The Expert Validation Platform (EVP) of TAKE IT UP met for the very first time on 10 – 12 February, in Rome. This new multi-skilled group of innovation support professionals was selected after an EU-wide call for expressions of interest. The task of the members of EVP is to offer informed feedback from potential users of those novel tools and services that are being developed and tested by Europe INNOVA partnerships.

Sven Schade from DG Enterprise and Industry kicked off the meeting by highlighting the fact that approximately 40% of the companies across Europe had been dissatisfied with the innovation support services that they had received. He then explained that “the TAKE IT UP project and its Validation Platform will improve the targeting of support tools to the needs of companies and will also help to accelerate the take up of these tools in the regions.”

During this first meeting, the EVP experts came better acquainted with the Validation Platform’s objectives and its proposed  activities. There was also an intensive discussion on the quality criteria with which the Europe INNOVA tools should comply in order to enable their speedier and wider deployment by Innovation Service Providers (ISPs) including the Enterprise Europe Network.  Another debate in Rome centred on the practical support and services that TAKE IT UP and its EVP could provide to projects without being perceived as an ‘evaluation mechanism.’

The event also provided an excellent opportunity for the EVP experts to establish contacts with representatives of KIS projects. Through these contacts, the experts gathered initial feedback on critical issues in tools development, such as the projects’ awareness of the six Europe INNOVA quality principles, the testing processes and the levels of development of the partnerships’ capitalisation strategies.

This was the first in a series of nine EVP meetings. The next meeting is planned for June 2010 and will possibly be held in conjunction with the forthcoming Europe INNOVA Annual Partnering Event.
 

Innovating in India?

Poul V. JensenEuropean SMEs which see an innovation potential in India are now able to use the services of the European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) India. The EBTC is operated by a consortium of European organisations and has received a grant from the European Commission to assist its launch. The thematic focus of the EBTC is on biotechnologies, energy, environment and transport. Cluster organisations are strongly present in the EBTC-consortium in each of these areas. Poul V. Jensen has become its director at the beginning of 2010.

Many Member States, national chambers of commerce et al. provide services to SMEs that want to benefit from India's potential for innovation. What sets the EBTC apart from their services?

It should go without saying that we do offer services that companies cannot easily obtain from national or regional sources. Not in all Member States is there an organisation that can assist them with India. And even where such organisations exist, they may offer some services, but not all those needed. Notably, companies from smaller or more recent Member States may find our services their only way to go. Certain services, such as match-making events, etc., we may organise jointly with organisations from Member States.

What services do you offer, for innovation, rather than for trade promotion?

An SME formulates its interest and we see what best serves its interest: technology studies, value chain analysis, partner or intermediary brokerage, etc. As EBTC's mandate is to enhance co-operation between the Union and India, our focus is on three areas in the innovation field: connecting innovation clusters, connecting technology platforms, and ensuring ‘brain circulation’, i.e., that Europeans work and research physically in India and vice versa. Innovation and trade promotion services cannot be told so neatly apart. The expertise for the content of the services relies on our consortium partners' competence.

Who are the consortium partners?

The EBTC comprises European public and private organisations that have a specific expertise in one of the EBTC's focus sectors. Furthermore, we have partners classified as Network partners to ensure the all vital connection to the European SME and research communities. They are located in various regions of the European Union.

Can your services only be used by SMEs from the partners' regions?

No, certainly not. SMEs from all Member States may benefit from our services. They should contact the EBTC using the details on the Web.

The partners are located in Europe. Where do you get the expertise on Indian specificities from?

We are building an own competence here in our Delhi office. We intend to recruit persons who have an intense knowledge within each of our focus sectors in India and furthermore possess vast networks to the Indian SME and research communities. They shall contribute their own expertise to the services provided, not merely serve as a relay establishing contacts. The EBTC has to develop value adding services, because it has to become self-sustainable. It is clear though, that we can never cover all needs with internal resources. That's why we will also co-operate with Member State organisations and local resources.

What role do you see for cluster organisations?

The approach of using cluster organisations as conveyors of information between a considerable number of companies specialised in a specific thematic area is a promising one. We hope that the persons we seek to recruit also know where Indian clusters with competent management organisations are located in our focus sectors. In this regard, we would like to leverage the activities Europe INNOVA has established with cluster organisations. We need a stronger European presence in India to become a larger dot on the radar of Indian business actors.

You are located in Delhi, where a lot of general lobbying is done. Notably emerging industries are located elsewhere, like Chennai or Bengaluru. A local presence in these states would normally raise the quality of contacts. How do you want to go about this from Delhi?

Many nation-wide events take place in Delhi. They constitute good opportunities to establish contacts, whose references establish credibility with potential business partners elsewhere in India. It is not our sole task to lobby public or industry organisations, but it is an important one. We will open regional offices in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata in this first half of 2010. The Bengaluru office will be operational already this coming March, with antennae offices considered in Chennai and Hyderabad.

Among your four thematic areas, which are those with the highest potential for innovation, rather than just for trade?

Logistics and the related transport infrastructure are in dire need of vast investment. Pharma and related biotechnologies are also hot sectors. Energy and environment attain extremely high visibility and major attention from Indian authorities. Common for all four sectors - in India recognized as “sunrise sectors” - is that they all offer immense opportunities.

Is innovation - instead of trade - in these areas in India really something for SMEs or rather for the global R&D activities of large enterprises?

The EBTC was brought to life recognising that much innovation is in fact done in SMEs and not in the R&D labs of multinational companies. An SME with a product or a service that merely needs to be adapted to the Indian market - alone or with a partner - can do so. Also, when an SME is looking for a new development for India, this is feasible. The investment in India needs to be part of the SME's strategy to leverage its knowledge. It is not a way to earn a fast Euro.

Interview by Thomas Heinemeier, Enterprise and Industry DG, Support for Innovation

 © EBTC India, Jensen, Heinemeier.

Mr Reinhard BüscherThe second KIS Partnering Forum took place on 11-12 February 2010 in Rome, hosted by BIC Lazio.

Around 100 innovation experts and 50 service companies discussed over two days how to best support innovation in knowledge intensive services (KIS) in Europe.
In his opening speech Reinhard Büscher of DG Enterprise and Industry emphasized the need for better innovation support in this area. 'More than ever, we must demonstrate that Europe INNOVA has a real impact', he said. 'This requires, first of all, clear objectives and targets for each project …We encourage all our projects to go for one or two big ideas that can be implemented on a large scale.' A number of bilateral meetings with the KIS-IP sectoral partnerships were organised to discuss how to take this approach further.

Mrs Mette Koefoed Quinn 

Mette Koefoed Quinn, the co-ordinator of the KIS-IP, explained in the session “What regions can do for KIS companies” 'that supporting knowledge intensive service companies can be done in many different ways … but without a supportive local environment where they can find partners and clients, it is an uphill fight to be successful' .
In the further discussions it was found that services innovation offers a large scope to address many of the practical problems and societal challenges which cities and regions face. But rather than subsidising or directly helping companies it may be much more promising to create more demand for knowledge intensive services at local and regional level, for example through vouchers. This was emphasized again in the closing remarks by Mette Kofoed Quinn.

To read the programme and download the presentations click here

Watch the video of the event here

More pictures here