SMEs in FP7. European Commission DG Research Unit T4: SMEs REFLECTS THE CURRECT STATUS SUBJECT TO CHANGES

Transcription

1 SMEs in FP7 European Commission DG Research Unit T4: SMEs REFLECTS THE CURRECT STATUS SUBJECT TO CHANGES

2 SMEs in the FP7 proposal - Why? SMEs are at the core of European industry and a key component of the innovation system and in the chain of transforming knowledge into products, processes and services Increasing competition in the internal market and globally SME need to increase their knowledge base and research efforts Member States actions relevant to SMEs often do not encourage or support trans-national research co-operation and technology transfer Actions at EU level are necessary to complement and enhance the impact of actions taken at national and regional level

3 Proposed budget FP7 Euratom (6%) JRC (2%) Capacities (8%) Cooperation (61%) People (9%) Ideas (14%) 7.46 amended Commission s proposal of 24 May 2006

4 FP7 specific programmes Cooperation Whole range of research activities carried out in transnational cooperation, from collaborative projects and networks to the coordination of national research programmes (ERA-NET, Art. 169) and Joint Technological Initiatives (JTI) Ideas Investigator driven frontier research carried out by individual teams competing at European level, in all scientific and technological fields, including engineering People Training and career development of researchers ( Marie Curie actions) Capacities Key aspects of European research and innovation capacities, including research infrastructures; research for the benefit of SMEs; regional research driven clusters; unlocking the full research potential in the EU s convergence regions

5 SMEs in FP7 proposal Main initiatives Four complementary pillars of SME support in FP7 Optimized participation of SMEs Community Actions Dedicated scheme with special emphasis on SMEs Budget increase for the two SME specific measures Member States initiative Article 169 for research performing SMEs COOPERATION PEOPLE CAPACITIES CAPACITIES Research performing SMEs Mainly research performing SMEs Research outsourcing SMEs R&D performing SMEs Thematic areas Industry-acedemia pathways Bottom-up approach Market oriented, bottom-up approach

6 Cooperation programme: SMEs in FP7 proposal Main initiatives Areas of particular interest to SMEs will be identified in the individual work programmes Dedicated SME strategy under each theme Greater flexibility in choosing the funding scheme Facilitating SME participation through improved and simplified financial and administrative procedures (e.g. 75% funding rate for SMEs) Instruments: Collaborative projects, Networks of Excellence, Coordination and support actions

7 SMEs in FP7 proposal Budget allocation in FP6 and FP7 million FP6 FP7 (revised COM proposal) FP6 annual average FP7 annual average Increase SME specific measures % SME participation in Cooperation (if 15% target in FP7) % Total %

8 SMEs in FP7 proposal Collaborative projects targeted to SMEs The "Collaborative projects" funding scheme allows for three different types of projects to be financed including "projects targeted to special groups such as SMEs Stimulate the participation of SMEs Research-intensive SMEs are expected to play leading roles in such projects Requested EC contribution to participating SMEs must in all cases be substantial

9 SMEs in FP7 proposal Main initiatives People programme: Industry-academia partnerships and pathways as part of Marie-Curie actions Actions support longer term cooperation between academia and industry, in particular SMEs Encouraging increased SME participation in this action through - Staff secondment between research and industry - Temporary hosting of experienced researchers from outside - Possible financial contribution to small equipment related to SME participation

10 Capacities programme: Research for the benefit of SMEs Strengthen the innovation capacities of SMEs and their ability to benefit from outsourcing of research Help SMEs to develop new products and markets: Increasing their research effort Extending their networks SMEs specific actions Objectives Improving the exploitation of research results Acquiring technological know-how

11 SMEs specific actions Target groups Research for SMEs: All SMEs that need to outsource research activities: Mainly low to medium technology SMEs with little or no research capability Research intensive SMEs that need to outsource research to complement their core research capability Research for SME associations: SME associations which are normally best placed to know or identify the common technical problems of their members

12 SMEs specific actions Principle: Outsourcing scheme Outsourcing of Research Results, IPR SMEparticipants RTDperformers Other enterprises End users

13 SMEs specific actions Project characteristics Research for SMEs Support of small groups of innovative SMEs to solve common or complementary technological problems. Relatively short term projects centred around the innovation needs of the SMEs, which outsource research to RTD performers. Demonstrate a clear exploitation potential for the SMEs concerned.

14 Research for SME associations SMEs specific actions Project characteristics Support the development of technical solutions to problems common to a large number of SMEs in specific industrial sectors or segments of the value chain. E.g., research needed to develop or conform to EU norms and standards, and to meet regulatory requirements in areas such as health, safety and environmental protection. Duration of several years, driven by SME associations which promote the effective dissemination and take-up of results.

15 SMEs specific actions Common features Common features of the two SME specific measures: Bottom-up approach: entire field of science and technology Types of activities: Research and technological development, demonstration, consortium management (and training, technology transfer, knowledge management and IPR protection) Other enterprises and end-users can participate if it is in the interest of the project Evaluation puts a special emphasis on the expected economic impact for the SMEs

16 SME specific actions Funding Scheme Funding Scheme Research for the benefit of specific groups (in particular SMEs) Support to research projects where the bulk of the research is carried out by universities, research centres or other legal entities, for the benefit of specific groups, in particular SMEs or associations of SMEs.

17 SME specific actions Key features Duration Number of partners Total budget* Activities Research for SMEs 1-2 years Million R&D, demonstration, management, other activities Research for SME associations 2-3 years Million R&D, demonstration, management, other activities * Share of R&D of the RTD performers : 60%

18 EUROSTARS: Joint implementation of national programmes for research performing SMEs (article 169 initiative) Initiative launched by Eureka SME specific actions Member states initiative Targeting R&D performing SME to boost their research and innovation capacity through support of transnational, multipartner R&D projects Up to twenty-one Eureka countries have agreed to participate in a joint programme Community could provide financial support to the initiative Separate decision on the basis of Article 169

19 SME specific actions Coordination and support actions etc. Dissemination and exploitation of results and the identification and exchange of good practice ERA-NET targeting the co-ordination of national/regional programmes targeting SMEs in a similar way to Research for SMEs and Research for SME associations Support to national schemes providing financial means to prepare proposals for actions under 'Research for the Benefit of SMEs ( exploratory awards ) Transnational cooperation among NCPs

20 SMEs specific actions Advisory and Support Structures FP7 Advisory Group on SMEs Provide advice to the Commission and inform constituencies on Implementation of SME specific actions, horizontal SME aspects and Synergies with other SME related Community actions, e.g. CIP. SME Inter-service Taskforce Identify and disseminate best practice on SME participation strategy to enhance coherence and monitor SME participation with respect to targets. Programme Committee Member states representative review and approve work programmes and major policy issues and receive information on each individual grant funded. SME National Contact Points (NCP) Dedicated SME NCP network assists SMEs to participate in the various Themes and the SME specific actions.

21 SME specific actions Budget allocation in FP6 and FP7 million FP6 FP7 (revised COM proposal) FP6 annual average FP7 annual average Increase SME specific measures % SME participation in Cooperation (if 15% target in FP7) % Total %

22 SME specific actions Indicative budget breakdown Total Budget: M 263 Annual Budget [M ] FP FP6: annual average

23 Budget allocated to SMEs in FP6 and FP7 200% FP6 ( ) FP7 ( ) 150% 100% 50% 0% SMEs in Collaborative Research SME specific measures SME total

24 FP7 CIP: Congruency Funding of projects SMEs participation in Research Access to finance Dissemination of Knowledge Regions FP7-RTD Research, technological development and demonstration (collaborative research projects) Simplification Definition of thematic content Specific schemes for SMEs «Risk Sharing Finance Facility» for large European RTD projects and infrastructures (with EIB) Within projects In thematic areas Mobility of researchers Research-driven clusters CIP Market take-up of proven technologies: environmental, ICT and renewable energy, energy efficiency Actions promoting SMEs participation in FP7, via horizontal networks (Article 20(c)) Risk capital (seed, start-up, expansion) SMEs Guarantee facility SMEs loan securitisation Capacity building Networks providing horizontal business & innovation support services (IRCs, IPR Helpdesk) (Article 20) Promotion projects to remove nontechnical barriers (Article 43) Networking clusters of ind. sectors

25 For more information CORDIS: sme.cordis.lu/research/fp6_support.cfm SME TechWeb: SME National Contact Points: sme.cordis.lu/assistance/ncps.cfm SME Help Desk: