The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (MRN) is funded within the framework of the Baden-Württemberg state programme „Förderung von regionalem Innovationsmanagement in Baden-Württemberg ". Part of this project was also the development of a monitoring concept to observe the innovation-related characteristics, developments and positions of the Rhine-Neckar region on the basis of indicators. The ZEW participated in the monitoring on the basis of its expertise in innovation economics and its empirical approaches and evaluation experiences.The ZEW processed four work packages:

• Compilation and classification of indicators on innovation behaviour in the MRN from various official statistics,
• identify and compare the activities and networking structures of the innovation intermediaries active in the MRN,
• conduct a detailed analysis of the patent applications from the MRN and
• investigate the start-up dynamics in the MRN in a differentiated way, also according to technological relevance and knowledge intensity.