Issue N° 128 - January 2015
The non-members subscribers will receive this newsletter at least two weeks after its official launch

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INSMEnews!

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Keep up to date on innovation matters worldwide with the INSME Association!

Dear INSMEnews Readers,

Welcome back in 2015 from our INSMEnews!

May the New Year be full of successful partnerships, motivating synergies and inspiring friendship that let the whole INSME Community benefit and flourish!

In this regard let me share the following:

"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give
birth to a dancing star"

(Friedrich Nietzsche)


 

…and now as usual enjoy your reading!

Ms. Christin Pfeiffer

INSME Secretary General

The INSME Team welcomes your comments and inputs for further improvement of this service.

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Updates on the life of the INSME Network

Only a few days left to submit your abstract for the 11th INSME Annual Meeting

The most eagerly awaited event for the INSME Community is approaching and so is the deadline for submitting a contribution for the upcoming INSME Annual Meeting on "Technology and Innovation for Inclusive Growth". Interested authors still have a few days left to submit their abstracts on one of the macro-topics which are at the core of this year's event: "The right skill-set for a globally competitive and innovative enterprise"; "User driven innovation for sustainable growth in a collaborative and international innovation eco-system" and "Access to finance to stimulate inclusive growth for SMEs".

The 11th INSME Annual Meeting hosted by OSIBA Management (INSME Board Member) from the 26th to the 28th of May 2015 at Cape Town, South Africa will be the place to discuss new-frontier ideas and cutting-edge innovation with worldwide representatives of governmental bodies, financial institutions, public and private support organizations, intermediaries, academics and service providers. Yet the 11th INSME Annual Meeting will be much more than this: it will also be the place of reflection and celebration as it will be held in synergy with Forging Enterprise 2015, a major South African event to mark 20 years from the White Paper on national strategy for the development and promotion of small business in South Africa.

Please download the related guidance notes for the call for papers here and make sure to submit your abstract via 2015@insme.it no later than the 15th of February 2015.

The dedicated website of the 11th INSME Annual Meeting is currently under construction and further information about the meeting agenda will be available soon.

New service portfolio for INSME Members and results from Members' Satisfaction Survey

In order to ensure a service portfolio more and more customized to the INSME Members' needs, the INSME Secretariat had worked on a Satisfaction Survey provided to its Members. The overall assessment of the association's services has been outstandingly positive and ideas about new services and topics to be addressed have been shared and will be implemented through the INSME Secretariat. Results of the survey show that INSME Members recognize the INSME Annual Meeting as a huge opportunity to access up to date, in-depth and global information on innovation and technology transfer issues (63% of respondents) and enjoy networking with colleagues (remaining 37% of respondents). The INSMEAcademy has been perceived as a great added value too with 75% of respondents stating that the topics perfectly fitted their interests and needs. The INSME news service has been strongly appreciated (56% of respondents) and defined as a useful marketing tool for INSME Members' activities by 31% of respondents.

To have a look at the implemented service portfolio please download 2015's Benefits&Conditions flyer here.

INSMEAcademy: a successful initiative targeting future challenges

INSME launched its proper online training programme in 2013 and can look back to now 22 successful sessions. By following this monthly appointment, the INSME Secretariat will keep informing and inspiring a cross-disciplinary audience all over the world also in 2015. Having analyzed the related impact questionnaire provided to webinar participants at the end of each session, INSME is now drawing up the didactic calendar for the second semester of the year. 2015 sessions will look at globally proven approaches to enable webinar participants to be successful in the innovation ecosystem by addressing challenges of international concern and innovation trends. Given the interactive nature of the webinar platform, the monthly digital appointment is also a place where the INSME Community comes together with potential new partners, networks with colleagues and selected discussants and continues sharing knowledge and expertise on a regular basis.

The INSME Secretariat is also analyzing the possibility to extend its offer by providing innovation modules and expert seminars targeting niche audiences such as French and Spanish speaking innovation players.

Join the next sessions of the INSMEAcademy, by checking the sessions' calendar at the following link.

