JIC — South Moravian Innovation Centre: A Six-Founder Knowledge-Transfer Hub (Brno)
Czechia
Founded in 2003 by the South Moravian Region, the City of Brno and four local universities, JIC has supported 300+ …
Good practice
Imported
★ 76
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JIC (South Moravian Innovation Centre)
Czechia · Brno · See the Czechia profile · See the Brno profile
Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 42% 71/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice
Regional innovation agency turning Brno's university research base into companies via three sector incubators and a venture fund; contributed to 3,500+ skilled jobs since 2003 and ≈€700M in combined turnover among supported firms (Euronews, 2023).
3,500+ jobs
Skilled jobs contributed since 2003 (2003-2023)
700 € million
Combined turnover of supported companies (2003-2023)
12.5 € million
Annual operating budget (annual)
72 %
Share of budget from EU Cohesion Policy funding (annual)
300+ € million
Company investment attracted in Brno region (past 5 years)
Details
- Maturity
- Established
- Promoter
- Jihomoravské inovační centrum (JIC), z.s.p.o. — South Moravian Region public-private partnership
- Period
- 2003–present
- Region (NUTS)
CZ064- Keywords
- Technology transfer, business incubation, deep-tech venture funding
Context
JIC (South Moravian Innovation Centre) is a public-private partnership established in 2003 in Brno that channels research from Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology and Mendel University into commercial ventures.
Objectives
To convert Brno's university research base into companies through sector-specific incubation and follow-on investment.
Activities
JIC runs three sector-specific incubators — JIC INTECH (technology), JIC INBIT (biotech) and JIC INMEC (advanced materials) — and, since 2015, JIC VENTURES, a fund investing in current and former incubator participants. JIC's own annual budget exceeds €12.5 million, of which 72% comes from EU Cohesion Policy funding.
Results
Independent reporting by Euronews (January 2023) found that JIC has contributed to more than 3,500 skilled jobs since 2003, with supported companies generating approximately €700 million in combined turnover. Over the past five years the wider Brno region has attracted at least €300 million in company investment, and the Financial Times' 2026 ranking placed JIC 50th among Europe's leading start-up hubs. Alumni include Kiwi.com and IDEA StatiCa (6,500+ customers globally).
Conclusions
JIC's model of university-linked sector incubators plus a co-investment fund is EU-recognised (REGIOSTARS nomination) but has not been shown to be replicated by JIC itself beyond South Moravia. Its own historical reporting uses inconsistent scopes and time windows across different reviews (e.g. a 2018 15th-anniversary figure of ~6,500 jobs versus the 2023 Euronews figure of 3,500+), which should not be added together.
Implementation
- Indicative cost
- High (€500k–€5M) — JIC's own annual operating budget exceeds €12.5 million, of which 72% comes from EU Cohesion Policy funding.
- Time to results
- Long (> 3 years) — Founded 2003; JIC VENTURES investment fund added 2015; 22+ years of continuous operation through 2025.
- Staffing & skills
- Public-private partnership (Jihomoravské inovační centrum, z.s.p.o.) run with the South Moravian Region, Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology and Mendel University; operates three sector incubators (JIC INTECH, JIC INBIT, JIC INMEC) plus a venture-fund arm (JIC VENTURES, since 2015)
Conditions for success
- Direct pipeline from three regional universities into sector-specific incubators
- Dedicated post-incubation venture fund (JIC VENTURES) bridging the seed-to-growth gap since 2015
- Stable diversified funding base: >€12.5M/year budget, 72% EU Cohesion Policy funding
Common failure modes
- Historical impact figures use inconsistent scopes/time windows across reports (Euronews 2023 vs JIC's own 2018 review) and should not be combined
- Model not shown to be replicated by JIC itself beyond South Moravia despite EU recognition (REGIOSTARS nomination)
Where it fits
- Governance type
- regional public-private partnership
- Scale
- regional (South Moravia)
- Income level
- high income
Commonly funded by
ERDF — European Regional Development Fund National / regional programmes
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
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Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-07-20
- Jihomoravské inovační centrum (JIC), z.s.p.o. — South Moravian Region public-private partnership — accessed 2026-07-20
- Brno's JIC business hub: Stimulating growth and inspiring entrepreneurship (Euronews, Jan 2023) — accessed 2026-07-20
- South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC) puts up €300K to attract companies from around Europe (Science|Business) — accessed 2026-07-20
- Brno Region Gains Ground as an Emerging European Hub for Strategic Technologies (JIC) — accessed 2026-07-20
- South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC) has now been supporting entrepreneurship for 15 years (JIC, 2018) — accessed 2026-07-20
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