www.europe-innova.org
Partnerships for better innovation support
European Commission Enterprise and Industry
Year 4 - Issue 14 - July 2009
The newsletter of the Europe INNOVA initiative
Creative Crete will host the Europe INNOVA II Annual Partnering Event Supporting SMEs in driving the European economy > Page 2
Dare and Care: sustaining Europe’s ambitions > Pages 4-5
The European Cluster Policy Group meets for the first time > Page 6
This year’s Annual Partnering Event will involve the official launch of the second phase of the initiative and will take place from 20 to 22 September 2009. After a call for expressions of interest, the creative and resourceful city of Heraklion was selected as the most suitable venue. Heraklion has one foot firmly rooted in its rich history while the other is striding confidently into the future, especially as the city is both the capital and the commercial and technological centre of Crete. The Heraklion Chamber of Commerce and Industry1 along with the Region of Crete2, the Municipality of Heraklion, the Research and Science Institutes such as FORTH3, ENISA4 and HCMR5, the University of Crete and Technological Educational Institute of Crete6 will all be involved in hosting
1. Chamber of Commerce 2 Region of Crete 3 Foundation for Research and Technology 4 European Network and Information Security Agency 5 Hellenic Centre for Marine Research 6 Technological Educational Institute
the event and are looking forward to welcoming the 250 participants. Such Annual Partnering Events have proved in the past to be real innovation hotspots and this one will also be a chance for the Europe INNOVA and PRO INNO Europe networks to come together, exchange information and discuss the latest developments in the EU. On top of that, the event will kick-off the new projects that have been selected for Europe INNOVA phase II. These projects or networks will have the opportunity to launch their activities in Crete, and also to explain their hopes and expectations to the Europe INNOVA community. Please mark the dates of the Annual Partnering Event in your diary and all the details about registration and accommodation and, of course, the programme will be published on the Europe INNOVA website during July.
www.ebeh.gr www.crete-region.com www.forth.gr http://europa.eu/agencies/community_agencies/enisa/ www.hcmr.gr www.teicrete.gr
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Supporting SMEs
in driving the European economy Practical help such as on-line tools, support services and information on policies to improve SMEs’ access to finance can also be found on the portal. The first ever European SME week was successfully launched in 35 countries and ran from 6 – 14 May 2009. Over one thousand events were held that aimed to support SMEs and entrepreneurship. The week was evidence of a growing partnership with SMEs through which the EU intends to create policies and provide support tools that can offer a further stimulus to the growth of businesses and their impact on the economy. Opening the European SME week, European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, who is responsible for Enterprise and Industry, highlighted the importance of SMEs in the EU. He said that “Entrepreneurs take the initiative and turn ideas into action. They have a gift for identifying business opportunities and creating success from challenges and dreams. They turn visions into reality, while taking risks along the way. By setting up and expanding their businesses, entrepreneurs create jobs and become drivers of the European economy.” A major aspect of the EU-SME partnership is the European portal for SMEs at : http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sme which provides easy access to information on all European Union policies and initiatives that are relevant to SMEs.
Europe INNOVA projects
www.europe-innova.org > Publications & tools > Online tools & multimedia presentations
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Mascot of the First European SME week ‘09
Mr Günter Verheugen (front right) and successful European entrepreneurs
The kick-off event in Brussels was entitled ‘The SME experience – How it feels to be an entrepreneur.’ It invited visitors to see, smell, touch and listen to exhibits, demonstrations and audio visual materials in 10 different rooms. Banks of screens, giant umbrella roofs and huge Euro coins led the visitors along an experiential road to success in entrepreneurship. At the end of this road, visitors entered the hall of fame, which showcased 33 successful European Entrepreneurs. “They have turned their dreams and ideas into reality. If they could do it, you could do it,” enthused Mr. Verheugen. Soheil Sarmad, the Founding Director of a successful construction business COGECO, based in Luxembourg, offered the following words of advice for those considering starting a business, “Dream big, work hard, don’t be afraid and be fair.”
Win-win collaboration The SME Week was also intended to promote and inspire innovation and assist entrepreneurs to attain their full potential. Several Europe INNOVA projects made their contributions in these respects at the interactive exhibition, where they demonstrated their support tools for entrepreneurs at the Innovation Stand.
Europe INNOVA projects
Support tools demonstrated during the SME week
InJection
Medical Devices Sector Toolbox
ENFFI
Food and Drink Sector Financing Toolbox
IMP³rove
Innovation Management Self Assessment Tool
ACHIEVE MORE
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange Forum
ACHIEVE
Innovation Management Self Assessment Tool
ACHIEVE
ISMA360®: Innovative Systemic Marketing Analysis (available via ACHIEVE’s toolkit)
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Eco-innovation
can boost economies during the current financial crisis The 6th European Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) Forum focused on environmental technology transfer. Some 200 stakeholders from the business world, academia, national governments, the European Commission and international organisations attended this Berlin Forum, at the beginning of April. The forum’s speakers agreed that eco-innovation was a key EU policy priority and could be a main driver of the global economy in this current crisis. The EU has devoted significant resources from its key programmes to eco-innovation and Manuela Soares, Director of the Environment Directorate at DG Research, explained that the FP7 contribution to R&D funding for environmental technologies was estimated at €10bn. It was also emphasised that partnerships such as cluster organisations can be seedbeds for the development of eco-innovative solutions.
Easing barriers and increasing support The forum expressed the need for greater public support for eco-innovation, especially in relation to the creation of an appropriate regulatory framework and to easing access to funding. It was suggested that the European Commission should simplify access to funding through the introduction of measures such as voucher schemes. It was also proposed that the Commission should promote a life-cycle thinking approach in all innovation processes. Another suggestion was the introduction of a ‘smart’ early assessment method to determine the eco-innovativeness of products or services. Finally, experienced actors were urged to assist ‘newcomers’ in preparing their bids for EU funding under FP7 and CIP.
ETAP FORUM Berlin 2009 European Commission, DG Environment
Timo Makela, Director of the Sustainable Development and Integration Directorate at DG Environment, emphasised that the European Commission was already addressing Representatives many related of the European The Berlin eco-innovation forum issues, including Commission establishing an focused on environmental acknowledged EU network of that while technology transfer environmental SMEs play an technology important role in easing climate change, advisors and working towards the creation they face significant barriers. These include of an Environmental Technology Verification limited access to public funding, a restricted System. absorption capacity, unfavourable taxation systems and pricing systems that take little For more information about ETAP and the account of the lower environmental costs of next European Forum on eco-innovation, improved products and processes. visit http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap.
“There is a UK saying that technology transfer is a contact sport, meaning that to do it effectively you have to meet likeminded people and communicate with them face to face. This forum allows me to meet with all my European colleagues in one place to build up effective transnational environmental technology partnerships. As the leading UK Environmental Network it’s essential that we are in close collaboration with other European networks to deliver a common agenda”. Mr. Arnold Black, Network Director, Resource Efficiency Knowledge Transfer Network, UK
“This was not a routine event for me as so far the Aviation Valley has not been present at events focused on eco-innovation. I found the forum very useful, above all for making contacts with new potential partners across Europe. Our cluster’s members are increasingly interested in applying clean technologies and entering renewable energy sectors, in particular the production of turbines for windmills. The contacts I have made in Berlin may lead to some interesting cross-sectoral collaboration.” Mr. Andrzej Rybka, Managing Director, Aviation Valley Cluster, Poland
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Dare and Care: sustaining Europe’s ambitions
Copyright : jj De Neyer / Triptyque
The 7th European Business Summit took place on 26-27 March 2009, in Brussels and it gatherwed together an interesting mix of business and policy leaders from across Europe. The main themes of the Summit revolved around daring and caring, concentrating on the topics of Research and Development, eco-innovation, Europe’s brain drain and economic and environmental sustainability. The thinking behind the event was summarised in the following way, “In order to sustain its ambitions to be a strong world player – especially in current times of economic crisis – Europe should Dare and Care better.” In response, the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, stated his firm belief that Europe’s social ‘Rhineland model,’ and energy and climate change, set it apart and said that “In a world where daring and caring are essential, Europe can lead.”
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Creating partnerships, linking R&D to output and harmonising policies Many of the high-level panels explored the issues of sustainability, innovation and clean tech. In all the discussions, one main theme prevailed – public-private partnerships needed to be strengthened in order to create the right environment for innovation and this was especially true in the field of ecoinnovation. “Partnership between government and industry is essential,” confirmed Sir Stephen Gomersall, Hitachi’s Chief Executive for Europe, adding that EU policy must avoid the mistakes of the financial crisis and resist “making the environment a derivative of trade and speculation.” Patricia Ceysens, the Flemish Minister of Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade, added that partnership in itself was not enough as “Research and Development needs to be linked to entrepreneurship. It needs to be linked to output. The EU owns 46% of the knowledge
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Smarter grids need smarter skills
Copyright : jj De Neyer / Triptyque
economy but the US is still much better at getting its knowledge to market.”
Mrs Patricia Ceysens - Flemish Minister of Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade
One of the major obstacles in Europe, according to Janez Potocnik, Commissioner for Science and Research, was the fact that 95% of R&D money remains in the hands of EU Member States. He felt that policies in this area should be harmonised and that this would have a positive effect on the EU economy.
Smarter grids are the key to eco-innovation Moving on to eco-innovation, Ms Ceysens made the case that “Green is not about ideology. Green is about technology. Energy, as usual, is not an option. We are exhausting our natural reserves.” The three driving forces, in the minister’s opinion, were: • Setting the right prices for fossil fuels;
A report produced by INSEAD, the graduate business school and research institution, was presented by Rudi Thomaes, CEO of the Federation of Enterprises, in Belgium. He emphasised the fact that Europe’s knowledge economy was harmed by its skills crunch but that “Skills are the critical success factor for competing in the knowledge economy. Without skills, investments in other resources, such as new technologies and infrastructure collapse. Europe’s supply of skills was already under threat before the financial crisis plagued the region. Now, as governments and businesses scramble to cut costs, skills are under even greater threat. Without prompt and significant action to generate the required skills, much of Europe’s stimulus packages and past investments could be wasted.” One fact clearly highlights this problem – whilst unemployment in January 2009 was recorded at 18 million, the number of unfulfilled job vacancies in the same month was 4 million. The report suggests that Europe needs to create a ‘European Skills Pact’ to produce an overall, coherent and visible package that would be likely to attract the interest and attention of policy makers, investors, employers and educators. The current challenges are to prevent talent draining away during the crisis, to increase the number of students taking maths and science subjects, to seize the clean-tech opportunity and to enhance openness and mobility. Copyright : jj De Neyer / Triptyque
• P roviding subsidies for eco-innovation and clean tech; and • Diversifying the EU’s energy sources, while using innovative methods and technology to create a smarter energy grid. Chris Dedicoat, the President of European Markets at Cisco agreed and he noted that Europeans must use the energy, which they consume, in a much wiser fashion. He was firmly of the opinion that smart grids were “fundamental to how we meet our consumption in the future. The three central questions are: How can we make the grid more efficient? How can we make the grid more able to accept renewable energy sources? And how can we allow individuals to produce their own electricity?”
Six priority actions
for a European Skills Pact
Action one
Launch a Europe-wide public-private alliance to ensure the re-skilling of excess labour in times of crisis.
Action two
Re-focus the European Structural Funds for training and re-training towards sectors most likely to contribute to Europe’s competitiveness in post-crisis times.