Please download the summary of the INSMEAcademy here

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News and contributions from the INSME Members

Dr. Anilkumar Dave from t2i (INSME Member) at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015

Mr Anilkumar Dave, Head of Innovation and International Department at Technology to Innovation - t2i (INSME Member from Italy) represented the INSME network at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 held from the 11th to 13th of January 2015 in Gujarat, India. The event's primary focus was on inclusive development, specifically Innovation, Sustainability, Youth & Skill Development, Knowledge Sharing and Networking, all of them among Gujarat's key priorities. The event brought together 6,000+ international policy makers, industry leaders and renowned academicians to discuss business opportunities and showcase the strengths of Gujarat in various sectors. Mr. Dave served as a keynote speaker to the inaugural session of the flagship event "SME Convention" on the theme "Gearing up for Global Competitiveness" by delivering a speech emphasizing the fundamental role played by intermediaries in the innovation ecosystem.

Read more about the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 here.

EBAN (INSME Member) among the Founding Members of the recently established African Business Angels Network (ABAN)

Over the past years many angel networks that have not yet been organized as in other parts of the world emerged across Africa. To overcome this gap and facilitate the growth of investor networks for early stage entrepreneurship across the continent, the Lagos Angels Network (LAN), Cameroon Angel Network (CAN), Cairo Angels, Ghana Angel Network (GAIN), Venture Capital for Africa (VC4Africa) and Silicon Cape have come together to establish a pan-African network of networks called the African Business Angels Network (ABAN) thanks to the support of the European Business Angels Network - EBAN (INSME Member from Belgium).

ABAN intends to be a central point where the Angel Investment Community meets, and collaborates by promoting early stage investment across Africa. The main purpose of this initiative is to educate and provide angel investors with tools and necessary knowledge to make effective early-stage investments.

Read more about this initiative here.

Zubair SEC (INSME Member) unveils new website for entrepreneurs and small enterprises

Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (INSME Member from Oman) has just launched the new website www.zubairsec.org, a portal for ZUBAIR SEC members to interact with the centre and access fundamental resources to support their own businesses. The website available both in English and Arabic features a range of tools to highlight members' and strategic partners' achievements, interviews and success stories. The portal is also a venue for potential new partners to deepen their knowledge about the centre and explore collaboration opportunities.

To have a look at the brand-new website, please click here.

To download the press release, please click here.

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INSME's Picks in the News

The African Development Bank (AfDB)(INSME Member), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) join forces to produce an Africa Regional Integration Index

The African Development Bank (AfDB)(INSME Member), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) prepare for the launch of the first systematic, quantitative, continent-wide monitoring system for regional integration in Africa which intends to keep track of the progress of the African continent and regional economic communities towards achieving their shared regional integration goals. The Africa Regional Integration Index will also be a fundamental tool for countries to identify gaps and make informed policy decisions on how best to meet their regional integration aspirations and commitments.

Given the novelty of the indicators to be used in the index, a series of training sessions has been foreseen for national statistical focal points. The first edition of the index is expected to be launched in March 2015 during the Joint AU Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Read more about it here.

The Inter-American Development Bank increasing support to Latin American Countries

During the end-year report to the Board of Executive Directors, Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, stated that despite the slowdown given to the global financial crisis, Latin America and Caribbean's economic growth might recover slightly to 2.2 percent in 2015.

Mr. Moreno listed a series of reforms and investments the region needs to undertake, ranging from strengthening trade integration to upgrading its infrastructure and public services. Additionally other challenges need to be tackled as the high proportion of informal jobs in the labor markets, the limited access to financial services, the poor quality of education, and the low levels of innovation in its productive activities.

The IDB as one of the region's leading sources of long-term financing and technical assistance has much to contribute to this reform agenda. The private sector-led projects remain one of the key priorities, which received about $2.8 billion in loans and guarantees only in 2014, up from $2.1 billion the previous year.

Read more about it here.

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INSME Picks in the Web

The Eight Dimensions of Strategic Thinking

Most strategic development plans deal with only a few of the key dimensions that affect an organization. In this article Dr John Persico from the Minnesota Consulting Alliance shares some basic principles to create a customized strategic planning process by balancing eight dimensions of strategic thinking with a holistic approach.

Read the whole article here.

Building a Storytelling Culture

A vibrant storytelling culture is vital for organizations to engage potential donors, funders and supporters. According to Julie Dixon, research director of National Journal's Communications Council, very few conversations have been dedicated to how non-profits, specifically smaller ones, can develop a sustainable system for collecting and sharing stories. According to the author, a shift in mindset and an investment in capacity are essential in sustaining storytelling efforts.

