Reporting on technology innovation in Central Europe
Successful participation to the European Community programmes demands quite a bit of self-promotion.
Evaluators tend to judge European dimension of consortia by the number of countries participating to the project. Co-ordinators are, therefore, often obliged to put on board partners that they do not know from before.
How to find them?
“Just think what Europe could be. Think of the innate strengths of our enlarged Union. Think of its untapped potential to create prosperity and offer opportunity and justice for all its citizens. Europe can be a beacon of economic, social and environmental progress to the rest of the world.”
No this is not Konrad Adenauer’s or Robert Schumann’s vision for Europe some 50 years ago, but President Barroso’s one, in February 2005, communicating on how Members States could better work together for growth and jobs and how the EU could take a new start for the Lisbon Strategy.
Based on policy recommendations for the Mid-Term Review of the Lisbon Strategy, all Members States had been asked in 2005 to put together Action Plans for National Lisbon Strategy in the framework of a new partnership for Growth and Jobs.
One year after, which conclusions can be made?
Continue reading ‘Any progress towards the Lisbon strategy?’
Scope for venture capital in financing SMEs has been, since the late nineties, subject of many discussions and debates. With regard to the flourishing literature and political support towards venture capital, this has appeared as a way to substantially improve SMEs’ access to finance. However, recent assessments have enlightened its decline.
Investment made possible through venture capital (VC) is commonly recognised as an important path to economic growth and innovation. The report Employment Contribution of Private equity and Venture Capital published by the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (http://www.evca.com/html/home.asp) identifies a growing role of VC in Europe, with a 40% increase in the number of companies supported since 1995. The positive impact in terms of employment is also generally agreed so as its contribution to R&D. But the same report also underlines difficulties faced by this sector since the burst of the Internet bubble in 2000-2001. For instance, amount of VC invested in 2000 was nearly 20 billion euros, compared to 10.3 billion euros invested in 2004. One of the major consequences of this decrease is a seed capital based investment decline in start-up companies. Thus, the number of companies in which VC was invested declined from 9,187 in 2000 to 5,557 in 2004.
Continue reading ‘SME access to finance in the EU-15: is venture capital so crucial?’
I am pleased to introduce Noweurope?s audience a new contributor from Belgium.
Claudie Tallineau (33) is a Senior Consultant at Pole Europe Conseil, a Belgian private consultancy company concentrating on assignments aimed at supporting socio-economic actors in the elaboration and implementation of policies or strategies, directly or indirectly, related to their growth and competitiveness through innovation, internationalisation and integration of the European dimension.
Pole Europe Conseil has a strong experience in advising SMEs and supporting them in their participation in European projects. Through a one off contribution, Claudie proposes to share with nowEurope’s audience her views on the difficulties faced by SMEs in meeting such challenges and how they can overcome the barriers of the 6th FPRD.
Scope for venture capital in financing SMEs has been, since the late nineties, subject of many discussions and debates. With regard to the flourishing literature and political support towards venture capital, this has appeared as a way to substantially improve SMEs’ access to finance. However, recent assessments have enlightened its decline.
Investment made possible through venture capital (VC) is commonly recognised as an important path to economic growth and innovation. The report Employment Contribution of Private equity and Venture Capital published by the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) identifies a growing role of VC in Europe, with a 40% increase in the number of companies supported since 1995. The positive impact in terms of employment is also generally agreed so as its contribution to R&D. But the same report also underlines difficulties faced by this sector since the burst of the Internet bubble in 2000-2001. For instance, amount of VC invested in 2000 was nearly 20 billion euros, compared to 10.3 billion euros invested in 2004. One of the major consequences of this decrease is a seed capital based investment decline in start-up companies. Thus, the number of companies in which VC was invested declined from 9,187 in 2000 to 5,557 in 2004.
Continue reading ‘SME access to finance in the EU-15: is venture capital so crucial?’
Directly related to this website are the events we hold in Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia to help local business people get connected to FP6 funding programs. Last night I held such an event here in Budapest, for an audience of about 40 people - a mixture of MBA students, entrepreneurs and business people. FP6 is the EU’s program to fund tech R&D.
One strong impression from last night: there’s a vast disconnect between the murky, bureaucratic logic of FP6 and how people actually do business. It takes ages to explain these procedures to intelligent people!
Continue reading ‘Strategies for success in FP6′
Networking national research programmes comes as a novelty to the EU research framework programme. The so-called ERA Net scheme was introduced in 2002 with the aim to strengthen the European Research Area by supporting the trans-national networking and co-ordination of national research programme implementers (agencies) and owners (ministries).
Most of the projects financed under ERA Net scheme obliged themselves to, first, establish a common platform for a certain programme, and then, run a pilot common call. In such call, common procedures are used for multilateral international projects.
In short, ERA Nets were established to bring more EUREKA-like work that proved successful but has also shown its limits in the last 20 years.
Continue reading ‘Industrial Associations in Trans-national Research’
As Framework Programme 6 is coming gradually to its natural end, preparations for FP7 are taking up speed. Despite of some setbacks with EU financial perspective and budget for 2007-2013, which was declined in the Parliament some weeks ago, it is becoming ever more clear that the next programme will be more ambitious and will provide larger incentives both for academia as well as industry for participation.
Continue reading ‘Rules for participation in FP7 actions’
The biotechnology field has enormous potential in terms of creating wealth and jobs. There is particular focus on confronting the major communicable diseases linked to poverty. Fostering scientific excellence and innovation through greater European cooperation will help boosting the technology breakthroughs and economic growth to make EU one of the major international players in the field.
Research without innovation is going nowhere. Innovation only really benefits society when research hits the road in pursuit of markets. Too often, the business community fails to understand the science behind new research, while scientists have little idea how to set up and run a business. Our universities prepare specialists for academic purposes, but do not prepare for business. There is a gap in delivering of entrepreneurial skills and business experience.
Continue reading ‘BioBiz 2006 in Slovakia’
Yesterday the European Commission published its assessment on the member states’ reform programmes (national reform programme - NRP) for growth and jobs. In 2005 when the EU leaders decided to revitalise the Lisbon Strategy member states were required to create their national reform programmes which include national contributions to the European level strategy. The assessment on national basis provides a short analysis of the NRPs and identifies strengths and weaknesses of the programmes.
Yesterday the European Commission published its assessment on the member states’ reform programmes (national reform programme - NRP) for growth and jobs. In 2005 when the EU leaders decided to revitalise the Lisbon Strategy member states were required to create their national reform programmes which include national contributions to the European level strategy. The assessment on national basis provides a short analysis of the NRPs and identifies strengths and weaknesses of the programmes. In addition four priority action areas were identified: investment in education, research and innovation; freeing up SMEs; employment policies to get people into work; and guaranteeing a secure and sustainable energy supply. In these areas member states are asked to commit additional measures.
Continue reading ‘Assessment of the national reform programmes - is it good for us?’
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are co-financed within the 7th Framework programme
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