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Partnerships for better innovation support
SPecial aPe Annual Partnering Event Heraklion, Crete > Page 2
European Commission Enterprise and Industry
Year 4 - Issue 16 - December 2009
The newsletter of the Europe INNOVA initiative
innovation on the Threshold of a New Decade Following the elections in the European Union and new faces appearing at European level, the time seems ripe to focus on policy-making related to innovation. What can the cards tell us about the future and how the new Commission, Parliament and Presidency will perform?
Innovation Management IMP3rove
IMP³rove Enduring Work on Innovation Management > Page 7
Already there are some signs, as at Europe’s first ever Innovation Summit, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso gave some indications about the new EU Reform Agenda to be presented in spring 2010. He wanted “A greater focus on industry-driven, applied
Business Recommendations on Future European Innovation Policy > Page 10
1st European Innovation Summit of the European Parliament
R&D. We need this because, while Europe is very good at producing ideas, we are not good enough at bringing them to market.” He also indicated that innovation was about research and development and about changes to workplace organisation, new processes and business models. Finally, he added “We also need to re-think education, as there must be less focus on knowledge, and more on the ‘soft’ skills – creativity, organising work independently and working in teams. People need to learn to learn!” Like the major EU institutions, Europe INNOVA has also been under transformation during 2009 and this was reinforced by Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit ‘Support for Innovation’ at DG Enterprise and Industry, during the initiative’s Annual Partnering Event when he said that “The old principles are still valid, but we have to do more and be more efficient in preparing for our future.” Thus, the coming years may see a shift towards supporting societal challenges through innovation, which will ensure that the needs of people are served, as well as those of business and the economy.
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Towards a new european
innovation Deal
Europe INNOVA, has just entered its second phase. Its Annual Partnering Event (APE) took place on Crete, in September and attracted around 200 participants who were either working in Europe INNOVA projects or searching for partners, inspiration and funding. It also provided the opportunity to develop a new Mission Statement for the initiative. Many interesting viewpoints stimulated the discussions and debates during the event. Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit ‘Support for Innovation’ at DG Enterprise and Industry, started the ball rolling with a controversial statement that there was no need for more money but simply a need for a better use of existing money. In the past, the focus had been on supporting innovation in general but the future may see a shift towards supporting, in particular, innovation that solves the grand societal challenges. As there will be fewer financial resources available he believed that “we must strive to kill two birds with one stone.” He also proposed testing new ways of supporting innovation, including voucher and top-up schemes thus promoting a new deal between different innovation actors. Anne Lidgard, Director of VINNOVA and the representative of the Swedish EU Presidency, suggested the introduction of new measures that would make it easier to “kill projects earlier” if they did not appear to be producing results. She highlighted the importance of improving eco-systems and fostering innovation,
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as in Silicon Valley. She also pointed out that public procurement instruments were very difficult to use and that something was needed to replace them. Eurico Correia Neves, Founder of INNOVA+ in Portugal, summed up the results of a public consultation, during spring 2009, on the effectiveness of innovation support, which involved 792 companies. “We are moving from a gravity-based model where support was channelled to those already having the expertise at universities and companies towards a more client-focused model in the future,” he concluded. Jørgen Rosted, Development Director of FORA Denmark is developing an OECD strategy entitled ‘A New Nature of Innovation’ to be presented in spring 2010. “With the Internet, power moves from companies to individuals,” he said and stated his firm belief that “The four key ways to achieve success in the future will be dialogue with users, giving them access to company platforms, sharing risks with them and being transparent.” However, he felt this would entail a difficult journey taking a number of years. The eco-aspect of innovation is also fading. Not because it is no longer important, but because ecological standards have become a normal feature in all aspects of modern business and production. This was the view of Fabio Iraldo, Associate Professor of Management and Innovation, at Sant’Anna School in Pisa, who felt that “The market has already killed everything that is not eco or energy efficient.”