Read the article here.

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About IPR...in China

China IPR Case Study: Enforcing Against Counterfeits

Joint venture agreements are commonplace for companies wishing to manufacture in China without setting up their own production base in the country. In this article risks in giving over designs and product details to another company have been analyzed by the China IPR SME Helpdesk by bringing the case study of a French Garment Designer.

Read the article here.

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Tenders, Calls & Consultations

Call for proposals: European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research

European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) has recently launched a call for proposals open to ideas in all fields of Science and Technology aiming to fill the gap between science, policy makers and society throughout Europe and beyond.

COST does not fund research itself, but supports networking through different tools such as meetings, short term scientific missions, training schools and dissemination activities.

Proposals must be presented by a network of researchers from at least five COST Member Countries or Cooperating States.

Selected proposals will receive a financial support in the range of 130.000 Euro p.a., normally for four years, subject to the available budget.

The deadline for submitting proposals is the 24th of March 2015.

More information available here.

Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah International Award For Entrepreneurs

The Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah International Entrepreneurship Award is an initiative of The Centennial Fund (INSME Member from Saudi Arabia) aiming at promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship and developing innovative ideas.

Individuals who demonstrate excellence and leadership in one the following five categories can apply for the award:

  • Best Start Up Project
  • Best Existing Project
  • Best Entrepreneur
  • Best Mentor Award
  • Children Pioneer Award.

The total value of the Prize is one million Saudi Riyals ($ 270,000) and will cover travel expenses of the winners that will collect the prize in Saudi Arabia.

Nominations will be opened until the 15th of March 2015.

For more information please visit the following link.

Call for Partnership Concept Papers for the Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (PACE) Initiative

The U.S. Agency for International Development launched the Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (PACE) Initiative in order to implement sustainable models that accelerate the growth of small and growing businesses that address development challenges in areas such as food security, health, and energy access.

USAID thus invites to submit ideas for partnering and co-investing with USAID on PACE. Successful proposals should address one or more of the following objectives:

  • Stimulate the development of sustainable and scalable models that support the successful incubation of early stage enterprises in developing countries;
  • Catalyze private investment into early-stage enterprises in developing countries;
  • Boost the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems.

USAID will support 3-6 alliance proposals that are requesting between approximately $500,000 and $2 million in USAID funding.

The deadline for sending concept papers is the 27th of February 2015.

Find out more here.

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Interesting Initiatives

The Saudi National Creative Initiative

The Saudi National Creative Initiative has been inspired by the Saudi National Strategic Vision for 2030 and is promoted to explore, analyze and document the reality of the local creative industries in Saudi Arabia with the aim to support and enhance the success and the growth of the creative process in Saudi Arabia.

The programme will be based on four main pillars:

  1. Rehabilitation, through the Saudi Creative Weeks, an effective training and qualification programme;
  2. E-Communication, an online platform specialized in creative industries;
  3. Research, through work on the first "Report on the Local Creative Industries and the Saudi Creative Economy";
  4. Evaluation, by establishing the First Forum of the Saudi National Creative Initiative for Creative Industries.

Find out more here.

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Publications

Job Creation and Local Economic Development

The OECD (INSME Moral Sponsor) Leed Programme released the report "Job Creation and Local Economic Development" analyzing key challenges as youth unemployment, population ageing and climate change to provide policy makers with advices on how to tackle these challenges, enhance job creation and sustain inclusive growth. The report also highlights the importance of removing existing barriers to the conditions for job creation and the necessity to design a flexible policy system.

In particular the report contains key messages on:

  • Boosting skills supply and demand to create quality and local jobs;
  • Building adaptable local economic strategies and systems;
  • Using local data to inform local policy.

Read the whole report here.

Helping Entrepreneurs Flourish

The UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) recently released a report written by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) entitled "Helping Entrepreneurs Flourish: Rethinking the drivers of Entrepreneurship" dealing with the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship and analyzing the crucial role that education and business may play in this complex issue.

The report is based on seven interviews with entrepreneurs and experts, desk research and two different surveys, one of entrepreneurs and one of young people aged 18 to 25.

