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 WELCOME TO ISSUE N° 5 OF THE INSME NEWSLETTER!
The INSME Network is growing!
 As you will read in this month's issue of INSMEnews, with two new entries, the International Network for SMEs now includes 71 Members, also enlarging the group of intermediaries and networks involved. Growth in numbers is also mirrored by the increased traffic of users towards our portal, which means there are more unique visitors and page views.
The growth of the INSME Network is not only a matter of numbers, it is also a matter of substance, that is shown in its capacity to translate the INSME vision into actions, so as to concretise the objectives that INSME has set and as a consequence, strengthen its role and sustainability over time.
From this point of view, a few steps forward have been made to launch the first INSME Services especially designed to help Members benefit from the flow of information and the exchange of knowledge within the INSME Community. Here are the new items:
- The Partner Search Area, dedicated to matchmaking demands and offers for partners and skills, including a section showcasing technology offers ready to be exploited, resulting from INSME's partnership with CORDIS;
- The Ask INSME Service, that has been kicked off at the beginning of this month with the identification of its project team (it is now in its implementation phase);
- The Thematic Working Groups, whose first example will shortly see INSME Members involved in discussing and exchanging experiences on financing related to innovation and technology transfer;
- The INSME Think Tank, for which the INSME Secretariat, in view of starting up its activities by the end of this year, has created a database with all the CVs of the experts eligible to take part in it.
We really hope that those that are Members draw from these steps forward a new drive to get more deeply involved in the development of the Network and those that are not yet Members receive encouragement to enter and take an active part in the INSME. For this reason we welcome feedback from readers so that we can do our best to get the INSME network to grow further!
Thank you for you time.
Ms. Simona Marzetti
Head of the INSME Secretariat
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Life of the Network |
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New Members join the INSME Steering Group |
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REDIT, the Network of the Technology Institutes of the Valencian Community (Spain), and Tecnopolis (Italy) have entered the INSME Steering Group. With these 2 bodies joining the Network, now INSME includes 71 Members: 41 Governments (22 OECD and 19 non-OECD), 17 International Organisations and NGOs, and 13 networks and intermediaries acting in the field of innovation and technology transfer to SMEs. Governmental bodies and International Organisations (Policy Makers), international NGOs, business associations, intermediaries and their networks are eligible for membership in the INSME Network and in the future INSME Association. SMEs and Enterprises in general are excluded from membership. However they can follow the INSME Process through the information published in our portal.  View the full list of the INSME Members
See the eligibility criteria to join INSME
 Apply for membership in the INSME Network
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INSME Questionnaire: feedback from Members |
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The INSME Secretariat has been sending out a questionnaire to the INSME Steering Group Members since July 2003, so as to better understand their point of view about the INSME Secretariat's proposals for: - the general and tailored services that the INSME Association will offer to its Members;
- the intended typologies of INSME Association membership and their annual fees.
So far 45 questionnaires (63.4%) were sent back and most Members made suggestions and proposals that the INSME Secretariat is currently evaluating accurately.
92.8% of the Members who replied agree that general information and standard services should be offered for free to both Members and non-Members only in English.
77.8% also agree that a number of tailored services must be offered by the INSME Association (INSME Secretariat, INSME Members or outsourced) for an additional fee and that only Full Members should benefit from reduced fees.
Many Members expressed their interest in participating in the first INSME Services to be launched: INSME Pilot Projects, INSME Thematic Working Groups, INSME "Think Tank" and ASK INSME.
We take the occasion to thank again all Members for their feedback and welcome further involvement from their side. |
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INSME and CORDIS establish a partnership to develop marketing synergies |
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 A number of contacts with CORDIS, the Community Online R&D Information Service, developed since July, have led to the identification of a few marketing activities to be carried out in partnership by CORDIS and INSME.
The first of these activities is the implementation of the CORDIS Technology Marketplace content feed system for the INSME portal. This will allow the INSME portal to receive content from the CORDIS Marketplace, namely the technology offers related to five domains (Biology/Medicine, Energy, Environment, IT-Telecommunications, Industrial Technologies) to be accessible within the INSME portal section dedicated to Partner Search.
CORDIS will in turn post online news and events related to the INSME Network, giving greater visibility to the development of the INSME Process. Initiatives for joint participation in conferences, workshops and meetings are also envisaged for the future.
Along the lines of this partnership, the INSME Secretariat has started contacts with other innovation and technology transfer online services (such as Gate2Growth and UNIDO Exchange) in order to enhance INSME's mission to provide its Members with tools for stimulating technology transfer and establishing partnerships for transregional and transnational projects.
