Economic performances focus areas Eastern Netherlands

The area-focused program Eastern Netherlands (PIDON) is one of the Peaks in the Delta programs that started in 2006. PIDON focuses on achieving a significant increase in business investments and added value in 2010 in three knowledge concentrations ('peaks') in the region: Food & Nutrition, Health, and Technology. Within these three peaks, further specification has been made by distinguishing twelve so-called 'technological focus areas'. In mid-2008, an initial baseline measurement was carried out on the economic performance of all six PID programs. The measurement for Eastern Netherlands was limited to the aggregated level of the three peaks - the technological focus areas were largely excluded from the analysis. In the PID program Eastern Netherlands, a deliberate choice was made to further refine the technological focus areas - it is the only program where technological focus areas within the peaks are central. The lack of detail in the first baseline measurement is thus felt as a deficiency by the program committee. It is for this reason that the committee has decided to commission additional research to better map the economic performance of the focus areas. For this research, Dialogic is taking a different approach from the first baseline measurement, moving from microdata to macrodata, and from scientific and technological fields to industrial sectors. The population for the study is not too large, making it possible to come up with a representative overview 'from the bottom up'. Collecting data at the level of individual companies and institutions also makes it possible to map the relationships between these companies and institutions, and thus describe the actual interaction between the focus areas. The research questions for this study are: - Provide a clear definition and description of the focus areas within the peaks in Eastern Netherlands. - What is the economic profile and economic performance of the focus areas within the Food, Health, and Technology peaks in the past period? - Give a brief description of the economic profile and development of the peaks within the Eastern Netherlands region. - Give a brief description of the economic profile and development of the economic performance of the Eastern Netherlands region.