In addition to the research framework programme, the European Commission outlined it intended to boost Europe’s competitiveness and innovation through a new programme - CIP, to run from 2007 until 2013 with a budget of 4.2126 billion euro. There are some ideas how to improve its running and connections with national programmes.
The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme is the Commission’s response to calls for greater coherence and synergy between the Community programmes and instruments relevant to the Lisbon strategy, with the principle aim to support innovation in SMEs, take up of ICT in industry and more efficient use of energy.
The programme will encompass also all activities currently running under 6th Framework sub-programme: Research and Innovation. This sub-programme primarily consists of support for innovation studies and networking. Its main tool are the Innovation Relay Centres established in 90 European regions.
In the preparation to the CIP, Slovenia has adopted a special position paper calling for more coherence between already existing networks.
It proposes to have one common secretariat or implementing agency for this networks, moreover, it calls for closer cooperation with regional and national agencies that already perform similar tasks. The network would not only impose new services on its members, but also secure better connection between them. As there is a special role for national / regional authorities, the synergies between European and national programmes could be better exploited. Such new secretariat/agency would hold the name of European Centre for Competitiveness and Innovation (ECCI)
The traits of the idea currently exist in the Commission’s initiative b2Europe. However, the b2Europe is so far weakly developed and unknown to general public.
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At first glance this CIP seems to be an administrative restructuring of already existing programs. How much of this initiative would be new?
Indeed, CIP is mainly restructuring of existing initiatives. It builds on current MAP - Multiannual Programme for Entrepreneurship, while it adds parts of 6th Framework programme (Innovation). This is so called First Pillar of CIP.
It has additional two pillars, made of programmes that currently run under the names of eContent and Intelligent Energy.
All of them were small programmes. The CIP should give them new visibility, in particular to SME measures prepared by the Commission. Another expectation is to have more coordination between existing activities that aim towards similar goals i.e. SMEs, innovation.
Don’t expect something spectacular, but at the moment there are very few people who are happy with the current support services for SMEs, but no one is willing to abandon them or revolutionise them. Therefore, we are witnessing mainly reorganisation.