CORDIS Marketplace technology offers are available on the INSME portal at:
http://www.insme.org
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A Thematic Working Group on innovative finance launched on the INSME portal |
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The INSME Secretariat has launched a new service for the INSME Members under the name of Thematic Working Groups (TWGs). These groups, to be set up on a voluntary basis, will involve those INSME Members who are interested in sharing experiences, methodologies and good practices on specific topics related to innovation and technology transfer.
The Thematic Working Groups aim at strengthening cooperation among INSME Members and at giving common opportunities to design and launch potential INSME Pilot Projects.
The first Thematic Working Group will address the question Why is raising external finance especially challenging for innovative SMEs and Intermediaries? and it will be chaired by IKED, the International Organisation for Knowledge Economy and Enterprise Development and Member of the INSME Steering Group. The Thematic Working Group is made of dedicated INSME Members, who will discuss how it is possible to improve access to external finance and venture capital.  For further information or to join this TWG, please contact the INSME Secretariat:
Ms. Glenda Napier
napier@ipi.it
Phone: +39 02 43440203
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News from the INSME Members |
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Mr. Weber (SECO, Switzerland) reports on two interesting Swiss portals |
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Mr. Christian Weber from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and Member of the INSME Steering Group, reports on two remarkable initiatives that can be of interest to INSMEnews readers: - a "Swiss Biotech" portal, aimed at fostering linkages among the different actors involved in the biotechnology domain;
- a collection of E-business case studies ("eXperience") published on SECO's Task Force SME portal, aimed at sharing successful experiences with any interested visitors.
New swiss biotech portal, a meeting point and interface with the international biotechnology industry.  On October 22, 2003 Switzerland's Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, officially launched the new biotechnology portal, http://www.swissbiotech.org, into the internet world under the label Swiss Biotech. This brand new information exchange platform - in English - has come to life as a result of a cooperation between several divisions of the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs and six industry representatives including SWX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Biotech Association. Swiss Biotech, the portal, was initiated in the spring of this year after an industry expert report had identified a poor linkage among the various actors in this very innovative industry where technology transfer is one of the essential drivers. The portal is addressed to those with a present or potential stake in the industry, new entrants or founders, established companies, researchers and investors. Swiss Biotech aims at providing in a single internet location all the information on events, initiatives, services, infrastructure, education, financing and regulatory matters pertaining to biotechnology, that is, a comprehensive view of the industry. The Swiss Biotech portal will be maintained by the Swiss Biotech Association.
Biotechnology is a growing industry based on the advancing edge of science, most of its players are small or medium sized enterprises, some are public and quoted in the stock exchange, however most are in private ownership. While in 2001 this industry employed 9,000 people in Switzerland, in 2002 the figure was close to 12,000, thus having generated roughly one third additional work places. Roughly 80% of all applications of biotechnology are within the medical sector.
We invite all INSME members to visit www.swissbiotech.org.
Experience e-business case studies for SMEs
Case studies in E-business are of more than academic interest to the SME and ICT communities. In cooperation with the Applied Science University of Basel, the Task Force SME of the Swiss Secretariat of Economic Affairs, continues to publish under its portal www.kmuinfo.ch, a collection of E-business case studies labelled eXperience. The original collection of 20 case studies was initially being used by the university for teaching purposes before it became available to the online SME community in August 2002. On its first year of operation this database has grown to contain more than 160 case studies; in September 2003 alone, 15 new cases were added.
The database is keyword searchable in either German or French, and it offers several ready made categories in the domains of application area, IT technology, scope, company or industry. In addition anyone who has implemented an E-business solution in his enterprise can submit it for publication and dissemination on the site after having followed specific guidelines for sharing the learned lessons. |
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WIPO-WASME Co-Host Meeting on Strategic Business of IP |
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  The use of intellectual property (IP) as a tool for business development was the focus of a four-day workshop hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME), in Geneva from October 6 to 9, 2003.
The participants included representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), law firms, financial institutions, governmental bodies as well as business consultants from different countries. The International Trade Center (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) were also represented at the Special Programme on Practical Intellectual Property Rights Issues. The Italian Institute for Industrial Promotion (IPI) also attended the workshop.
Topics discussed included IP ownership, valuation of IP assets and the role of IP in raising finance as well as general IP topics covering patents, trademarks, copyright, IP enforcement and collective management.
The event was organised within the framework of WIPO's drive to empower SMEs to make more effective use of the IP system: to identify, develop, protect and manage the knowledge and IP assets they create. It is the first in a series of events planned by WIPO's Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Division and WASME to promote the use of the intellectual property system by SMEs and SME support institutions.
