Issue N 41 - February 2007
In this Issue:
News from the INSME Members
IPI signs MoU with Korea Industrial Technology Foundation
Spain and Italy promote activities in innovative areas
ISBE 2007 Conference
INSME's Picks in the News
India to boost science collaboration with EU
Western Balkans: OECD to launch the first regional SME Index Report
Tenders & Calls
3rd Joint CORNET Call for Transnational Collective Research Project proposals
MNT ERA-NET Transnational Call 2007
Announcement: EUROTRANS-BIO second call
Interesting Initiatives
Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration (UNECE)
COMPERA: Competence Research Centres in Europe
Online Resources
Development Gateway new portal
Website for EU International Cooperation Research Activities
Publications
Going for Growth 2007 (OECD)
European Innovation Scoreboard 2006 (EU Commission)
Business Angels Networks Add-on Services. Compendium of Practices Across Europe (EBAN and EUREKA)
Events
Highlighted Events
The 2007 African Union Summit
Future meetings, workshops, seminars selected by INSME
 
INSMEnews!
Contact the editorial staff
 
 


Dear INSMEnews Readers,

this month marks the third anniversary of INSME, which was officially set up as a non profit international Association on February 18, 2004, initially founded by organisations from Italy, Romania, Spain and Switzerland.

Since then, the Network has grown up to 82 Members and now represents a multistakeholder  and multicultural community of institutional and economic players building relationships and partnerships to help Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) compete and thrive globally through innovation and knowledge.

We hope that through this newsletter and our networking activities we have contributed to:

  • stimulate the creation of linkages among the right people at the right time on the right topic;
     
  • foster the identification of common priorities and common tools to solve common problems;
     
  • set up joint project proposals raising funding together;
     
  • build a bridge between the public and public sector promoting a shared vision and a shared approach on the governance of innovation challenges.

We look forward to keeping working and learning together!

Ms. Simona Marzetti
INSME Association Secretary General

 

 

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News from the INSME Members
   IPI signs MoU with Korea Industrial Technology Foundation

In line with the strategy of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development to reinforce international bilateral collaboration within and outside EU borders, IPI (Institute for Industrial Promotion) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korean governmental agency KOTEF (Korea Industrial Technology Foundation).

This agreement will help strengthen technological and industrial relations between Italian and Korean institutional and economic players so as maximise the national innovation capacity and create opportunities for knowledge sharing. The main area of interest identified are: Industry and High Tech sectors; Neo-renewable Energy; Innovative Clusters.

The MoU was signed  on the 16th of February at the Ministry of Economic Development's headquarters in Rome, on the occasion of the meeting between the Italian Minister, Pierluigi Bersani, and the Minister of Industry of the republic of Korea, Kim Young Ju.

 

   Spain and Italy promote activities in innovative areas

On the occasion of the 14th Italian-Summit held in Ibiza on the 20th of February, 2007, the Italian Minister for Economic Development, Pier Luigi Bersani, and the Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Joan Clos i Matheu, signed a declaration of intent to promote industrial innovation and entrepreneurship development in both countries.

The declaration recognises the need for industrial policies to be designed to better tackle the challenges in traditional sectors created by growing international competition and stresses the importance to promote the development of innovative strategic areas such as: energy efficiency, mobility, biotechnology, health and wellness.

The Institute for Industrial Promotion (IPI) will be involved from the Italian side in the follow up to this initiative.

 

   ISBE 2007 Conference

INSME Member ISBE (Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship) will organise its 30th Annual Conference in Glasgow (UK) on November 7-9, 2007. A call for papers is open on the conference theme:
"INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP - Stimulating Smarter Successful Small Businesses Worldwide".

     For further information, please refer to:
 http://www.isbe2007.org/call4papers.htm


 

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INSME's Picks in the News
   India to boost science collaboration with EU

India and the European Commission have recently signed a declaration in which they agree to invest in joint science projects in fields of mutual interest.

The declaration, titled the "The New Delhi Communiqué", recommends the establishment of a critical number of joint EU-India nodes for networking innovation systems in different regions of India and Europe and the launch of a programme for promoting science and technology collaboration and mobility with joint funding.

Opportunities for a significant boost of this S&T cooperation agreement come from the recent Indian announcement of a remarkable increase in public investments in research and in science education, as well as the launch of the EU's 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technology Development 2007-2013 (see non EU-Members States eligible for European funding).

Read full news at:
 http://www.neurope.eu/view_news.php?id=70201
 http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=24624
 http://ec.europa.eu/news/science/070209_1_en.htm

Visit also the EU-India Science and Technology pages in the website of the European Commission Delegation to India:
 http://www.delind.cec.eu.int/en/stcoop/sthome.htm

 

   Western Balkans: OECD to launch the first regional SME Index Report

On March 26-27, 2007, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will present the first regional SME Index Report for the Western Balkans, which informs on the progress on the ten action lines of the European Charter for Small Enterprises in the area.