Action three
Identify and scale-up public-private initiatives and partnerships aiming at stimulating young people’s interest in mathematics, science and careers in engineering, information and communications technologies and the protection of the environment.
Action four
Enhance and develop highlevel business-university partnerships to generate ‘Global Knowledge Economy’ skills which Europe needs to realise the benefits of its Lisbon strategy and be a leader in innovation.
Action five
Encourage skills mobility within Europe, as well as between Europe and other parts of the world.
Action six
Foster innovative approaches to education, including e-learning and distance learning.
Mr Herman van Rompuy - Belgian Prime Minister
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The European Cluster Policy Group
meets for the first time
Mr Günter Verheugen Commission Vice-President
Global markets and high-speed communications should make location unimportant but location remains central to competition and this is clearly demonstrated by famous examples such as the Silicon Valley and Hollywood. The European Cluster Policy Group that met for the first time on 20-21 April 2009 looked at how clusters can overcome problems associated with specific locations to promote business growth and development. The group has been mandated to advise the Commission and Member States on how best to support the development of more world-class clusters in the EU and it will draft recommendations addressing several dimensions of cluster policy. Its members are 20 high-level experts who will work together over the next 18 months.
Mr Antoni Subirà IESE Business School
Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen signalled his strong support for this initiative at its first meeting, when he said “In Europe, there is no lack of cluster initiatives but perhaps a lack of strategic orientation. Many cluster initiatives still fail to build the necessary strengths for helping their enterprises to become globally competitive. I am convinced that existing instruments in support of cluster development can be better used and look forward to your experiences and proposals.”
International cluster cooperation
In addition to Europe INNOVA, transnational cluster cooperation is supported by the INTERREG programme under the EU Cohesion Policy and by the Regions of Knowledge initiative of the Research Framework Programme.
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The first meeting raised the issue that more and better international cluster cooperation for innovation, facilitated by cluster organisations, could play an important role in helping enterprises, and especially SMEs, to access new knowledge and new markets. Internationalisation is becoming a business activity that is crucially important to achieving competitiveness within the global economy. Products, technologies and services are becoming more and more complex and require different competences for their
design, production and commercialisation. Very often these cannot all be found within the same geographical area, but cluster organisations can provide the front door through which firms can access international networks and establish close and efficient links with leading research institutions. “Typically however, clusters are too inward-looking” said Finn Carsten Lauritzen and so policy support could focus on providing practical information, including data on cluster performance and cluster-specific framework conditions and also working methods to unlock the potential of clusters and help them ‘go international.’ The important role that the public sector can play was emphasised, as it can assist firms to integrate into value networks by helping consortia of globally-minded companies to emerge and by focusing on working methods to promote companies’ interaction with their counterparts in the most interesting innovation hubs in Europe and beyond. Senator Pierre Laffitte, the Honorary President of the Policy Group and Chair of the former High-Level Group on Clusters, suggested that the weaving of a real mesh between the existing networks would greatly facilitate more world-wide clustering. The changing nature of clusters was also addressed, since some modern clusters/innovation networks are linked through knowledge and skills. The final policy recommendations of the Group will be available in its mid-term report at the end of 2009.
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Expert Opinion:
A Sparks’ Interview With the launch of the new European Cluster Policy Group, Sparks decided to talk to Tea Petrin about her views on its future and the sort of issues that it will address. Dr Petrin is particularly well-informed and well-qualified to comment on these issues as she has both an academic and political background in economics and entrepreneurship. She is also the Vice-President of the Board of Advisors of The Competitiveness Institute and was a member of the jury for the ‘Europe INNOVA Clusterpreneur of the Year 2006 Award.’ How do you define the ambition and objectives of the European Cluster Policy Group? “The scope and objective of the European Cluster Policy Group is to share intelligence about cluster policies with a view to further exploring how to assist Member States in supporting the emergence of world-class clusters in the EU. In line with this objective, the Group will discuss and suggest policy recommendations on four themes relevant to clusters in Europe that can help them achieve a higher level of excellence, strengthen their position in global markets and become world-class: • H ow to create more and better support for international cluster cooperation? • W hat is the role of clusters in creating new industries, in particular, in the field of services? • H ow to raise the excellence and quality of cluster initiatives and cluster organisations? • H ow to create better synergies between Community instruments in support of world-class clusters?” What are the main barriers to transnational cluster cooperation in Europe and how could they be removed? “One of the main barriers is the lack of trust between potential partners who are often competing against each other
at the same time. Additional factors are the lack of strategic orientation towards internationalisation on the part of cluster initiatives or networks themselves, cluster programmes that are too inward-looking, the lack of financial and human resources and barriers in the internal market, as well as opportunities to find the right partners and the best occasions to meet them. As an important first step towards building a trusting environment, transnational collaboration should be increased, support should be offered to enable international cooperation between cluster organisations and cluster synergies should be facilitated through effective mobility programmes. To promote more transnational cooperation, either to increase investment flow or flow of knowledge and entrepreneurs, there is a need to further dismantle barriers to trade and mobility within the EU. Equally important is the dissemination of information that enables transnational cooperation and also making this information accessible and available to all clusters through the most efficient channels. For example, information on market opportunities, on available technologies and potential partners, on cluster firms’ potential and their competences as well as their demands for, and nature of, transnational cooperation. For these reasons, it is important that the up-dated Cluster Observatory provides not only a snapshot of clusters but also reliable and comprehensive cluster data on how clusters operate, on their potential and competences and demands.” What should be the role of the European Commission in supporting transnational cluster cooperation and the development of world-class clusters in Europe? “To continue the support of already proven, successful schemes and to increase linkages across regions and Member States, both on the operational level of cluster institutions and on the policy level, and to better prioritise cluster policies towards the needs of world-class clusters in the EU.”
Tea Petrin is a full Professor of Economics and Entrepreneurship at the University of Ljubljana and has been a visiting, or a Fulbright professor, at some of the most prestigious universities in the US. She has also lectured extensively in Europe and Japan. In Slovenia, her work represents the foundation for studies on entrepreneurship and active industrial policy. She is a former Minister for Economic Affairs and also Minister of the Economy and in these posts she developed Slovenian industrial policies to promote enterprise reorganisation and competitiveness that included support for cluster development. Dr Petrin has been an advisor to public administrations and governments in Slovenia, and also to important international institutions including the European Commission. She is a member of the Academic Advisors’ Board for the European Foundation of Entrepreneurship Research and recently was an external evaluator of the ‘Development of a Clustering Policy Project,’ in Turkey.
Thank you Dr Petrin!
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Standards open
new markets for innovative SMEs
Mr Knut Blind - Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Mrs Karine Iffour - NORMAPME
Mr Kirit Lathia - ICTSE/ETSI
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Europe INNOVA organised a Thematic Workshop on ’Standards for innovative SMEs – from lessons to actions’ on 3 June 2009, at the headquarters of the European Committee for Standardisation. Around 40 invited delegates from European and National Standardisation Organisations, standardisation experts and other innovation stakeholders met to discuss how the leverage of standards could be improved.
Karine Iffour from NORMAPME reminded everyone that standardisation had different values according to the country, culture or sector and she believed that “standards should be set in a way that allows small companies to use them without the help of specialised experts.”
Better selection and use of standards
The global setting is changing and so should standardisation
According to Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit, Support for Innovation at DG Enterprise and Industry, standards are both a tool and an integral part of a wider solution for successful innovations. For example, new products that comply with quality standards deliver a message of trust and professionalism, which can be crucially important when entering new markets. However, SMEs face a multitude of choices when selecting appropriate standards and often they have a limited understanding of the potential market implications of these standards.