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Revising the Mission Statement The debates over the three days highlighted the need for a new Mission Statement for Europe INNOVA and during the Closing Plenary, the European Commission presented options for choices, which were ranked by electronic voting. Based on this voting, the following revised Mission Statement was made available on the Europe INNOVA site for further consultation. “The major difference between Europe INNOVA and research projects is that we are not just exploring solutions for innovation support but involving, from the very beginning, those who shall implement the results later,” explains Reinhard Büscher. His view was reinforced by Mette Quinn also from the Innovation Support Unit,
who believes that “Europe INNOVA is moving forward with an improved approach towards testing new tools and instruments.” For the second generation of Europe INNOVA projects, the following six principles will guide the development and testing of such new tools and instruments: Subsidiarity; Novelty; Usability; Replicability; Scalability; and Adaptability. In addition to assessing the originality and the potential of these new tools, regular peer-reviews will be organised involving external experts.
Mette Quinn
Read more about the Annual Partnering Event
www.europe-innova.eu/crete2009
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N ew Mission Statement Europe INNOVA is a European initiative which aspires to become the laboratory for the development, testing and promotion of new tools and instruments in support of innovation, with the view to help innovative enterprises innovate faster and better. The aim is to support all forms of innovation, taking into account the great societal challenges of today. Europe INNOVA has the ambition to become the main pan-European platform for innovation professionals to discuss, develop, test and exchange “better practices” in support of innovation, and to contribute to a better understanding of the innovation patterns in different sectors. To this end, Europe INNOVA will be driven by innovation agencies and other public or private innovation support providers that are interested to work in partnership in search of new forms of innovation support at European level. Europe INNOVA aims at exploiting Europe’s innovation potential as effectively as possible, by contributing to the creation of an environment in which enterprises can start, grow and thrive, thus supporting the competitiveness and sustainable development Europe needs to achieve. To maximise its potential impact, Europe INNOVA will follow a “strategic approach”, by identifying which new innovation support mechanisms need to be developed at European level. Europe INNOVA performs a sound analysis and mapping of sectoral innovation and identifies sectoral barriers and opportunities to innovation, listening to the needs and recommendations of European businesses and innovation professionals. To follow such an “evidence-based” approach in support of innovation, Europe INNOVA seeks mainly to provide more and better practical information services about sectoral innovation patterns and match-making facilities in support of entrepreneurial innovation.
Voting Session
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Creative Industries to feature in new European Plan for Innovation Future EU Innovation Policy • Public consultation • Business Panel
http://ec.europa.eu/ enterprise > Policy Highlights > Innovation > Future EU Innovation Policy
Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation in Europe http://europa.eu/rapid > Reference > IP/09/1702 > Search
“Towards a creative Europe: What role for creative industries?” http://create2009. europa.eu > Press > News Archive > November 2009 > 19.11.09
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4-5 February 2010 Commission Workshop in Amsterdam: Towards a pan-european initiative in support of innovative creative industries in Europe.
www.europe-innova.eu > See all Events > Towards a pan-european initiative in support of innovative creative industries in Europe (2010-02-04)
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Innovation will play a very important role when the second Barroso Commission takes office in early 2010 and formulates strategies to pull Europe out of the economic crisis and prepare for the future. The appointment for the first time of a European Commissioner in charge of innovation is one important element and the publication, in spring 2010, of the European Plan for Innovation will be another keyfactor. It was the December 2008 European Council that first called for a European Plan for Innovation and it will also form an integral part of the wider debate on the Lisbon strategy post 2010. Building on a public consultation about ‘Community Innovation Policy’, which ended in mid-November 2009, the European Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry is in charge of drafting the document. According to Jean-Noël Durvy, Director of Innovation Policy at DG Enterprise and Industry, a broader definition of innovation and a new deal for innovation in creative industries across Europe can be expected.
First European Innovation Commissioner nominated Europe will shortly have a Commissioner in charge of Research and Innovation as the incoming Irish Commissioner, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, has been tasked by the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, to take up the portfolio. She has served as a government minister in Ireland and also worked at the EU Court of Auditors in Luxembourg.