OECD will launch the report at a meeting in Dubrovnik, jointly organised by the Croatian Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, the European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) and the OECD Investment Compact, a programme designed to improve the investment climate and encourage private sector development in South East Europe.

 http://www.investmentcompact.org/

 

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Tenders & Calls
   3rd Joint CORNET Call for Transnational Collective Research Project proposals

This call is launched in the framework of the CORNET initiative (COllective Research NETworking) to support coordination of national and regional research programmes in Europe. Consortia of associations, federations, trade associations from at least 3 different European CORNET countries or regions are entitled to participate. Any industrial sector or research subject is eligible.

Closing date: 31 May 2007.

 http://www.cornet-era.net/index.php?seite=third_call_introduction

 

   MNT ERA-NET Transnational Call 2007

MNT ERA-NET, a network of regional and national funding programmes for Micro and Nano Technologies (MNT), has opened a call for R&D projects in regional/national MNT thematic priorities. Funding is intended for innovative and market-oriented projects and is accessible to transnational consortia (at least 2 parties from 2 different participating countries/regions).

Pre-proposals may be submitted till 15 March 2007. Deadline for full proposals is 22 May 2007.

For details on requirements, content of proposals, eligibility and proposals' submission, please refer to: 
 http://www.mnt-era.net/call 2007

 

   Announcement: EUROTRANS-BIO second call

On March 15th, EUROTRANS-BIO, a European initiative aiming at coordinating national funding programmes for the benefit of biotech small and medium enterprises, will launch a second call for proposals to support research intensive SMEs and their strategic partnerships in all fields of biotechnology.

Eligible SMEs must belong to the following countries: Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Basque countries, Spain and to the region of Flanders (Belgium). The Netherlands are to be formally confirmed.

 Read the pre-announcement information sheet

Closing date for submitting pre-proposals: 7 May 2007.
Closing date for submitting full proposals: 31 August 2007.

Stay tuned with EUROTRANS-BIO website for updates:
 http://eurotransbio.net/

 

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Interesting Initiatives
   Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration (UNECE)


Set up in 2006, this Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) promotes a policy, financial and regulatory environment conducive to economic growth, innovative development and higher competitiveness in UNECE member countries, focusing mainly on countries with economies in transition.

Its activities are focused on the following thematic areas:

  • Innovation and competitiveness policies
  • Entrepreneurship and enterprise development
  • Financing innovative development
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Public-private partnerships

For details on programmes and meetings, please visit:
 http://www.unece.org/ceci/Welcome.html

 

   COMPERA: Competence Research Centres in Europe

This is a European network of programmes and initiatives dedicated to the creation and support of Competence Research Centres (CRCs).

The COMPERA network currently include 15 organisations that manage and/or fund programmes for CRCs from 12 different European countries.

It is funded under the ERA-NET scheme of the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme for R&D.

 http://www.comp-era.net/default.aspx


 

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Online Resources
   Development Gateway new portal

The Development Gateway portal has recently undergone a redesign, splitting the original version into 2 separate entities to better promote its partners and programmes.

We invite you to visit:
 www.dgfoundation.org, representing the Development Gateway Foundation and educating the general public on key issues related to poverty reduction and change enabling in developing nations;
 www.developmentgateway.org, providing direct access to online services for information and knowledge-sharing: dgMarket, dgCommunities, AiDA, and Country Resources.

 

   Website for EU International Cooperation Research Activities

 http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/index.cfm
International Cooperation research activities of the European Commission have been taking place for over twenty years and more than 100 countries from all over the world are now involved in EU research programmes.

This website is a gateway to achievements and success stories about these activities and, most important, covers the international science and technology cooperation dimension of the newly launched Seventh Framework Programme for R&D by priorities and themes.

 

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Publications
   Going for Growth 2007 (OECD)

An overview of the growth performance of the 30 member economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Policy recommendations to address their weaknesses, with a focus on productivity, competition and labour markets, are put forward and quantification of the benefits from increased product market competition in terms of innovation is presented.

The complete edition of Going for Growth 2007 is available from the OECD Online Bookshop. Read also a presentation of this publication by OECD Chief Economist Jean-Louis Cotis:
 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/34/38087099.pdf

 

   European Innovation Scoreboard 2006 (EU Commission)

The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) is a report on the comparative analysis of EU Member States innovation performance. This year's edition also includes innovation indicators and trend analyses for the two new Member States, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as for Croatia, Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, the US and Japan.