Product life-cycles are getting shorter and instead of national markets, new products are sold globally. Europe is becoming a knowledge society with a greater emphasis on intellectual properties. These factors are directly reflected in the kind of standards that are pursued and used by companies. For example, the use of freely available standards is steadily increasing. Kirit Lathia from ICTSE/ETSI explained that Asian countries have recognised the changing context and the strategic importance of standardisation and so they follow closely and invest heavily in standardisation.
Access to standards and information
Europe INNOVA is a test bed for new tools
Knut Blind, from Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, presented new evidence from German machinery and electro-technical companies, which showed that there was both a lack of awareness about standards and a lack of incentives for SMEs to use them. There should be easier access to information about standards, as well as training in their use, which has recently been carried out in the Netherlands and Germany. In addition, the costs related to standardisation are often excluded from public
The European and National Standards Organisations have developed several tools for their members and through an agreement with DG Enterprise and Industry they have been invited to collaborate with those Europe INNOVA projects that will address standardisation through repositories and other tools. Alex Talacchi, of DG Enterprise and Industry, informed the workshop that these new projects would be launched in the autumn.
funding of R&D in contrast to EU security fields where they are considered to be part of the innovation process.
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Key European actors
agree on an improved strategy to support satellite downstream services A Europe INNOVA Thematic Workshop provided the setting for a high-level expert group of the most relevant and important units in the European Commission, ESA1 and GSA2 to meet with incubators, venture capitalists, cluster initiatives and SMEs in the field of downstream satellite enabled services. This Satellite Technologies Based Services Workshop, held at the beginning of June, was hosted in the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union. In the opening session, the existing programmes and initiatives of DG Enterprise and Industry, DG Energy and Transport, GSA and ESA were presented and the expectations for the workshop were outlined. The ultimate objective was the development of an action plan that would bundle and gap-fill the efforts of the main shareholders and various European-level initiatives in the most effective and efficient way. The workshop also targeted the creation of an EU-wide ecosystem of GNSS 3 applications developers and service providers in order to increase European competitiveness in this area. “In view of the forthcoming European Innovation Plan, we should be more ambitious and no longer just aim at promoting downstream satellite applications,” said Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit, Support for Innovation at DG Enterprise and Industry, who explained that, “The wider aim must be to promote true services innovations, which find their own market and are supported by a favourable business environment that generates strong and innovative companies in Europe.” It was noted that this would necessitate a much more strategic approach to valorising the innovation potential of Galileo and satellite technologies enabled services and that this, in turn, would require stronger cooperation and integration between more technology oriented clusters (ENCADRE) and clusters of user communities such as mobile
1 2 3 4
ESA GSA GNSS ESA TTP
technologies/cities. The goal would be to improve the use of the concept of clusters for emerging service industries and to apply the lead market concept to the promising field of knowledge-intensive services innovation. Three subsequent roundtables enabled representatives of the industry to discuss the European Commission’s and ESA’s strategy to foster the emergence of satellite technology based applications and services and to promote ESA’s support instruments that are intended to develop this market. The roundtables focused on incubation, financing instruments and the facilitation of access to markets for satellite based services and these three highly interactive sessions identified barriers, risks and gaps and developed possible solutions to overcoming those difficulties.
“In order to create value from GNSS downstream applications and services we have to invest at least 5% of the budget used to set-up the satellite infrastructure in market preparation for new downstream application services,” Frank Salzgeber, CEO of ESA TTP 4
Most participants agreed that the tools and support instruments were already in place, all along the value chain, but that the support side and the European markets for new services were still highly fragmented. “Europe has a culture of clubs acting in isolation,” said Antonio Colaco, from DG Energy and Transport, who went on to highlight the importance of building bridges between these clubs. The workshop produced a series of recommendations that are outlined in the adjoining column and the Commission’s representatives agreed to establish an innovation sub-group of the Space Policy Inter Service Group to take the recommendations forward.
