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Are current European mechanisms adapted to SMEs?

Published
by
Julie Koeltz
  on  October 12, 2005
  in  EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

Given, in some countries, difficulties faced by SMEs to their participation in European projects, the question whether European mechanisms are adapted or not to SMEs is more and more frequent.

One answer consists of saying that FP regulations are too complicated or that EC procedures are too lengthy and bureaucratic. Besides, SMEs often had bad experiences from previous projects given EC requirements. On SMEs’ activities’ side, it is often said that companies are too active in areas, which are not covered by FP projects or that companies do not have the capacity to prepare project proposals.

Continue reading ‘Are current European mechanisms adapted to SMEs?’

National financial support for Czech FP6 project applicants

Published
by
Vlastimil Vesely
  on  September 3, 2005
  in  EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

You can imagine the frustration stemming from the experience you had spent a lot of time and cost with a FP6 project proposal that received very good marks but in the end could not be funded because of a high competition and limited resources. FP6 proposals usually represent about 80 pages and 2-4 months of hard work (STREP example). Two or more rejected proposals in a row may discourage teams from submitting another one and even kill cash flow of small enterprises.

That is why some governments introduced schemes financially motivating the proposers and reimbursing at least a part of the cost spent on project proposals ranked just under the line dividing the list between those funded and those left behind. The Czech Republic has recently joined them.

Continue reading ‘National financial support for Czech FP6 project applicants’

Hungary’s FP6 score card

Published
by
Steven Carlson
  on  July 5, 2005
  in  EU funding programmes and Hungary
. 0 Comments

How has Hungary fared in the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme? While data is only available for four of the six calls, it is still possible to draw some preliminary conclusions. This data was provided aby the National Research and Technology Agency, as well as the National Office for Research and Technology.

The good news is Hungary’s overall performance in FP6 has increased over the previous FP5 program. Unfortunately, the participation of small businesses has dropped significantly. It also seems clear that new Instruments introduced in FP6 have had the effect of excluding the participation of Hungary, and other New Member States (NMS).
Continue reading ‘Hungary’s FP6 score card’

IDS Scheer CR: 5 years of experience with EU projects

Published
by
Vlastimil Vesely
  on  May 4, 2005
  in  Case studies and EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

The first experience with the EU projects dates back to 2000-2001, when Software Development Department and Translation Department pooled their knowledge and accepted an offer from one of the IDS partners to participate in the first project proposal (Dromeas) in order to spread activities to Europe and gain international experience.

A great experience was at work in the multicultural environment of international consortium where various cultural influences reflected various methods of work and communication between partners. A very positive finding was that verbal agreements could be trusted. However, to comply with EU requirements, Czech participants had to specify clearly in the consortium agreement the areas of decision-making, responsibilities, project costs, as well as patents and dissemination rights.

Besides projects’ technical outputs, the company’s benefits definitely included international contacts opportunities, information regarding European markets and the possibility to compare the level of professional knowledge with CR. Although the framework programme projects do not always lead to the development of a commercial product ready to be launched on the market (the outcome is usually a prototype), the company has gained and developed knowledge on the latest technologies, which can be exerted in other projects or commercial orders.

After having gained experience in two projects (DROMEAS, HEALTHY MARKET), the team decided to meet a challenge of being coordinator in the DICTATE project, which was submitted in the area of Systems for health professionals (creating a Health knowledge info-structure) and started in summer 2002. The four-year project reaches a budget of 3.5 million Euros. The objective is to develop a system intermediating a voice input of medical data via a pocket computer, transform it into a standard format and give an unambiguous interpretation to the health record of a patient.

Last year, another project proposal was approved with the participation of IDS Scheer in the 6th Framework Programme with the objective to design a system for planning surgical interventions based on a 3D model of the heart and the entire cardiovascular system of a patient. As a technical partner, IDS Scheer CR is responsible for the system functional specifications of the CARTIDIS project.

Besides the IST projects from the Framework Programmes, IDS Scheer CR has an extensive experience with project proposals for eTEN, eContent, CRAFT, FET Open, Interreg and Innovation programmes. The company would like to exploit its knowledge and experience and would like to reflect it in future cooperation with other international as well as local partners.

Hungarian data too well protected?

