SME Innovation: boosting development and growth in times of change


10-13 May, 2010
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Venue: Hotel Sofitel, Copacabana

The 6^th INSME Annual Meeting 2010, co-organised by the INSME Association in collaboration with the Brazilian Agency SEBRAE (Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service), will host this year the international conference "SME Innovation: boosting development and growth in times of change". The provisional agenda is available here.

No participation fee is foreseen for INSME Members, participants from Latin American, Caribbean and Central American Countries and International Governmental Organisations.

For any other participant, the fee is:
- 250 Euro for delegates coming from OECD countries
- 150 Euro for delegates coming from non OECD countries

50% off for the second registered delegate from the same organisation.

Registration is mandatory to confirm your participation in the event:
 INSME Association Member registration form
 General registration form (for other participants)

To stay updated on the 6^th INSME Annual Meeting, visit the dedicate website now available at:
www.annualmeeting2010.insme.org

or contact the INSME Secretariat at:
 insmerio2010@insme.it

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

On the occasion of its 25^th anniversary, FUNDES Internacional - Foundation for Sustainable Development in Latin America (Fundación para el Desarrollo Sostenible en América Latina) launched a new updated version of its portal. The renewed website provides a more efficient and user-friendly navigation through its contents offering updated information about the Latin American region with examples of success stories, news and best practices of the ten countries where FUNDES operates.

Have a look at the renewed FUNDES Internacional website:
 www.fundes.org

CORDIS, the European Community Information Service on Research and Development, has published a mind map to help beneficiaries (i.e. research bodies, enterprises, policy makers, etc) of the EU funding opportunities for research, technological development and innovation to identify the most suitable tools for participating. The map can also help decision-makers to identify potential synergies between different types of funding schemes available in the European Union's research, technology, development and innovation (EU RTDI) programmes. The mind map is complementary to the "Practical Guide to EU funding opportunities for research and innovation".

 Read more.

The European Council called for the elaboration of a new European Innovation Plan (EIP) to contribute to the competitiveness of the EU industry and to foster economic recovery. To this end, a public consultation was launched on 16 September 2009 and 215 responses where received, by mid November, from 35 countries, among which 11 are non-EU countries.
Among the main results, it has emerged a need for:

Reinforcing innovation in public services.

 The summary of responses can be found here. The responses will provide a valuable input for the preparation of the future EU innovation policy that is due to be presented by Spring 2010.

 Visit also the new interactive web forum for discussing innovation policy issues.

Read more at:
 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/future-policy/consultation/results_en.htm

The Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (AWEX) is a Public/Governmental body established in 2002 with the aim to connect the economic of Wallonia and the European Union. In particular, it informs and advises the Walloon SMEs about EU policies and financial programmes. As a member of the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA), it facilitates the networking of businesses with other European regions. AWEX is an INSME Member since 2004.

Read more at:
 http://www.awex.be/

 Read the latest issue of Les Br�ves de l'Europe available in French only.

It is still possible to submit a project proposal under the EUREKA's Eurostars Programme, the first European funding and support programme specifically dedicated to SMEs, with a special focus on research-performing ones.

To view 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/

Both CORNET and EraSME have launched calls for proposals aimed to strengthen the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their associations in Europe. Both initiatives, the 9^th Joint CORNET Call and the 7^th EraSME call, will be open until 31^st March, 2010 and will help SMEs to acquire technological know-how, to increase their research efforts, to extend their networks and bridge the gap between research and innovation.

Beneficiaries of the 7^th EraSME call are: Small or larger consortia of individual SMEs and research and technology organisations (RTOs) from at least 2 EraSME countries or regions in Europe.

 Download the joint CORNET / EraSME general call leaflet.

For further information, please, visit:
 http://www.innovation-for-sme.eu/

China's textile industry is both an opportunity and a threat to foreign competitors. It is a major market for those supplying production technologies and a key supply base for textiles and finished goods. However, foreign brands that are not adequately protected often fall victim to infringement by Chinese competitors.

 Read more.

The European Commission is launching its 2010 edition of the European Entrepreneurship Video Award (EEVA) aimed to foster European enterprising film lovers to prove their creativity and skills by producing a short video that deals with entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial career.

The producers of the best videos will be invited to a special award ceremony on 25 May 2010 in Brussels, as part of the 2^nd European SME week 2010 (from May 25^th to 1^st June). 

The EC is awarding prizes in three categories, each of them foreseeing three prizes. Five additional special prizes will be awarded to young producers (25-year old max).

The total budget for the prizes is € 22,773.00.

The deadline for submissions is 9 April 2010.

