively and that our innovation infrastructure lags behind the developed world in terms of quality. The current state, benefits and necessary measures were discussed by participants of the conference Innovation Infrastructures – The Role of Supporting Organisations for the Establishment of Innovative Business, organised by the CzechInvest agency.

In Czechia, since the 1990s, considerable resources have been invested in building innovation infrastructure. Today, however, it appears that quantity has triumphed over quality. Many centres function more as office landlords than as real hatcheries of innovation. What is missing is top-notch advice, help with internationalisation or connections to investors. According to René Samek, Director of the Investment and Foreign Activities Division of CzechInvest, this situation is critical for the country’s future. A sufficient capital and technological base is not just an economic indicator, but a fundamental pillar of a modern, civilised society and its prosperity.”

It is the quality of the regional environment that determines to a large extent how Czech companies will fare in the world. Viktor Květoň from the Faculty of Science of Charles University adds: “The correlation between the maturity of the regional innovation system and the position of firms in global value chains is crucial. The path to higher added value, wage growth and overall productivity of our economy is through the cultivation of the regional environment. Top companies require a mature innovation base that will enable them to leave their position as cheap suppliers and move up to the level of global leaders.”

The biggest shortcoming of the Czech network is the lack of dedicated space. While offices are plentiful, there is a dramatic lack of facilities for biotechnology, AI or advanced industries – fields that cannot be developed “in a coffee shop”.

Regions need accurate data, not one-size-fits-all solutions

Another problem is regional imbalance. While Prague and the South Moravian Region have a strong ecosystem, the Karlovy Vary Region or Vysočina lag behind. To ensure that support is not just formal, it needs to be based on the reality of the place. “The absolutely necessary basis for any infrastructure planning is consistent monitoring and perfect knowledge of the territory. We need to understand what stage the region is in, what companies are operating there and what their visions and ambitions are,” emphasised Viktor Květoň.

Let us also recall Professor Phil Cook’s theory that the success of a company, university or research organisation is not only determined by its internal resources and capabilities, but also fundamentally by the quality and the quality and functionality of its environment. This ecosystem is key to the ability to respond to global challenges such as the energy transition or climate change.

Systemic measures and new tools

If the Czech Republic is to move into the imaginary first innovation league, it needs to move away from a “building on building” approach and focus on the quality of the innovation ecosystem, which is made up of intensive cooperation between key actors (the Quadruple Helix – universities, business, government and civil society). This means focusing on people, leaders and quality:

1. Specialisation and Living Labs: Instead of generic parks, we need to build thematic hubs for critical technologies (AI, batteries, biotech, etc.). Living Labs are also key, where companies can test their innovations in real life and where specific societal challenges are addressed. An example is the Vienna Climate Lab, where the community focuses on projects with a high societal impact.
2. Supporting small innovators: Massive support for a network of open workshops, up to 50 Fab Labs, is essential to make technology more accessible to the general public, especially in areas with prefabricated housing where people do not have their own technical facilities.
3. Strengthening universities: There is a need to ensure that Technology Transfer Centres in universities are respected and valued partners for researchers, who will be more willing to transfer their discoveries to the commercial sphere.

The government is now preparing new measures to provide systemic funding and mapping of laboratories and testing facilities. A key pillar of these changes is the legislative introduction of the term ‘Test and Experimentation Infrastructure’ (TEI). The future of funding for these activities will be reoriented towards the European STEP platform for the development of critical technologies.

CzechInvest as a guide

In this dynamic ecosystem of innovation infrastructures, CzechInvest wants to be a key partner. Its ambition is to act as a central point for advice, data and analysis, as well as providing contacts to partners, thus greatly facilitating orientation in the entire innovation environment. For this reason, the Agency has a long-standing focus on so-called inostructures and has implemented a number of concrete steps based on feedback from the regions, notably the creation of the Technology Incubation Programme and a network of collaborating vetted inostructures. The Agency has also established a communication platform of business and innovation centres PIPI and initiated the establishment of the Czech Living Labs Platform CZELLAP. In parallel, CzechInvest mapped and analysed the actual state of Czech infrastructures and their involvement in the RIS3 strategy, which was followed up with concrete recommendations for improving the current state. An important part of the activity is also close cooperation with the association of open workshops, regional innovation centres and the Transfera.cz association, including support for Transfera Technology Days. The Agency actively seeks to establish an association of hubs and co-working spaces, negotiates with ministries on definitions of support and organises field study trips to successful foreign science and technology parks, incubators or living labs, whose good practice is then shared in the Czech environment.

Conclusion

The current state of innovation infrastructure in Czechia is at a crossroads where it has to cope with modern foreign trends. The goal must be a radical transformation: stop boasting about the formal number and start building a few, but cutting-edge and internationally competitive centres that will really pull the Czech economy forward. The success of innovation infrastructure does not depend on a square metre of concrete, but on the quality of leaders, the degree of cooperation and the courage to specialise in globally sought-after fields. It is a strategic necessity – without which we will not move from the role of a subcontractor to a leader in innovation.

“The conference clearly identified what Czech innovation infrastructures lack, where their strengths lie and where untapped potential lies. The key finding is that all stakeholders agree on the need to actively address the situation. The way to remedy this is clear: it requires increased communication and coordination, both between infrastructures and with the state. We need to cooperate more, share services, facilities and activities, and more consistently adopt best practices from home and abroad,” concluded Jakub Hruška, the main organiser of the conference.

Thank you to everyone who contributed with their contributions: