Picks in the News

European Social Entrepreneurship Funds

The European Commission has just published a proposed regulation on European social entrepreneurship funds which will introduce uniform requirements for the managers of collective investment undertakings that operate in this field.

The principal aim of this proposal is to provide support to the market for social businesses by improving the effectiveness of fundraising by investment funds that target these businesses.

Find out more at: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/investment/docs/social_investment/20111207proposal_en.pdf.

Start up! The European Entrepreneurship Summit and EIT Entrepreneurship Awards

The EIT Entrepreneurship Awards, is a contest organized by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology which will culminate in a day-long conference to be held on the 21st February 2012 in Brussels (Belgium).
The event will focus on how to unlock Europe's innovation potential and address the various challenges faced by European entrepreneurs.

The three winners of the EIT Awards 2012 will be announced at the awards ceremony followed by a gala dinner.

The day before the conference, the finalists will be invited to attend a training course on how to successfully present their businesses and prepare for their pitches at the conference.

Please contact events@sciencebusiness.net to find out more about registration.

To find out more, please, click here.

€ 2.5 billions to boost business competitiveness and SMEs 2014 - 2020

Promote access to finance and encouraging an entrepreneurial culture, including the creation of new enterprises are the core issues of the new financial support programme, tabled by the European Commission in Brussels on the 30th November 2011.

With a budget of € 2.5 billions over the period 2014-2020, the Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs, COSME is a funding instrument, which is largely continuing the activities under the current Competitiveness and Innovation programme (CIP).
COSME shall contribute to the following general objectives, paying particular attention to the specific needs of SMEs at European and global level:
a) strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of the Union’s enterprises including in the tourism sector;
b) encouraging an entrepreneurial culture and promoting the creation and growth of SMEs.

Read more here

OAS Member States Commit in Panama to Advance Science, Technology and Innovation in the Americas by 2025

At a meeting organized by the Organization of American States (OAS), the countries of the Americas adopted today the “Plan of Action of Panama”, by which they commit to work together to achieve by 2025 a series of goals in the areas of science, technology and innovation, in order to enhance the competitiveness of the region and promote the well-being of their citizens.

 

To learn more, please clik here

Simpler, broader, bigger: EU unveils €80 billion research plan

The European Commission proposed a simpler, more economically productive system for funding research and innovation over the coming decade, as it formally launched what promises to be a battle to raise its budget to €80 billion.

The proposed €80 billion budget, if approved in 2012 or 2013 by the European Council and Parliament, would represent a major rise from the current €55 billion programme, and has already hit static from Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands and other budget-conscious states. But the Commission is betting that its emphasis on simplifying the system, broadening the benefits and focusing more on economic return will by the end of the tortuous EU legislative process win support from all the member-states.

To find out more, please click here.

World Intellectual Property Report 2011- The Changing Face of Innovation

WIPO’s World IP Report, published on November 2011, explores the changing face of innovation. It aims to explain, clarify and contribute to policy analysis relating to IP, with a view to facilitating evidence-based policymaking. It describes key trends in the innovation landscape - including the increasingly open, international and collaborative character of the innovation process.

To Download the full Report, please click here.

To find out more: http://www.wipo.int/econ_stat/en/economics/wipr/.

Communication on "Partnering in Research and Innovation"

For the recovery to be maintained, we must use existing public and private resources for research and innovation (R&I) in a smart way to optimize the contribution of public and private players in achieving sustainable growth. This is essential to achieving the European Research Area (ERA) by 2014 and for delivering on the Innovation Union, the Digital Agenda and other EU 2020 Flagships.

The Commission's Innovation Union Communication highlights the importance of partnering in European R&I as a means of "pooling forces to achieve breakthroughs".

Download the full text of the Communication here.

Public consultation: Small Business, Big World - A new partnership to help SMEs seize global opportunities

On 13 May 2011, DG Enterprise and Industry published a consultation document, “Small Business, Big World – a new partnership to help SMEs seize global opportunities”, regarding a new EU strategy for the internationalization of European small and medium-sized enterprises.

Stakeholders and interested parties were invited to submit comments based on a series of
guiding questions by 12 July 2011.

Just over 60 responses to the public consultation were submitted within the deadline.

The results of the public consultation confirm that SMEs need public support to tap non-EU
markets and that SMEs could benefit from greater visibility of available support measures.
A number of suggestions have made regarding the design and the contents of such portal.

Download the Summary of responses.

To learn more about the Consultation, please, click here.

The long-awaited Communication on Internationalisation of SMEs - "Small Business, Big World a new partnership to help SMEs seize global opportunities" - has been released by the European Commission on 9^th November.

We invite you to read carefully the following documents:

• Synthesis of the Communication: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/765&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

• Full text of the Communication.

Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World

Doing Business 2012, a co-publication of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, is the ninth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.

It presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies and it ranks the economies in 10 areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, resolving insolvency and trading across borders.

To learn more, please, click here.

 

To download the full Report, please click here.

7th Transnational EuroTransBio Call for Proposals

The strategic objective of the 7^th ETB call is to foster the competitive capacity Europe’s biotechnology industry by supporting the research intensive SMEs and their strategic partnerships. The 7^th ETB call is a generic call including all fields of biotechnology.

Countries: Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy

Regions: Andalusia, Basque Country , Catalonia, Navarra (Spain), Flanders, Wallonia (Belgium) and Alsace (France).

Deadline: 1st February 2012

To learn more, please click here.

EUREKA's Eurostars Programme

EUREKA's Eurostars Programme is an European Joint Programme dedicated to the R&D performing SMEs, co-funded by the European Communities and 33 EUREKA member countries.
Eurostars aims to stimulate these SMEs to lead international collaborative research and innovation projects by easing access to support and funding.

The next deadline for the submission of applications is 1^st March 2012.

For further information please contact the EUREKA NCPs (National Contact Points) and/or visit the following website: http://www.eurostars-eureka.eu/.

Innovation Union: achievements in the first year

October 6th 2011 marks the first anniversary of the Innovation Union (IU) flagship initiative, one of the cornerstones of the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs.

The Innovation Union plan contains over thirty actions points, with the aim to do three things:

- make Europe into a world-class science performer;

- remove obstacles to innovation – like expensive patenting, market fragmentation, slow standard-setting and skills shortages – which currently prevent ideas getting quickly to market; and

- revolutionize the way public and private sectors work together, notably through Innovation Partnerships between the European institutions, national and regional authorities and business.

A comprehensive progress report will be published by the end of November.

To learn more, please click here.

Breaking down barriers to research – consultation on the European Research Area

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to find out how the European research environment can be radically improved. The goal is to achieve the European Research Area (ERA) by 2014, creating a genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation. This will enable researchers, research institutions and businesses to circulate, compete, and co-operate across borders, increasing growth potential.

To learn more, please, click here.

OECD Science, Technology and Industry (STI) Scoreboard 2011

The tenth edition of the OECD Science, Technology and Industry (STI) Scoreboard 2011 “Innovation and Growth in Knowledge Economies” has  been published  by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. With over 180 comparable indicators, it analyses trends in science, technology, innovation and industrial performance in OECD and major non-OECD countries (Brazil, Russian Federation, India, Indonesia, People’s Republic of China and South Africa). It also shows that the United States is leading the way for research.

Download the Report here.

Horizon 2020

“Horizon 2020" , the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, will be the successor to FP7. It is the new, integrated funding system that will cover all research and innovation funding currently provided through the Framework Programme for Research and Technical Development, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
This will be a way to support researchers and innovators in Europe to help ensure that good ideas reach the market and generate sustainable economic growth and new jobs.
It will enter into force on 1st January 2014.

Find information about the thematic workshops, component parts of Horizon 2020, here.

The European Commission has recently presented the outline of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.
The full texts are available on http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm?pg=h2020-documents (For the moment, they are only in English)

To learn more, please, click here.

EU/Eurostat: Key figures on European business with a special feature on SMEs

This publication aims to illustrate the wide range of business statistics available from Eurostat, in particular structural business statistics (SBS).The study, prepared by Eurostat Unit, constitutes a summary and a general overview of the structural business statistics available, collected on an annual basis. It consists of three main chapters: a feature on small and medium- sized enterprises; an overview of the EU business economy; a more detailed sectoral analysis.

Find out more at:  http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/european_business/introduction/.

You can download the pocketbook here.

"Innovation Union Competitiveness Report 2011”

The European Commission has published its 2011 Innovation Union Competitiveness Report.
The Report builds on the Innovation Union Scoreboard and includes a factsheet detailing each country’s research and innovation performance.

It provides solid facts on which to base European and national policy choices to build efficient research and innovation systems and turn the EU into a true “Innovation Union”

Download the full Report here

European Competitiveness Report 2011

As in previous editions, the ECR 2011 analyses a number of topics that are important for the competitiveness of the EU industry and economy. The analysis is based on economic theory and empirical research.
The aim of the report is to contribute to policymaking by drawing attention to recent economic trends and developments and by discussing policy implications.

The Report looks first at the overall economic performance and its impact on productivity, as well as the role of R&D and innovation in this process.

Finally, the Report analyses the relationship between the EU industrial and competition policies as well as the changes in this respect that have taken place over the last decade.

To learn more, please, download the Report here.

Find out more