 Read the Call for proposal.

This report, adopted by the EC on 15 December 2009, summarises the progress achieved in 2009, which has been the first full year of implementation of the SBA, focussing mainly on the measures contained in the SBA Action Plan and in the European Economic Recovery Plan. In order to ensure an efficient implementation of the SBA at European and national levels, the Commission's prior objective is to reduce administrative burdens for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The proposal on reduced VAT rates entered into force on 1 June 2009 and offers the Member States ample possibilities to boost economic activity notably in labour-intensive services.

Read more at:
 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/small-business-act/implementation/index_en.htm#h2-the-member-states

 Download the Report on the implementation of the SBA, Commission Working Document.
 See also the Press release.

The Asian Association of Business Incubation (AABI) has recently published the third edition of the Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship with a special topic on National Innovation System and Business Incubation Policy: Best Practices and Challenges. This publication aims to establish channels of communication and to disseminate knowledge between policy makers, experts and professionals working in universities, government departments, research institutions, as well as industry and related business. Furthermore, it is possible to read about original papers, case studies, conference reports, book reviews and briefs on special issues concerning important topics in entrepreneurship, incubator management, innovation networks and alliances.

 Download the Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The Asian Association of Business Incubation (AABI), based in Shanghai, provides easier information exchanges among Asian incubators, business incubation professionals and related organizations by promoting business incubation activities and programs, incubation resources and facilities.

Read more at:
 http://www.aabi.info/about.asp

Innovation Pie is the free Newsletter of PRO INNO Europe, an initiative of DG Enterprise and Industry aimed at becoming the focal point for innovation policy analysis and policy cooperation in Europe. Its newsletter, launched in November 2009, provides information about the Programme PRO INNO Europe and useful news on innovation and events around the EU.

 To download the current issue of Innovation Pie newsletter, please, click here.

04-05 February 2010
Towards a Pan-European initiative in Support of Innovative Creative Industries in Europe
Organised by the European Commission's Enterprise and Industry Directorate
Amsterdam, Netherlands

08-10 February 2010
ISBA 2010 Conference
Organised by the Indian STEPs & Business Incubators' Association
New Delhi, India 

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

11 February 2010
Green Technologies Investment Forum
Organised by the Italian Business Angels Network - IBAN and the Swedish Business Region Goteborg AB
Milan, 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

21-23 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

3-4 March 2010
Corporate R&D - An engine for growth, a challenge for European policy
Organised by JRC's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) and the Spanish Centre for Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI)
Seville, Spain

8-11 March 2010
19th International Conference on Management of Technology
Organized by IAMOT - International Association for Managment of Technology
Cairo, Egypt

10-12 March 2010
8th Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurship Research - IECER
Organised by Prof. Dr. Michael Dowling - University of Regensburg and by Prof. Dr. J�rgen Schmude - University of Munich
Regensburg, Germany

11-12 March 2010
IASP European Division Workshop "Science and Technology Parks in a mature economy"
Organised by Tecmaia
Moreia da Maia, Portugal

15 March 2010
7th FEMIP Conference Research, development and innovation: keys for a sustainable development in the mediterranean
Jointly organised by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Republic of Tunisia
Tunis, Tunisia

16-18 March 2010
National Forum of Incubators and Technology Parks
Sponsored by the Paulista Incubator Network (Rede Paulista de Incubadoras- RPI)
Sao Paulo, Brazil

18 March 2010
ISBA 2010 - Annual Conference
Organised by ISBA
London, United Kingdom

30-31 March 2010
IASP European Division Workshop "Better cooperation among Science Parks - higher value for companies"
Organised by the TEHNOPOL- Tallinn Technology Park
Tallinn, Estonia

12-14 April 2010
Training for the Innovation Experts:"Best Practices of the Finnish Innovation System"
Organised by InnoPraxis Training Center
Helsinki, Finland

13-14 April 2010
IV Conference on the FP7 "The European Framework Programmes: From Economic Recovery to Sustainability"
Organised in the framework of the Seventh Framework Programme
Valencia, Spain

15-16 April 2010
EBAN 10th Annual Congress and 5th Award Ceremony
Organised by the European Trade Association for Business Angels, Seed Funds, and other Early Stage Market Players - EBAN
Istanbul, Turkey

19-23 April 2010
6th CINet PhD Seminar
Organised by the Continuous Innovation Network (CINet)
Milan, Italy

28-30 April 2010
TII 2010 Annual Conference "Innovation 3.0: Challenges, Needs and Skills of the New Innovation Era"
Organised by TII- Technology Innovation International
D�sseldorf, Germany