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Pipelines for New Chemicals : a strategy to create new value chains and stimulate innovation‐based economic revival in S outhern E uropean countries
Author(s) -
Timmis Kenneth,
Lorenzo Victor,
Verstraete Willy,
Garcia Jose Luis,
Ramos Juan Luis,
Santos Helena,
Economidis Ioannis,
Nogales Balbina,
Timmis James Kenneth,
Fonseca César,
Pruzzo Carla,
Karagouni Amalia,
Panopoulos Nickolas,
Dixon Bernard
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12337
Subject(s) - prosperity , austerity , investment (military) , business , sustainable development , value (mathematics) , productivity , industrial organization , economic growth , economics , biology , ecology , political science , machine learning , politics , computer science , law
Summary Countries of S outhern E urope are currently suffering from severe socio‐economic pain resulting from high debt levels and austerity measures which constrain investment in innovation‐based recovery strategies that are essential for entry into a long‐term sustainable period of increasing employment and wealth creation. Young university‐educated people are particularly innovative, and hence vital to the development of such strategies, but employment opportunities are poor and many are forced to seek employment that neither profits from their training nor satisfies their justified career expectations, or to emigrate. They are the ‘lost generation’. A strategy is proposed here for the creation of P ipelines for N ew C hemicals , national centre‐network partnerships for the discovery‐synthesis of new chemicals obtained though harvesting new biological diversity, and their exploitation to develop new medicines, agrochemicals, materials, and other products and applications. The goal is to create new regional motors of economic growth and development, by harnessing the knowledge, motivation and innovation potential of the excellently educated young people of E urope to catalyse the development of new small, medium and large enterprises centred around novel chemicals, and the value chains that will evolve with them, and thereby develop a powerful sector of sustainable growth in employment and social and economic prosperity in S outhern E urope.