Presentations are available at the website of WIPO's SMEs Division at:
http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/
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European Commission: launch of a EUMED Programme on Innovation & Technology in Companies |
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The European Commission (DG Enterprise - Aidco) is about to launch a project within the MEDA Regional Programme to support networking among EU and Med partner's Innovation & Technology Centres (I&TC).
The EU funding available is about 7.5 million Euro. The selection procedure for the identification of the contractor (state or non profit organisation or consortium representing European rather than national interests) is under way. The contract should be signed by February 2004.
Duration of the project: 24 months.
Beneficiaries: Innovation & Technology Centres in Med partner countries. http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/meda.htm
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/ind_coop_programmes/med/
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INSME Pilot Projects |
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"Ask INSME" kicked off |
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Following the call for expressions of interest recently launched by the INSME Secretariat and the feedback received from about 25 organisations and experts, the Ask INSME Project Team has been identified so as to start-up and test this new potential service for INSME Members, that is to be provided online through the INSME portal.
This service will be initially provided for free.
The project was kicked off at the beginning of October and it is already in the first phase of its implementation, that will last until November 20th 2003. This phase aims at testing the quantity and the typology of potential and recurrent questions so as to select the pilot target subject of the Ask INSME service.
This preliminary phase will be mainly dedicated to collecting questions from a selected Testing Group in fields related to the INSME scope and activities (i.e. international networking, call for tenders, financing and policies for innovation and technology transfer through intermediaries in the countries participating in the INSME, good practices, etc.). During the first phase of implementation, only Members of the ASK INSME Testing Group are involved, but a specific e-mail address has already been activated for INSME Members and anybody interested in asking questions and making proposals in this regard: askinsme@ipi.it.  For further information or to join the Testing Group (both as a user or expert) in the second phase of the project, please contact the INSME Secretariat:
Dr. Pier Francesco Cerritelli, ASK INSME Project Leader
cerritelli@ipi.it
Phone: +39 06 80972342
More information on the INSME Pilot Projects at:
http://www.insme.org/page.asp?page=pilot_projects2
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Results of the first INSME "Think Tank" call for applications |
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In response to the call for applications to join the INSME Think Tank we have received many CVs and a database has been set up including the CVs of about 40 high quality, international experts, organised according to their skills and expertise, resulting from processing all the CV's received so far.
The start-up of the INSME Think Tank activity is foreseen by the end of this year with a meeting to be organised in Rome. Only a selection of the experts that have applied will be involved.
The main objectives pursued will be to provide INSME with innovative information, proposals and advice in order to generate new ideas about the vision, strategies, policies, methodologies, projects, products, services, etc. related to innovation and technology transfer with the aim to support intermediaries' competitiveness and SMEs through the INSME Association activities at institutional and operational level.
We wish to recall that INSME Members can also propose topics to be included in the agenda of the first INSME Think Tank meeting.
 For further information, please contact the INSME Secretariat:
Dr. Silvia Grandi, Head of the INSME Pilot Projects
grandi@ipi.it
Phone: +39 06 80972215 More info on the INSME Pilot Projects at:
http://www.insme.org/page.asp?page=pilot_projects2 |
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Call for proposals |
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Publications |
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Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation (World Bank) |
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A new publication from the World Bank, "Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulations", provides information on the business climate in over 130 countries, including OECD countries.
Covering the main aspects of the business lifecycle (business start-up, access to credit, contract enforcement, labour regulation and bankruptcy), "Doing Business in 2004" presents a set of indicators on the regulatory environment in which businesses are started and developed.
Doing Business in 2004 is a useful resource for policy makers and intermediaries providing business support services.
Information on ordering the publication is available on the "Doing Business" website:
http://rru.worldbank.org/doingbusiness |
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European Trend Chart on Innovation: Annual Report 2003 (European Commission) |
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The 2003 edition of the Annual Report on innovation policy in Europe has been published by the European Commission this month.
The Annual Report 2003, "Building a comprehensive picture of innovation policies across Europe", presents the latest outputs of the European Trend Chart on Innovation, a range of activities carried out by the European Commission's Enterprise DG in order to assess the evolution of the innovation policies in Europe as a whole and in each Member State, and above all the progress towards the objectives set out in the Commission's Innovation policy Communication of September 2000, "Innovation in a knowledge-driven economy".
The Annual Report is a valuable resource for policy makers and managers of intermediaries providing innovation support services to SMEs, in order to compare performances and trends in their own countries with those in the other European countries and assess the effectiveness of their actions for promoting innovation.
