Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía (CTA) has a clear objective: to make companies more competitive through innovation. Indeed, its foundational mission is to drive R&D+i, as well as the transfer of technology and knowledge.

It does so by helping companies plan and execute an R&D+i strategy aligned with their business objectives, serving as a strategic ally that assists them in transforming the results of their innovation into business profits.

During this interview, Fabián Varas, technical director of CTA, explains more about the need to innovate to be competitive and the benefits of working collaboratively to drive innovation more quickly, efficiently and effectively.

What is CTA’s operational model accelerating innovation and fostering collaboration?

CTA is a private foundation that has existed for more than 20 years and which operates under a public-private collaboration model. Regarding its composition, it primarily consists of a business cluster of over 180 companies. Notably, two-thirds of these are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for 3.6% of the national GDP and sustain nearly 300,000 jobs in Spain.

In recent years, CTA has also achieved a high level of international activity, serving as a key partner in innovation projects, particularly in Europe. It has taken part in over 65 international projects, funded both by the EU and other multilateral organisations, and has collaborated with more than 500 entities from 45 countries.

What challenges does an organisation like yours face?

Like all associations, our main challenge is to provide our members with value. However, CTA needs to go beyond our companies’ current needs and convince them, or I would say even sometimes educate them, on how to tackle the technological challenges and needs they will face in the coming years.

Prove to them that innovation is not an expense but rather an investment and that their future sustainability depends on whether they are capable of reacting quickly and even staying ahead of changes in their markets and customers with technology-based, innovative products and services and, ideally, of becoming more competitive.

I am convinced that a company that doesn’t innovate either doesn’t exist or will soon cease to exist, which is why, in short, our main challenge is to ensure that they stand the test of time.

Why is it important to build collaborations between companies to drive innovation?

As I said, there is a need to innovate to be more competitive, but innovation alone will not suffice. You also have to do it more quickly, effectively and efficiently than your competitors, and that’s where collaborative innovation is making a big difference.

The days when companies could innovate solo are over. Nowadays, because of technological democratisation, no company - let me repeat, no company, not even the largest or most powerful - has all the knowledge and all the best specialists across every technological field. Neither are they capable of understanding or mastering all the markets for extended periods.

What’s more, collaborative innovation has been proven to be, as I said before, more effective because it increases the likelihood of success and taking our products and services to the market, and more efficient because it involves finding expertise where it already exists instead of having to develop it internally.

How would you describe the role of ecosystem companies like Elewit?

Companies like Redeia have a crucial role in securing collaborative innovation. Not only are they powerful, but I would say they are responsible for starting the change so that the model can operate systematically.

It is clear that many agents (technology centres, universities, SMEs, startups, etc.) tend to be open to collaboration. However, they still need certain initial leadership and guidance regarding the focus of their many skills. It is once they are convinced and make their first contributions, which mean significant advantages for the sector, that the system starts flowing and collaborations become natural, with everyone benefiting from the cooperation.

What’s more, they set an example for other tractor companies from other sectors so that these models spread throughout the innovative fabric.

What collaboration models will shape business development in the innovative and technological realm?

There are several collaboration models to highlight, but the ultimate objective is to establish an innovation ecosystem, a network of interconnected organisations that interact collaboratively and synergistically, guided by a shared interest, to encourage the development of new ideas, products, services, or technologies. This often involves both private and public sector actors.

Furthermore, due to the necessary interaction and collaboration, these innovation ecosystems must have:

• A flow of knowledge circulation.
• Ideas and technologies.
• Agility and flexibility are needed to be able to adapt quickly to changes in the market, new technological trends, and social demands.
• A culture of innovation that fosters a mentality of experimentation and acceptance of failure as part of the process.

To build these ecosystems, you can look to initial bases or models to adapt or make additions based on the needs and performance of the ecosystem itself. Some of the key models include:

• Strategic alliances between companies with complementary capabilities to leverage synergies and share resources.
• Co-creation whereby companies work directly with customers and end-users to develop products, services, or solutions together.
• Open innovation involving collaboration between individual companies and startups, universities, research centres, suppliers, and other external actors, creates an environment where knowledge and technologies flow freely and bidirectionally from the initial challenges of the leading company.
• Business networking platforms that digitally connect companies, startups, investors, and other innovative agents, speeding up connections between key players and enabling more agile and efficient collaboration.
• Coopetition, or collaboration among competitors where directly competing companies work together to achieve common goals, enhancing competitiveness in global markets.

During its 20-year history, CTA has established itself as a benchmark in the sector, thanks to its steadfast commitment to innovation. Its work is key to driving innovation processes in numerous companies, administrations, universities and technology centres, having a positive impact on the business and scientific ecosystem. Moreover, its support for the growth of technology micro-SMEs and capacity to transform R&D+i work in wealth and business strengthen its role as a driving force for development and competitiveness.