This is in line with the priorities set down in the Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation presented to European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, in autumn 2009. The creative industries include mainly services products such as advertising, architecture, art, design, film, software, online games, music and publishing. Speaking at a debate in November hosted by the European Year of Creativity and Innovation Jean-Noël Durvy said, “creative industries are in themselves important, but they also have a strategic importance due to their strong spill-over effects into other industries. We must better exploit all forms of knowledge and creativity not only those resulting from research. In Europe, art and culture are strong assets for new business ideas and innovative services that must be better used to rejuvenate Europe’s strengths and competitiveness”. He also said that “the traditional concept of clusters needs to be adapted to move beyond groups of technology companies” and indicated that a platform where European regions could meet to share experience and expertise on the development of creative clusters is one of the measures under consideration. Design is an aspect of innovation that the Commission has paid particular attention to as a driver for innovation and competitiveness. According to Jean-Noël Durvy, all industries should be encouraged to make better use of designers when thinking about innovative products and services. Access to finance is another fundamental problem for creative industries, according to this EU official. It is a general problem for all start-ups to secure bank loans but has proven to be a particularly tough challenge for companies whose only capital is their creativity.
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Innovative Service Companies
need dedicated Venture Funding Jenny Tooth, Business Development Director of GLE Growth Capital and Chairman of Knowledge Intensive Services (KIS) Horizontal Steering Group speaks with Kimmo Halme from Europe INNOVA Communications about the challenges that service innovators face in accessing risk capital.
K.H. Why are services of increasing importance to Europe’s economy? J.T. Contrary to the popular perception, services are increasingly knowledge-based businesses and play an important role in innovation and growth within Europe. Services innovation is found in all sectors, from traditional manufacturing to new emerging service sectors. We have also seen that innovative service companies are quicker to exploit new business opportunities during the global economic downturn. At the same time, there are specific market and also systemic failures, which hinder the growth of European service companies. One of the key challenges is to increase the availability of, and the access to, growth funding specifically suited to innovative service companies.
Thus, the capacity of these innovative service businesses to achieve successful growth and commercialisation is severely restricted, with the result that many important new innovative products and services will fail to emerge on the European markets in the coming two to five years.
K.H. What could be done to address this gap in financing? J.T. We need specific measures to stimulate investment in service innovators. New dedicated equity funds are needed to support early stage companies with high growth potential and notably to support their access to global markets. At European level, we are looking especially at the opportunity offered through the European Investment Fund’s GIF1 measure to put in place a specific cross-border fund focusing on KIS businesses.
Interview by Kimmo Halme, Advansis (Finland)
More about GIF 1 Investment Policy and Implementation Guidelines
www.eif.org > search “GF1” > GIF1_InvestmentPolicy_ Implemenation_ Guidelines.pdf
http://
K.H. What are the challenges for service businesses in accessing risk finance? J.T. Currently, there is a considerably reduced pool of available risk capital, venture capital and business angel investment compared to the situation before the global financial crisis. Consequently, investors have become risk averse and are likely to focus more on traditional technology-based businesses and also to go for higher level deals of €2m upwards. With the equity markets taking time to recover, there is a major lack of risk capital to support innovating, high growth potential services businesses, particularly at the seed and start-up stages.
It will also be important for all Member States and regions across Europe to review the opportunity to use initiatives, such as the new JEREMIE funding as well as the Structural Funds, to create finance, which is dedicated to supporting innovating service businesses. Improving the access to much needed risk capital will enable investments to be made in the successful services innovators of tomorrow and help to realise the potential of the service sector to promote European jobs and competitiveness.
More about the new JEREMIE funding
www.eif.org/jeremie
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First ever
European Innovation Summit If one message shone clearly through the myriad of ideas floated at Europe’s first Innovation Summit - it was a call for a new approach to innovation in Europe. This event on 13 and 14 October took place in the European Parliament and brought together more than 600 stakeholders from the innovation area, including representatives of the European Institutions. The Innovation Summit was organised by the platform ‘Knowledge4Innovation/ Lisbon Forum’ within the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. Its main objective was to bring innovation to the forefront of the concerns of the recently elected European Parliament by discussing priorities and developing recommendations for a new European innovation agenda. 1st European Innovation Summit, 13-14 October 2009
www.knowledge 4innovation.eu
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José Manuel Durão Barroso President of the European Commission Transforming the EU into an Innovation Society European Innovation Summit Brussels, 13 October 2009
http://europa.eu/rapid > Reference > SPEECH/09/478 > Search
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At the summit, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso announced a new EU Reform Agenda to be presented next year. “Some are saying that, once the storm has settled, the new economic landscape will be gloomy,” but he believed “we can move forward into ‘broad sunlit uplands’, to use Winston Churchill’s famous phrase. And it is innovation, together with trade, that will take us there.” The President said that the application of innovations like Web 2.0 was changing the way in which innovation happened and was going to involve a much wider range of actors. A new approach to intellectual property, including the patent issue, would also be part of the new agenda.
Mr Jean-Noël Durvy, Director for Innovation Policy at DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission, underlined the importance of being innovative, as this was the best way to remain competitive. “Innovation is critical for the future of Europe. If we want to keep the quality of life of European citizens we need to be innovative. Innovation can help us to face the major societal challenges in the coming years. Innovation is also a key to drive economic laws to invent a new economic model that is more sustainable and more social,” he said. Niko Geerts, from the Economy, Science and Innovation Department of the Flemish Government, commented on the role of regions. He highlighted the fact that “Regions are responsible for implementing policies adapted in response to the major challenges of our time like ageing issues, energy problems, environmental aspects and economic competitiveness. Regions should be more involved in defining policies at different levels from planning and elaboration to the implementation and evaluation phases.” Thus, regions should have a more predominant role in the future Lisbon Strategy, after 2010. Amongst the 33 exhibitors at the summit, Europe INNOVA promoted the initiative’s newest developments and activities and took the opportunity to introduce the second phase of the initiative to the MEPs and other participants.
www.europe-innova.eu
IMP³rove
Enduring Work on Innovation Management
Innovation Management
The IMP³rove project, under Europe INNOVA, has developed and tested new services in support of SME innovation management. Building on an holistic innovation management approach, the project has improved the business performance of many European SMEs.
More evidence of IMP³rove’s impact will be featured in a new Europe INNOVA publication ‘IMP³rove – A European Project with Impact – 50 Success Stories on Innovation Management,’ which will be published in early 2010.
New era to begin
Since the launch of the IMP³rove platform, in 2006, more than 2,600 SMEs have benefited from the project. This is according to the feedback reported 12 months after these SMEs had applied the IMP³rove approach. They have confirmed the impact of IMP³rove on growth in profit, in revenue, and/or in the number of employees. As a particular result of the IMP³rove process, SMEs report that they have introduced a clear strategic focus to develop new domestic markets, to internationalise or to adopt new technologies. Other SMEs reported that IMP³rove helped them to create an innovation culture in the enterprise and to educate staff in innovation management.
A philosophy more than a tool
The IMP³rove approach also revealed to SMEs the need for more systematic customer integration and also the potential for closer involvement in clusters. These were used, for example, by a Spanish company in a merger situation to fully exploit the strengths of the newly acquired enterprise. Aitor Egido, R&D Manager of a Spanish SME operating in the machinery industry sector reported that “The main results of the IMP³rove process were the creation of a R&D department and a global management of the innovation process.”
“IMP³rove is not a tool, it is more than an approach – it is a philosophy,” which is how the most intensive users in the community of more than 400 IMP³rove experts describe it. The project has increased their effectiveness in delivering innovation management services to SMEs and has given them the security to address all relevant issues in innovation management.
Kajanus Consulting, a small Finnish management consultancy, started to work with the IMP³rove approach in December 2007. This company has undertaken some 30 IMP³rove consultancy processes and several training sessions dedicated to innovation management. Kajanus Consulting is now committed to the use of IMP³rove because it helps the company to discover new business lines and to adjust its consultancy services to today’s innovation management demands. As Jorma Kajanus, CEO of the consultancy puts it, “Now our service portfolio is complemented with a new field of expertise – innovation management – and we have tools to implement this expertise in everyday consultancy practice.”
IMP3rove
On 15 December 2009 the IMP³rove platform starts a new phase of development. During the first phase, the platform which was developed and operated on behalf of the European Commission has proven its functionality and benefits for both SMEs and innovation management experts, so the new 2-year phase will focus on a wider use of the platform, consolidation of the related services and the build-up of a sustainable business model. Consequently, by the end of 2011 the community of innovation management experts and an ‘Innovation Management Academy’ will have been established and be in a position to use and further develop the tools. Sven Schade, the European Commission project officer, emphasises that “The strong engagement of the expert community and of the developers of the platform constitutes a strong base for sustained impact across Europe. Finding the right the business model with the innovation management community will be a challenging task for all involved.”
Read more about IMP3rove www.europe-innova.eu > Innovation Management > About IMP3rove
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Sectoral Innovation Watch
Sectoral Innovation Watch
Workshop calls for Clear Priorities
Key players from nine industrial sectors met in Brussels on the 1 and 2 December 2009 to analyse and discuss future scenarios and requirements in sectoral systems of innovation.
The nine industries involved in the Foresight Workshop 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Aeronautics and Space Automotive Biotechnology Construction Electrical & Optical Equipment Food and Beverage Knowledge Intensive Services Textiles and Clothing Wholesale and Retail Trade
The Sectoral Innovation Watch (SIW) aims to anticipate the way in which innovation systems evolve and to apply mechanisms that support the future development of innovation policies and strategies. Opening the 2nd SIW Foresight Workshop, Reinhard Büscher, Head of the ‘Support for Innovation Unit’ at DG Enterprise and Industry, stated “We do not know the future and we do not know how the sectors will change in the future, but we need to understand better what drives innovation in these sectors in order to support innovation proactively.” He also added “We can’t support all forms of innovation in all sectors. We need to prioritise taking account of the main societal challenges.” Each of the nine sectoral working groups came with identified scenarios that could describe the possible evolution of these sectors. These included access to finance, regulatory barriers, standardisation and harmonisation.
the participants was that to address grand societal challenges such as sustainability, policy instruments needed more focus and clear priorities, as well as an integrated approach towards cross-sectoral policy challenges. Using the developments in Knowledge Intensive Services (KIS) as an example, Reinhard Büscher encouraged the participants to come up with policy recommendations that would take account of the changing sectoral definitions and borderlines by posing the following questions. “What happens between the sectors? How do borderlines between the sectors change and what do the new borderlines between sectors look like? Do we need new sector definitions? What are new emerging markets and technologies?” The discussions during the workshop contributed to the identification of major innovation themes that are likely to require a policy response in the years to come.
All nine sectors stressed that sustainability and, more specifically, eco-innovation were overarching and cross sectoral innovation challenges. A commonly held belief amongst Mr. Reinhard Büscher and Mr. Matthias Weber
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Survey on Innovation
Voucher Schemes Voucher schemes have become an increasingly popular means of enabling companies to buy in external expertise to support them in their development and innovation. These schemes, which have been established by innovation support organisations, are aimed at helping SMEs to start, or accelerate, innovative activities and also to enhance their competitiveness, through collaboration with R&D institutions or other service providers. In September and October 2009, the ‘Support for Innovation Unit’ of DG Enterprise and Industry conducted a survey of innovation voucher schemes across Europe to provide an overview of their design and implementation by identifying common elements and distinctive features. The aim was to assess the potential of establishing collaboration between these regional and national schemes. Information was provided by 21 different authorities in 15 countries. The Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, France, FYROM, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal reported on one national scheme, whilst Austria and Slovenia had two national schemes and Belgium and the UK had two regional schemes. The country with the largest number was Germany, which reported on its three regional schemes.
Common core A common core based on the four dimensions of voucher size, eligible services, service providers and application process, was identified for the majority of schemes. Overall, only the French scheme falls completely within this common core. Most divergences from the common core are related to the origin and type of service providers. Consequently, any European level coordination offered to interested voucher schemes might generate the highest impact if it is focused on these latter aspects.
Risk in the management of voucher schemes Different risk management approaches are reflected in the restrictions introduced into innovation voucher schemes. Generally, there is a strong positive correlation between the value of the voucher and the number of restrictions or the degree of service eligibility. Subjectively, the risks increase with the acceptance of private or foreign, unknown service providers. For example, R&D centres in a particular region are better known and more trusted, possibly at the expense of excellence, than foreign institutes with no history of collaboration in that region.
Next steps As a follow-up to the survey, an innovation voucher group under the KIS-IP will be established to bring together experts in the field. The establishing of a discussion forum on the Europe INNOVA web site is also being considered as a method of sharing experiences and discussing how innovation vouchers could be best used to promote the emergence of new markets for knowledge intensive services. This might identify new ways of improving cooperation between schemes in different countries with the objective of enhancing the access of SMEs to the most suitable service providers in Europe. Voucher size 0% SME contribution: 3 000 - 5 000€ 50%SME contribution: 8 000 - 13 000€ Service providers European public & public-private providers; private providers only if focused on R&D Eligible services R&D, design, Innovation management, market studies; No IT consulting, training Application process A 4-5 page form Approval within 2-3 weeks
The survey results are available on
www.europe-innova.eu > See all News > Survey of Innovation Vouchers Schemes (2009-12-03)
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Business Recommendations
on Future European Innovation Policy Business Panel (from left to right) Chair:
Diogo Vasconcelos, Distinguished Fellow, Cisco Systems International
Gianfranco Corini, President, NEXT Ingegneria dei Sistemi S.p.A
Jan Lamser, Member of Board of Directors, Senior Executive Officer, CSOB Bank (member of KBC Group)
Professor Rüdiger Iden, Senior Vice President, BASF SE
Dr Anne Stenros, Design Director (Vice President, Design), KONE Corporation
Rapporteur: Maureen McKelvey, Professor of Industrial Management, University of Gothenburg
Link to the report
http://ec.europa.eu/ enterprise/policies/ innovation/files/ panel_report_en.pdf Link to the blog
http://blogs. ec.europa.eu/ innovationunlimited
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To provide input from a business perspective, DG Enterprise and Industry established a Business Panel to stimulate the debate on priorities for future EU innovation policies and this panel has produced five core recommendations.
1. Broaden the concept of innovation While innovations evolving from companies mainly aim to generate commercial success, European society needs changes to generate social return and transformation to cope with unprecedented challenges.
2. Speed and synchronisation In the public sector, it is crucial to accelerate the uptake of innovative solutions and technologies. Therefore, innovation support programmes need to be synchronised with the development of standards, public procurement and regulations.
3. Investments in future infrastructure The EU should commit to ultra fast broadband and smart energy grid connections in order to unlock the potential of the new digital and energy infrastructures. Combined infrastructure projects with support for innovative services and open access can also be door-openers to integrated cross-border investment strategies.
4. Innovative financing models There should be a radically new approach to financing innovation including a major development of the European Investment Fund to create a pan-European Innovation Fund, the creation of an EU-wide market for trading and sharing Intellectual Property and the brokering of bolder investment readiness initiatives.
5. New places for new types of collaborations Information technologies and web 2.0 applications change the way people interact on a global level and create promising business ideas. To support potential innovations, more innovation labs should be created and investments should be made in cultural and creative institutions, organisations and networks.
Personal Viewpoints from three Panel Members “European innovation policies need to be centred much more on social innovation and should support social entrepreneurship as well. Sustainable public-private partnerships will be the key to success.” - Professor Rüdiger Iden, Senior Vice President, BASF Aktiengesellschaft “The European Innovation Plan should enable innovation. The aim of the report formulated by the Business Panel has been to highlight certain key levers that we believe could contribute significantly to a European innovation uptake.” - Jan Lamser, Member of Board of Directors and Senior Executive Officer, CSOB Bank “Especially today, when we face complex problems, we need new processes, methods and viewpoints to find the best solutions. Most of all, we must empower people themselves to participate in innovating.” - Dr Anne Stenros, Design Director (Vice President, Design), KONE Corporation
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Sustainability Approaches of the current and future Presidencies An Eco-efficient Economy: Together we can make it!
Lisbon Strategy under the Spanish Presidency’s Microscope
The Swedish EU Presidency’s Eco-efficient Economy Conference held during November, in Linköping, addressed the current economic, environmental and societal challenges in Europe and proposed new policy measures to prompt innovative processes that would contribute to a more sustainable and eco-efficient economy.
One of the strategic priorities of the Spanish EU Presidency Programme ‘More Europe’ in 2002 was the promotion of the ‘Lisbon Process.’ In the first half of 2010, Spain will again hold the EU Presidency with the goals of the renewed Lisbon Strategy still far from being attained.