This annual report complements the "Innovation Policy in Europe 2002" report, published in April 2003. For previous annual reports on Innovation Policy in Europe go to:
http://trendchart.cordis.lu/Reports/index.cfm?fuseaction=AnnualReports
Download the Annual Report 2003 on innovation policy in Europe:
http://www.insme.org
Learn more about the European Trend Chart on Innovation:
http://www.trendchart.org |
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The OECD Science, Technology and Industry (STI) Scoreboard 2003 |
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 "The Science, Technology and Industry (STI) Scoreboard 2003" brings together the latest, internationally comparable data on trends in the knowledge-based economy. It is the sixth edition of a series spanning a decade and brings together over 200 indicators, many of them new to this edition.
The indicators cover four key areas, notably: the creation and diffusion of knowledge; the information society; economic globalisation; productivity and economic structure. As in previous editions, the Scoreboard combines the core OECD indicators on research and development, human resources in science and technology, the spread of information technology in OECD economies; the role of multinational enterprises; and the structure of OECD economies.
Learn more about "The Science, Technology and Industry (STI) Scoreboard 2003" at:
http://www.oecd.org/
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Events |
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Report on the EUMED Industrial Cooperation High Level Working Group Meeting, Rome (Italy), 2-3 October 2003 |
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 Over 100 high level officials of the Ministries of Industry of the EU Member States, the Enlargement and the Mediterranean Partner countries (Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey), as well as representatives of the private sector and of international organisations, gathered in Rome on the 2nd and 3rd of October 2003 for the Euro-Mediterranean (EUMED) Industrial Cooperation Working Group Meeting.
At that meeting a common industrial policy agenda to promote investment, innovation, access to finance and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Mediterranean countries was discussed. The European Commission also presented the action plan on the free movement of industrial products that was adopted by Trade Ministers in Palermo (Italy) on 7 July 2003 and proposed the adoption in 2004 of a Euro-Med Charter for Entrepreneurship (to be drafted).
The EUMED Industrial Cooperation Working Group represents one of the steps taken as a follow-up to the Barcelona Declaration, launched in 1995 in order to create a Euro-Mediterranean area of shared prosperity through the introduction of free trade by 2010, the implementation of economic transition, and the revitalisation of investments in the Med region.
For a photo gallery of the event, go to the News in Pictures section of the INSME Portal.
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Forthcoming events |
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Here are some interesting upcoming events focused on innovation and technology transfer or other issues relevant to the INSME Process (those marked with a * will be attended by a representative of the INSME Secretariat): From research to innovative businesses: public-private partnerships to increase Europe's competitiveness
Presentation of the results of the European Commission-supported EUROMAPLIVE Project (European Market Place to Link Technology Venture and Equity Funding)
Brussels, Belgium
7 November 2003 International Conference on Technology Clusters
Organised by the International Association of Universities and the World Federation of Associations of Colleges and Polytechnics
Montréal, Canada
7-8 November 2003 Building Platforms for Innovation
Stanford University, California, USA
10-12 November 2003 Fourth Annual EBAN Congress*
Business Angels and seed capital for the new small and growing businesses
Organised by IBAN
Milan, Italy
13-14 November 2003 Workshop of the Innovative Actions Network ERIK
Thessaly, Greece
17-18 November 2003 Supporting the development of SMEs*
First preparatory seminar for the 12th Economic Forum of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Yerevan, Armenia
17-18 November 2003 Argentinian Italian International Cooperation Workshop on "Recovered enterprises and local development in Argentina"
Co-organised by the Argentinian National Institute for Industrial Technology-INTI (Member of the INSME Steering Group), Formez and the Italian Institute for Industrial Promotion-IPI
Buenos Aires, Argentina
18-19 November 2003 Taste of Entrepreneurship - Financing from high-tech to no-tech
Organised by the Walloon Business House for Europe (Member of the INSME Steering Group)
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
18-19 November 2003 WIPO conference on Intellectual Property and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization-WIPO (Member of the INSME Steering Group) in collaboration with the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland
Warsaw, Poland
19-20 November 2003 Second European Forum for Innovative Enterprises
Organised by the Commission's Enterprise DG within the PAXIS Programme
Lyon, France
20 November 2003 ProTon Europe First Annual Conference*
Valencia, Spain
20-21.11.2003 TAFTIE Annual Seminar 2003*
"Additionality: Making Public Money Make a Difference"
Vienna, Austria
24-25 November 2003 2nd PAXIS (Pilot Action of Excellence on Innovative Start-ups) Workshop*
"Zooming on European Excellence"
Turin, Italy
26-28 November 2003 The European networking forum for top-performing entrepreneurs
Brussels, Belgium
28 November 2003 |
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