Europe INNOVA - Partnerships for better innovation support

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The main goal of the KIS Innovation Platform has been to ensure the establishment of an integrated European Innovation Platform for Knowledge Intensive Services (KIS) companies and to provide the delivery of a series of horizontal support services to 7 Sectoral Partnerships (3 from the 1st generation of projects and 4 projects added in 2010).

In order to pursue and accomplish its objectives, the KIS Platform created an advisory board made up of senior policy experts, innovation practitioners and innovation programme managers with international experience to supervise, monitor and support the activities carried out by the KIS-IP Projects as well as to have a leading advisory role.

This advisory board created under the name of Horizontal Steering Group (HSG).

Overall the HSG has driven the general policy discussion on the topic of Innovation in Services. The HSG has given feedback on results and has commented on activities of all projects. Furthermore Group members have assessed and made recommendations on the activities of the KIS-IP for further improvement. The members have also advised the group on how to position the KIS-IP with other activities (Europe INNOVA, PRO INNO and beyond)

On a more practical level, the HSG had several aims:

• Provide ongoing advice in the Establishment and further promotion of a European Repository of knowledge and good practices on technological and /organisational/business model innovation in services.
• Help in the development of a handbook on the facilitation of organisational innovation in services.
• Participate in the establishment and management of the KIS 100 Club.
• Advise on the organisation of annual European Venture Contests for young innovative service companies as well as a European innovation/service award.
• Disseminate the different networks’ initiatives effectively, outside their competencies.
• Discuss strategies for dissemination.

Tasks and duties of HSG

• Assess and comment on the methodological processes employed in the KISPLATFORM project and for the first three chosen sectoral partnerships as well as any future partnership added within the course of the project.
• Provide on-going advice to the KISPLATFORM and sectoral partnerships consortia on any issues affecting the implementation of the respective projects.
• Analyse the main results that are being obtained and identify areas where further work should be undertaken.
• Encourage active involvement in the projects of potential stakeholders.
• Enhance the projects’ findings and visibility through their networks and activities.
• Support shaping the platform’s exit strategy.
• Provide recommendations on synergies with other initiatives.
• Monitor performance and potential impact of the KIS-IP.
• Draw policy conclusions and recommendations based on the work of the KIS-IP.

Horizontal Steering Group Meetings

There has been two HSG meetings scheduled per year.

Members of the KIS-IP Horizontal Steering Group (updated on October 2009)

 KIS-IP Coordinators