Published
by
Steven Carlson
  on  March 8, 2005
  in  Current events and EU funding programmes
. 2 Comments

As part of the NETIES project, my partners and I are conducting surveys in three markets (Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) to determine the barriers and bottlenecks for small businesses participating in FP6 projects, as well as identify success stories.

One of my biggest barriers is Hungary’s overly restrictive data protection law. In order to conduct this survey, I need to obtain lists from EC partner organizations of companies that have taken part in FP6, as well as earlier programs.

Continue reading ‘Hungarian data too well protected?’

Observations on Framework 6 in Hungary

Published
by
Steven Carlson
  on  January 14, 2005
  in  EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

The goal of NETIES is to help small technology businesses (SMEs) get started with Framework 6 (FP6, and part of that mission, we’re working to identify barriers to participation.

The business people I bring together at my First Tuesday events here in Budapest are well aware of European Commission funding, but have little idea how to get started. Those who have describe a steep learning curve.

One First Tuesday attendee told me he had been approached by a Greek company to take part in an EU tender. The problem, he explained, is he doesn’t know this company and the relationship is open ended. Applying for the grant is an investment of time, but the return is unclear.

Others are baffled by the language of the European Commission, which includes calls, instruments, specific support actions, networks of excellence, and acronyms such as IST, EVA, FP6 and SME. (I found a useful FP6 glossary here.)

At my December First Tuesday event, we spent a good 45 minutes discussing step by step how FP6 works. Many people simply didn’t understand why the European Commission is offering money, and what they would be expected to deliver.

I was particularly pleased to have at my event, Dorottya Pék and her colleague Barbara from Care Consulting, who make a business of helping businesses apply for these grants. Dorottya was able to explain more of the specifics of the current calls published on Cordis.

As it turns out, there’s a whole network of people and institutions here in Hungary that provide information, training and consulting to businesses wishing to take part in FP6 and I’ll introduce some of these actors in future posts to nowEurope.

New FP6 calls for SMEs

Published
by
Vlastimil Vesely
  on  January 8, 2005
  in  EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

In December several new calls were published at Cordis website. Let us take a closer look at some of those where our SMEs have a chance to succeed.

Totally 52 mil. EUR will be spent for Specific Targeted Research Projects (STREP) and Co-ordination Actions (CA) in the area of Citizens and Governance in a knowledge-based society. The deadline for the 2nd call proposals is 13 April 2005. Continue reading ‘New FP6 calls for SMEs’

Publication by CORDIS of profiles of the first FP6 projects in support of SMEs

Published
by
Julie Koeltz
  on  December 21, 2004
  in  EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

Cordis published yesterday the profiles of the first FP6 projects in support and SMEs. These are listed as Integrated Projects (IPs) or Specific Targeted Research, Projects (STREPs). Collective Research projects and Economic and Technological Intelligence (ETI) actions, under the FP5, have also been extended to the FP6.

The objective of ETI actions is to use existing sources and networks in order to identify SMEs’ needs and anticipate market and technology new trends. The projects promote innovation in SMEs, compile and analyse information on scientific developments and identify and disseminate best practice. Continue reading ‘Publication by CORDIS of profiles of the first FP6 projects in support of SMEs’

Integrated projects and the networks of excellence: two instruments of the Sixth Framework programme targeting SMEs

Published
by
Julie Koeltz
  on  December 14, 2004
  in  EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

In order to implement the FP6’s priority research schemes, two new instruments have been put in place: Integrated Projects and Networks of Excellence. The new instruments have been designed to be applicable throughout the priority themes and to all participants and are both targeting SMEs. Continue reading ‘Integrated projects and the networks of excellence: two instruments of the Sixth Framework programme targeting SMEs’

Opening of the Fourth IST call

Published
by
Julie Koeltz
  on  December 2, 2004
  in  EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

The fourth Information Society call within the 6th framework programme has been published on 25 November 2004 and opened since the 1st of December 2004. The total allocation to this call is 1.12 billion euros.

The IST Call 4 funds five types of projects:

- Integrated projects (IPs),
- Specific Targeted Research Projects (STREPs),
- Networks of Excellence (NoEs),
- Coordination Actions (CAs),
- Specific Support Actions (SSAs). Continue reading ‘Opening of the Fourth IST call’

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