The main recommendations of the Europe INNOVA Satellite Technologies Based Services Thematic Workshop • A gree on the joint vision of key actors across institutions and operators • M ove from applications to emerging services markets • O rganise more joint events, also involving more regions and structural funds (INTERREG), to create higher visibility in the eyes of SMEs • P rovide complete relevant information on specific support activities through a one-stop-shop that would be promoted using all existing channels • L iaise with multi-national enterprises to open up global markets for new location based services • A sk Member States to buy in to GNSS that offer services for public tasks and responsibilities such as health or security • C ertify Galileo for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) • D evelop a Galileo Application Programming Interface (API)
European Space Agency The European GNSS Supervisory Authority Global navigation satellite system ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme
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Emerging sectors
shaping innovation in Europe The potential of emerging sectors to shape an innovation-driven EU economy and how to improve policy level support for these sectors were two issues discussed by 40 experts from different organisations and institutions at a workshop in Malmö, during March. Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit, Support for Innovation at DG Enterprise and Industry, opened the workshop and raised the question of what industry might look like after the recession. He also pointed out the potential which existed in some new areas such as green industries, energy and knowledge-intensive services. During the workshop, the focus was placed, in particular, on the role and contribution of cross-border ‘ecosystems for innovation.’ Such ecosystems can become the home of emerging sectors by capitalising on regional strengths and existing collaboration between different innovation actors and by attracting the best people and innovative companies from elsewhere. Much of the discussion pointed to the creative industries as being a good example of a fast-growing area of the knowledge intensive services sector. There was a broad consensus among the experts on the potential that the creative industries have to build upon the EU’s rich cultural diversity.
Mr Reinhard Büscher DG Enterprise and Industry
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The workshop highlighted the fact that, in many aspects, business activities do not recognise geographical and administrative boundaries. The further development of macro-regions plays an increasingly important role in raising the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the regions concerned, as well as in enhancing their visibility and attractiveness as being powerful drivers of innovation within the global market. Trans-border cooperation between clusters can develop more innovation-driven, macro-regions across the EU and help to promote their benefits. Also, statistical evidence shows that there is a correlation between the development of such macro-regions and the presence of strong clusters and strong inter-cluster collaboration. The workshop stressed that there was scope for a concerted policy to further support trans-border cluster collaboration and that this would be instrumental in the development of innovation ecosystems, especially with a view to supporting high-growth sectors in the coming years. The results of the workshop will be discussed at the second meeting of the European Cluster Policy Group that is planned for September 2009, which will be devoted to the role that clusters and macro-regions can play in supporting emerging sectors within the EU.
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Experts gather to discuss innovation in services Approximately 70% of the gross domestic product of Europe is generated by the services sector and this percentage is increasing, as the EU progresses towards a knowledge-based society. However, many innovation policy measures are still tuned towards supporting productbased innovations and so the European Commission is now redefining how innovation in services should be addressed at European policy level.
Measures need to be geared up PRO INNO Europe® organised a workshop in Finland, during March 2009, bringing together academic experts, civil servants, innovation agencies and other stakeholders to discuss the drivers of innovation in services and the improved use of Community support instruments for services innovation. Exactly two years ago, a first policy workshop on services and innovation had been held in the same venue of Porvoo and whilst the growing importance of services innovation was now generally recognised, it seems that more progress could have been made during the intervening years. “Services should be higher on the European innovation policy agenda,” argued Mette Quinn from DG Enterprise and Industry who added that “this requires another look at the statistics and research results available and how they can bring evidence to decision-making.” Tiina Tanninen-Ahonen from the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) noted that
“Services play an increasing role in company R&D projects, which means that national innovation agencies also need to adapt their instruments accordingly.” Since 2007, the number of services innovation projects funded by Tekes has exceeded that of technological R&D projects.
New evidence on innovation in services The design of new policies and instruments in support of services innovation appears to require a clear, evidence-based approach and a better understanding of the concept of services innovation. According to Hugo Hollanders from UNU-MERIT (United Nations University-Maastricht Economic and social Research and training center on Innovation and Technology), “there is a positive correlation between performance in services innovation and overall innovation performance.” However, the statistics in this field are still fragmented and need to be interpreted with care.
