10-13 May, 2010
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Venue: Hotel Sofitel, Copacabana

Don't miss the next INSME Annual Meeting on SME Innovation: boosting development and growth in times of change to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May from 10-13, 2010. The event will be co-organised by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service - SEBRAE, INSME Member.

No participation fee is foreseen for INSME Members; participants from organisations based in Latin American, Caribbean and Central American Countries, from both public and private sector; International Governmental Organisations.

Participation fee for any other participant is 250.00 Euro.

Information on the VI INSME Annual Meeting to be available soon on the dedicated website at:
 www.annualmeeting2010.insme.org.

 Download a list of recommended hotels, all very close to the conference venue in Rio.

 Download the event information flyer.

For expressions of interest and details, please contact the INSME Secretariat at: 
 insmerio2010@insme.it

The INSME Association has elaborated a questionnaire to investigate the capability to build up programmes and initiatives in the field of the Investment Readiness for the entrepreneurs and on the Ready to Invest for the investors.
Furthermore, INSME has established a Working Group on SME financing, chaired by the INSME President, Mr. Paolo Anselmo, which aims at maximising the networking and the collaboration among INSME members, to work together, exchange ideas and possibly set up joint initiatives on specific topics.

 Take a few minutes to fill in the questionnaire and send your feedback to the INSME Secretariat (by e-mail or fax) by December 18, 2009. INSME non-Members are also invited to join the questionnaire and the Working Group.

The Access to Research for Development and Innovation (aRDI) is a program launched by WIPO in partnership with 12 major publishers with the aim to encourage innovation and assist developing countries in bridging the knowledge gap. In particular, this program will support developing countries in realizing their creative potential and facilitate their integration into the global knowledge economy by providing them with industrial property offices, universities and research institutes with low-cost access to industrial property offices across the world.

For further information please contact the Media Relations Section at:
 publicinf@wipo.int or visit the website at:
 http://www.wipo.int/ardi/en/about.html

On the 28th October 2009, during the 3rd Global Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship held in Florianopolis, Brazil, InfoDev launched the Caribbean Business Incubator Association (CBIA), a network aimed at providing entrepreneurs and innovative small businesses with technical assistance, training, access to business facilities, financing and supporting in the crucial start up phase. The main objectives of the emerging network are to promote and foster business incubation to work towards the advancement of the business incubation initiatives in the Caribbean region.

 To find out more about CBIA, please, click here.

The Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 (GEW) was the global event sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation and by Make your Mark, a campaign funded by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which took place on 16th to 22nd November 2009 around the world.
The objective of 2009 event was to unleash young people's ideas around the relevant social issues, such as poverty reduction or climate change, and to foster a global culture which recognises entrepreneurs as drivers of economic and social prosperity.

Information on each national initiative linked to the 2009 GEW are available by clicking on the globe at 2009 GEW website.

To find out the latest news referred to the 2009 GEW and the National events please visit the Global News Room at:
 http://live.gew2009.com

Read more at:
 http://www.unleashingideas.org/?_c=1

Call for applications

EUREKA's Eurostars Programme, the first European funding and support programme specifically dedicated to R&D performing SMEs, opens the 4th Eurostars Cut-Off. This programme can address any technological area, but must have a civilian purpose and be aimed at the development of a new product, process or service.

 To find out about the participating countries visit the dedicated section of the Eurostars website.

Application submission deadline: 25^th February 2010.

To find out more, please, visit the following website:
 http://www.eurostars-eureka.eu/

The 5th Transnational ETB Call for Proposals on Funding of Industrial R&D Projects in Biotechnology aims to enhance the competitive capacity of Europe's biotechnology industry by supporting the research intensive SMEs and their strategic partnerships. Funding possibilities will be offered to excellent and innovative industrial R&D and applied research projects. The participating countries for the fifth call are: Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Basque Country, Catalonia and Madrid (Spain), Flanders and Wallonia (Belgium).

Deadline for submitting the project proposals: February 1^st 2010.

Overall budget: about € 30,000,000.00

All the necessary information to the submission on the 5th call helpdesk page.

 To learn more, please, visit the EUROTRANS-BIO web site.

Call for proposals

This call, conceived within the framework of the FP7- Capacities Programme Regions of knowledge, aims to enhance research and innovation capacities throughout Europe by improving the research potential of European regions and of research-driven clusters.

