The region of Upper Lusatia and Lower Silesia is located in the east of the Free State of Saxony, bordering with Poland and the Czech Republic, thus being at the meeting point of three countries - Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. The region's strengths include a long established structure of small and medium-sized businesses, in particular in the fields of mechanical engineering and plant construction, in the plastics and textile industries, and also in new sectors such as medical, energy and environmental technology. It also offers a highly-qualified workforce and proximity both to the Saxon capital, Dresden, with its scientific, cultural and economic potentials and to Prague as well as to the growth regions of Liberec/Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic and Jelenia Gora/Wroclaw (Breslau) in Poland.

The project aims at improving the competitiveness of the region. Its main focus is the set-up of an innovation management system. Thereby the potential and the projects in the private as well as in the public sector shall be co-ordinated and supported. The innovation management system will act on a regional level but it is also incorporated in extra-regional networks (e.g. InnoSachsen). Especially the geographic situation at the borderlines will take effect on the development of the region. Particular aims of the project are:

• Increasing the technological capacity
• Gaining access to international markets

• Layout of an innovation strategy
• Set-up of an effective innovation management system