Mr Kimmo Halme - Advansis Oy
The Commission will take action DG Enterprise and Industry is now preparing a ‘Commission Staff Working Document on Innovation in Services.’ “The document will present further arguments on the needs and opportunities to strengthen services innovation in Europe as an enabler for growth and jobs,” explained Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit, Support for Innovation at DG Enterprise and Industry, and he continued “it is certain that we have to adapt our policies to better meet the needs of the economy. The tools and instruments have to take this into account.” According to Mr Büscher, new instruments will be piloted with services companies under the European Innovation Platform for Knowledge Intensive Services (KIS-IP), with the aim of transferring these to national and regional levels, at a later stage.
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CALLS FOR PROPOSALS:
The News in Brief
>A pplicants to the Europe INNOVA call published last November have received the results of the
evaluation of their proposals. The new project participants will meet at the Annual Partnering Event (see the cover story of this edition of Sparks).
Partnerships for better innovation support Europe INNOVA is an initiative of the European Commission’s Directorate General Enterprise and Industry which aspires to become the laboratory for the development and testing of new tools and instruments in support of innovation with a view to help innovative enterprises innovate faster and better. It brings together public and private innovation support providers such as innovation agencies, technology transfer offices, business incubators, financing intermediaries, cluster organisations and others. The newsletter of the Europe INNOVA initiative © European Commission - Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. To subscribe: www.europe-innova.org/newsletter Editorial contact: newsletter@europe-innova.org Published by: Sparks and all other elements of the Europe INNOVA communications project are performed by a consortium of companies headed by Logotech SA (Greece). Legal notice: Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the way in which information contained in this publication may be used. This newsletter is financed under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). which aims to encourage the competitiveness of European enterprises
>A follow-up call for proposals to the European Eco-innovation Platform is now open. > T he call for proposals on the implementation of the action on the Innovation Management Performance with Sustainable IMPact II (IMP³rove II) is open until 31 August 2009.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) call for proposals on Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) will close on 27 August 2009. To attain the EIT’s goal of accelerating innovation, it will be essential that providers of innovation support services participate in any consortium that makes an application.
See details on:
http://eit.europa.eu > KICs Call Published
http://
R E V I E W / P U B L I C AT I O N S :
How public support for the commercialisation of eco-innovation can be improved is the subject of a report that was published by the European Commission at the end of May 2009. The report focuses on the problem that while eco-developments often reach the stage of prototypes, they often fail to be commercialised due to uncertainty about demand. The authors argue that the constitution of a group of public and private buyers could specify the likely demand from early adopters and thus, reduce the uncertainty. The group could also help to identify policies that might be needed to speed up the adoption of the innovations. The report suggests that a public agent could facilitate the constitution of such a group in market areas that are essential to achieve certain policy goals.
The report is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment Policies > environmental economics > published studies > Innovation and Technology
http://
COMING EVENTS:
> 9 - 11 September 2009, Linz, Austria
Final Conference of the INNO-Net ‘CEE ClusterNetwork’ The INNO-Net: ‘CEE ClusterNetwork’ will present its findings at its closing conference in Linz, one of Europe’s cultural capitals of 2009.
See details on:
http://www.proinno-europe.eu News & Events > Events > INNO-Net conference
http://
> 8 October 2009, Brussels Region, Belgium
Eco-innovation workshop at Open Days 2009 Eco-innovations present business opportunities and reduce pressure on the environment and they can also create new jobs to benefit all types of regions. The European Commission’s Environment DG has organised this workshop to exchange experiences on how eco-innovation can play a prominent role in cohesion policy programmes. More details are provided along with the official programme at: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/od2009/programme.cfm?sub=1&nmenu=2
www.europe-innova.org
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European Commission Enterprise and Industry