At the beginning of the conference, Mrs. Maud Olofsson, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Enterprise, Energy and Communications stated that “Eco-efficency is a perfect example of an area where significant improvement can be made with comparatively small inputs.” During the opening session, other speakers reinforced the tremendous opportunities that were offered by the development of an eco-efficient economy. Parallel sessions then offered case studies on eco-efficient technologies that were looked at through various lenses such as solar energy, bio-energy and bio-technology. In general, there was widespread agreement at the conference that public-private partnerships were increasingly needed, particularly for solving problems on a global scale and that the role of the public sector was to facilitate the private sector in developing such solutions. These sustainable solutions will only be found in new types of cooperation and so innovation is not only a technological concern - it also implies an exploration of new socio-technological arrangements. One thematic session was dedicated to the Lead Market Initiative (LMI), reviewing instruments used and experiences in areas which were identified in 2006 as having the greatest development potential for EU business. Examples were given and applications and future directions were discussed.
Spain believes that the core objectives of the Lisbon Strategy should continue to be job creation and economic growth. However, this growth must also be sustainable and so the focus will be on an innovation model to address the phenomenon of globalisation, a low carbon model to address climate change and a social model to guarantee full employment, equal opportunities and social cohesion. Innovation is seen as being vital to growth and the Presidency will place an emphasis on four aspects:
The Lisbon Treaty
1. Investment in corporate R&D and technological development by increasing basic research in the public sector, promoting public-private cooperation, better linking of productivity needs with research results and providing increased funding at company level; 2. Development of emerging technological sectors by progressing in fields such as biotechnology, ICT, energy efficiency and alternative energy to respond to challenges such as ageing, migration and climate change; 3. Development of the information society by improving the quality and volume of electronic public services and putting a special focus on the European Broadband Strategy; 4. More Innovation for more SMEs through promoting the role of scientific intermediaries as providers of technological services, by investing in cooperation platforms between SMEs and public R&D centres and by expanding services to support nontechnological innovation.
Panel discussion during the Swedish EU Presidency’s Eco-efficient Economy Conference
Read more about the Eco-Efficient Economy Conference
www.se2009.eu/en > Meetings & News > Monday 2 November > Eco-Efficient Economy - Towards innovative and sustainable competitiveness
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C O N F E R E N C E H I G H L I G H T:
The News in Brief
World innovation recognises the importance of clusters Partnerships for better innovation support
During the ‘World Innovation Days,’ meeting held in Poland, on 28 September - 2 October, 1.000 participants had the opportunity to attend over 50 lectures from world renowned experts. Many crucial subjects were covered during the week including improving the innovative economy, increasing the competitiveness of enterprises and the importance of design and its influence on the quality of life. In addition, clusters in the Wielkopolska region were compared to cluster initiatives from other parts of the world during the ‘Cluster Initiatives Day.’ The conclusion was that “what Europe needs is not more clusters but more excellent clusters.”
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.eu/newsletter
COMING EVENTS:
> 11 - 12 February 2010, Rome, italy The second edition of the KIS Partnering Forum is to be hosted in Rome The KIS Partnering Forum, which will be held in Rome on 11 and 12 February 2010, will bring together innovation practitioners, policy makers, companies and investors to explore the nature of the Knowledge Intensive Services sector and to discuss how innovation in the service sector can be fostered, supported and encouraged.
> 15 - 17 March 2010 , Granada, Spain Week of Innovative Regions in Europe The event will focus on the connectivity between the different governance levels of the European, national and regional strategies and programmes on Research and Technological Development.
Editorial contact: newsletter@europe-innova.eu 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: This publication has been produced as part of the Europe INNOVA initiative. The views expressed in this report, as well as the information included in it, do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the European Commission and in no way commit the institution. This newsletter is financed under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) which aims to encourage the competitiveness of European enterprises.
http://web.micinn.es/wire
> 22 - 26 March 2010, Brussels, Belgium EU Sustainable Energy Week As in previous years, DG Enterprise and Industry is planning to organise a workshop featuring the activities and results of Europe INNOVA projects in the field of sustainable energy. More information will be available on the Europe INNOVA website in early 2010. 22–26 March
www.eusew.eu
> 20 - 21 april 2010, Bilbao, Spain ETAP Forum The next ETAP Forum will focus on eco-innovation in SMEs. The event will be organised in collaboration with the Spanish EU Presidency. PLANNED EVENTS:
> 27 - 29 October 2010, liège, Belgium The Europe INNOVA Conference The Europe INNOVA Conference is foreseen to take place during, and be organised in collaboration with the Belgian EU Presidency.
www.europe-innova.eu
Printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink.
European Commission Enterprise and Industry