Compared to the past, the Nordic countries and Switzerland continue to be innovation leaders, while many of the new Member States are steadily catching up with the EU average. For the fourth consecutive year, the innovation gap between the US and the EU has decreased. However, it still exists. This is due to the superior US performance in early-stage venture capital availability, share of population with tertiary education and number of US patents.

Download the full report at:
 http://www.proinno-europe.eu/doc/EIS2006_final.pdf

 

   Business Angels Networks Add-on Services. Compendium of Practices Across Europe (EBAN and EUREKA)

This compendium is useful to fully understand the role of business angels (BA) and BA networks in helping SMEs access private funding. This role goes beyong match-making activities to cover the entire supply chain of services, from the training and coaching of entrepreneurs and investors to the provision of BA co-investment funds which can be used in the follow-up rounds of investment as a business grows.

"Business Angels Networks Add-on Services" is a result from the long-term partnership between the European Association of Business Angle Networks (EBAN) and EUREKA, the Europe-wide Network for Market-Oriented Industrial R&D and Innovation.

 Download the compendium

 

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Events
   Highlighted Events



First Edition in Italy

5-7 March 2007
Bio-Europe Spring
Building Value Through Partnership

Milan, Italy
Organised by EBD Group (Conferences and Consulting for the Life Sciences) in partnership with ASSOBIOTEC (Italian Association for the Development of Biotechnology).

Acrobat Reader Brochure Event Brochure



21 March 2007
EBN Detect-it 2 Spring Conference
FP7: Opportunities for SMEs and Business Support Organisations
Brussels, Belgium

Organised by EBN (European Business & Innovation Centre Network) in collaboration with the DETECT-it 2 Project Partnership.


Download pdf Format FP7 Conference Programme (185 kb)
Download word format FP7 Registration Form (46 kb)
Download Word format FP7 Hotel Booking Form (90 kb)


EBAN
16-17 April 2007
The Seventh Congress of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN)
Lisbon, Portugal
 
 

   The 2007 African Union Summit

African leaders set guidelines for scientific growth at the latest African Union Summit on Science, Technology and Research (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 22-30 January 2007), and committed themselves to allocate more funds to research and development.

 See Decisions and declarations of the 2007 African Union Summit.

Read more about the AU Summit in SciDev.Net's dedicated news focus.

 

   Future meetings, workshops, seminars selected by INSME

Here is a sampling of upcoming and future conferences, meeting, workshops and seminars selected from the Events section of the INSME portal, which contains a complete searchable listing.

You can also receive by e-mail a weekly list of future events by subscribing to the INSME E-Mail Alert at http://www.insme.org/.

MARCH 2007

4-7 March 2007
International Patent Information Conference and Exposition - "Best Practices in Patent Information Management and Searching"
Organised by the International Patent Information.
Sorrento, Italy

7-8 March 2007
"Fostering Competitiveness Through Innovative Technologies, Products and Healthy Communities"
A conference organised by the European Commission's DG Regio within the framework of the Regions for Economic Change Initiative.
Brussels, Belgium

7 March 2007
FP7 Launch Event - "Today is the Future"
Launch of the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme 2007-2013. Organised by DG Research.
Brussels, Belgium

9 March 2007
Bilateral Meetings Among Foreign and Turkish Companies in the framework of the WIN 2007 - World Of Industry Fair, Part 2
Organised by the EIC Ankara and the IRC Anatolia with the cooperation of Ankara Chamber of Commerce and Ankara Chamber of Industry.
Istanbul, Turkey

11-13 March 2007
WIPO Executive Program - "Strategic Intellectual Property Management"
Organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Goa, India

11-14 March 2007
BioVision 2007 - The World Life Science Forum
Organised by a group of French regional government authorities (Conseil Régional Rh�ne-Alpes, Conseil Général du Rh�ne, Le Grand Lyon, Ville de Lyon).
Lyon, France

12-16 March 2007
International Congress on "Biotechnology - State of the Art and Prospects of Development"
Moscow, Russian Fed.

14 March 2007
FP7 Information Day on "Research for the Benefit of SMEs"
The goal of this information day is to give SMEs, SME associations and RTD perfomers, as well as multipliers such as National Contact Points (NCPs), an in depth information and training on the new FP7 funding scheme for "Research for SMEs" and "Research for SME associations".
Brussels, Belgium

15-16 March 2007
European Business Summit - "Reform to Perform: Europe is our Business"
Organised on the occasion of 50 years of Europe.
Brussels, Belgium

15-16 March 2007
AURP 2007 Washington Summit
Organised by AURP, the Association of University Research Parks.
Washington, DC, United States

21-22 March 2007
27th PODIM Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation - "Nurturing Champions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship"
Organised by IRP Institute for Entrepreneurship Research, Business Daily Finance, the University of Maribor and the Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investment.
Maribor, Slovenia

22-23 March 2007
1st BSEC Business Forum on SMEs Competitiveness and Innovation
Organised by BSEC (Black Sea Economic Cooperation Business Council).
Belgrade, Serbia

26-30 March 2007
The 4th CINet PhD Seminar on Research in Continuous Innovation
Organised by Continuous Innovation Network (CINet), a global network set up to bring together researchers and industrialists working in the field of Continuous Innovation.
Valencia, Spain

26-27 March 2007
TrendChart Conference on "Innovation and Market Access Through Standards"
Organised by the European TrendChart on Innovation, an initiative financed by the European commission, DG Industry.
Berlin, Germany

26-27 March 2007
OECD Conference in the framework of the Investment Compact for South East Europe (South East Europe Compact for Reform, Investment, Integrity and Growth) - "SME Regional Meeting and Launch of Charter Report"
Jointly organised by the Croatian Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, the European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) and the OECD Investment Compact for South-East Europe.
Dubrovnik, Croatia

27-28 March 2007
Innovation Forum 2007
Italian 'learning show' on technological innovation. Organised by IDC Italia.
Rome, Italy

27-29 March 2007
Nanotech Northern Europe 2007
This event gives an overview of the nanotechnology field through the presentation of the latest research results and of the newest product innovations and business models.
Helsinki, Finland

29-30 March 2007
Conferences on "Small and Medium Enterprises in the Internal Market"
Organised by ERA (Academy of European Law).
Trier, Germany


APRIL 2007


18-20 April 2007
BIONOVA - "International Biotechnologies and Bioengineering Exhibition"
Jointly organised by the Italian Ministry of Environment, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade.
Padova, Italy

25-26 April 2007
CITEXT 2007 - 11th International Business Meeting on Technical Textiles
Troyes, France

MAY 2007

3-4 May 2007
R2B-Research To Business  - Third Exhibition-Conference on Industrial Research
Organised by Bolognafiere and Emilia-Romagna Region in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of International Trade, ASTER (INSME Full Member) and ICE (Italian Institute for Foreign Trade).
Bologna, Italy

3-4 May 2007
"Research and Technology Organisations in the European Research Area: Innovation and Competitiveness in an Enlarged Europe"
Organised by the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO) and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
M�nich, Germany 

4 May 2007
International SMEs Conference
Organised by BSEC (Black Sea Economic Cooperation).
Chisinau, Rep of Moldova

22-24 May 2007
2nd Small and Medium Enterprises Forum - "Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Arab Region: Opportunities and Challenges"
Organised by the SMEs Center at the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Science in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Professional Integration of Youth.
Tunis, Tunisia 

24-25 May 2007
5th IRE Plenary Conference
Organised by IRE (the network of Innovating Regions in Europe), which was created by the European Commission in the mid-1990s. During the conference, the IRE Award for Best European Innovation Scheme will be handed out for the first time.
Shannon, Ireland

31 May - 1 June 2007
OECD Global Conference on "Enhancing the Role of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Global Value Chains"
Tokyo, Japan 

31 May 2007
Innovation in Textiles and Apparel
Organised by EURATEX (the European Apparel and Textile Organization) in collaboration with the European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing.
Brussels, Belgium

JUNE 2007

1-3 June 2007
ISMOT 2007 - 5th International Symposium on Management of Technology - "Managing Total Innovation and Open Innovation in the 21st Century"
Organised by the Research Centre for Innovation & Development of the Zhejiang University.
Hangzhou, China

7-9 June 2007
3rd European Research and Innovation Exhibition
Paris, France

13-15 June 2007
ICSB (International Council for Small Business) 2007 World Conference - "At the Crossroads of East and West: New Opportunities for Entrepreneurship and Small Business"
Organised by the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB) in co-operation with the Small Business Institute at the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration (TSEBA).
Turku, Finland

17-20 June 2007
ISPIM 2007 Conference - "Innovation for Growth: The Challenges for East & West"
Organised by the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM).
Warsaw, Poland

20-22 June 2007
EBN 2007 Annual Congress
The conference of the European BIC Network (Business and Innovation Centres). Organised in cooperation with The Kent Innovation Partnership (Kent Business and Innovation Centre and Kent County Council).
Canterbury, United Kingdom

28-29 June 2007
La Baule 2007 World Investment Conference (WIC)
This conference aims at monitoring FDI flows, benchmarking economic and social policies, understanding international investor's needs, linking European region to the world.
La Baule, France

 

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