"Helping Entrepreneurs Flourish" highlights some important key findings, among them:

  • Entrepreneurship is an attractive job option for young people,
  • Existing entrepreneurs are crucial in developing aspiring ones through mentorship and employment-based learning.

To find out more about the report's key findings, download it here.

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Recommended Website

United Nations Global Marketplace

As the United Nations represents a global market of over $ 15 billion annually for all types of products and services, in 90's a procurement portal - the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) - has been developed to:

  • provide vendors with a single point of entry to the UN procurement market;
  • create a global vendor sourcing portal for the UN procurement system;
  • consolidate UN agencies' vendor rosters into one common vendor database.

By registering to the portal vendors have the opportunity to access relevant information such as Business opportunities, Tender Alert Service and Contract Awards.

For more information please visit the UNGM portal here.

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Recommended Newsletter

The TRANSITION Network Newsletter

Transition - the Transnational Network for Social Innovation Incubation is a 30-month EU funded project that aims at scaling-up social innovations across Europe by developing a network of incubators which brings together relevant partners within the fields of social innovation (SI) and innovation-based incubation (IBI). The network will also provide inputs on which scaling methodologies are the most successful in a given region and the impact they have when transferred among regions.

To fulfill this purpose, the Transition Consortium issues a newsletter containing updated news and events about successful sectorial and regional approaches that support social incubation across Europe.

Read the newsletter here.

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Events

Highlighted events

Netexplo Forum 2015

4th – 5th of February 2015
Paris, France
Organized by UNESCO

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO (INSME Member) promotes the Netexplo Forum 2015 to be held on the 4th and 5th of February 2015, an event gathering the most important global innovators in digital technologies and highlighting the impact that these innovations may have on the way in which public and private sector approach crucial themes such us development, dialogue and diversity as well as the influence in the elaboration of new strategies and programmes.

Learn more here.

 

Future international meetings, workshops, seminars selected by INSME

5th of February 2015
The 2nd Annual EU-US Trade Conference - The Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership
Organized by Forum Europe
Brussels, Belgium

5th of February 2015
Meeting of the Steering Group - A regional agenda for inclusive growth, employment and trust
Organized by the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Investment for Development
Paris, France

15th - 21st of February 2015
Global Innovation Summit+Week
Organized by T2 Venture Creation
Silicon Valley, USA

18th of February 2015
Supporting Cultural and Creative Industries in Europe: Towards Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth
Organized by Public Policy Exchange
Brussels, Belgium

23rd - 24th of February 2015
The Arab Achievers Conclave
Organized by MICE Quotient
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

24th of February 2015
International Women's Leadership Forum
Organized by Managing Intellectual Property
London, United Kingdom

25th - 27th of February 2015
2015 EFMD Entrepreneurship Education Conference
Organized by EFMD - The Management Development Network
Copenhagen, Denmark

2nd - 4th of March 2015
1st International Conference on Industrial Networks and Intelligent Systems
Organized by the European Alliance for Innovation - EAI (INSME Member)
Tokyo, Japan

16th - 19th of March 2015
Global Entrepreneurship Congress
Organized by the Global Entrepreneurship Week, META Group (INSME President) and Kauffman Foundation
Milan, Italy

25th of March 2015
6th ADB Business Opportunities Fair 2015
Organized by the Asian Development Bank (INSME Member)
Manila, Philippines

26th of March 2015
Innovation Forum 2015
Organized by The Economist
Chicago, USA

22nd - 24th of April 2015
10th International Conference on Economic Integrations, Competition and Cooperation
Organized by University of Rijeca - Faculty of Economics
Rijeka/Opatija, Croatia

23rd - 24th of April 2015
Europe on the Internet - Finding your Way through the European Information Jungle
Organized by the European Institute of Public Administration
Maastricht, The Netherlands

23rd - 24th of April 2015
Smart City Startups 2015
Organized by Smart City Startups 2014
Wynwood-Miami, USA

2nd - 5th of May 2015
48th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank
Organized by the Asian Development Bank (INSME Member)
Baku, Azerbaijan

26th - 28th of May 2015
11th INSME Annual Meeting
Organized by INSME and OSIBA Management (INSME Board Member)
Cape Town, South Africa

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