OJ Reference: OJ C177 of 30 July 2009
Deadline: 14 January 2010
Budget: € 16,950,000.00

 To learn more, please, click here.

Hiring a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements or recommendations. An experienced and capable lawyer could not only strengthen your business's IPR strategy but also effectively assist you in enforcing your IPR rights against infringers. To find a lawyer that can help you with your IPR in China, you should consider contacting the lawyer's association in your country, the directory of lawyers maintained by your country's embassy or chamber of commerce in China, or an online law firm directory.

 Read more.

ERAWATCH (a joint initiative of the European Commission- DG for Research and Joint Research Centre - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies- IPTS- developed in collaboration with CORDIS) published the Policy Mix Country Reports 2009.
The document aims to characterise and assess the evolution of the national policy mixes in the perspective of the Lisbon goals with a focus on the national R&D investments targets and on the realisation and better governance of the European Research Area (ERA).
Policy Mix Reports 2009 were produced for all 27 EU Member State and for 6 States Associated to the Framework Programme (Croatia, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey).

 Download the ERAWATCH Policy Mix Country Reports 2009.

MicAméricas is a knowledge platform, available in Spanish, created by the MIF - Multilateral Investment Fund. It provides updated information, such as reports, trends and business cases, on the world of micro-enterprise and microfinance, in particular, in the Latin American region with the aim to show how micro and small businesses can create economic and social value.

 To find out more, please, visit the MicAméricas website.

Supported by the World Bank's Infodev Programme and the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology - Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Asian Pacific Incubation Network (APIN ), also in close cooperation with the Asian Association of Business Incubators (AABI), aims to promote business incubation, to develop incubation management and policy makers' capacities and to support the growth of existing and new incubators in the Asian region.

To learn more about APIN please visit the website at:
 http://www.incubationasia.com

1-3 December 2009
11th International UKBI conference
Organised by the UK Business Incubation - UKBI
Belfast, United Kingdom

2 December  2009
PITER Seminar Role of regions in implementing European Energy R&D strategies
Organised by the PITER Consortium (Platform for Integration of Trans regional Energy R&D activities)
Brussels, Belgium

2-3 December 2009
IV Conferenza Nazionale Italia - America latina e Caraibi
Organised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in collaboration with the institutions in Lombardy (Region, City Council and Chamber of Commerce), the Italy-Latin America Network (RIAL), the Italian-Latin American Institute (IILA) and the Centre for International Policy Studies (CeSPI).
Milan, Italy

2-3 December 2009
BIC Master Class "Excellence in Investment Readiness and New Trends in Entrepreneurial Support"
Organised by the EBN - European Business & Innovation Center Network
Brussels, Belgium

2-4 December 2009
15th International Conference on Technology Supported Learning & Training
Under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and supported by the EC - DG Education and Culture, the EC- Information Society and Media and the European Year of Creativity and Innovation
Berlin, Germany

3-4 December 2009
Workshop on "Innovation support in Latin America and Europe"
Organised by the KICKSTART Project and the Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow, United Kingdom

6-9 December 2009
2nd ISPIM Innovation Symposium "Stimulating Recovery - The Role of Innovation Management"
Organised by ISPIM - International Society for Professional Innovation Management
New York, United States

12-13 December 2009
Bright Green
Organized by the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI)
Copenhaghen, Denmark

16-17 December 2009
Closing Conference of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009
Jointly organised by the International Programme Office for Education and Training and several Swedish Government Offices
Stockholm, Sweden

20 January 2010
Global Links Conference
Organised by VINNOVA and Compera ERA NET
Stockholm, Sweden

27-29 January 2010
6th PROTON EUROPE Annual Conference
Organised by the Athena Research Center and the National Hellenic Research Foundation
Athens, Greece

2-4 February 2010
SME Expo & Conference
Organised by INTEX Dubai and Al Fajer Information & Services
Dubai, UAE

11-12 February 2010
KIS Partnering Forum 2010
Organised by the Knowledge Intensive Services - Innovation Platform
Rome, Italy

16-17 February 2010
Dubai International Conference on Innovative Sources to Finance Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Dubai, UAE

23-21 February 2010
EFMD 2010 Entrepreneurship Conference Entrepreneurs as Agents of Creativity in Times of Crisis
Organised by the European Foundation for Management Development - EFMD
Paris, France

24-25 February 2010
International Conference on the Foundation of the World Union for SMEs
Hosted by C.E.S.A. Foundation
San Marino