Issue N 46 - July-August 2007
In this Issue:
Life of the Network
INSME Annual Meeting 2007
News from the INSME Members
Guide to successful EU research & development projects for SMEs in the fashion industry (F2F)
Focus on...INSME Members
Intrasoft International
INSME's Picks in the News
Europe races ahead of US in university-industry collaboration
OECD Innovation Strategy
ISOPTT: Increasing the SMEs Own Potential for Transnational Technology Transfer
Tenders & Calls
European Venture Contest 2007
Millennium Technology Prize 2008
Research for the benefit of SMEs Call 1 (EU Commission)
European Innovation Platform for Knowledge Intensive Services
EU online survey: Which skills do Technology Transfer professionals need?
Recommended Websites
World BizBank
EuroMed Info Centre
Publications
Competitive Regional Clusters: National Policy Approaches
Key Figures 2007 on Science, Technology and Innovation. Towards a European Knowledge Area
Events
Highlighted Events
Future meetings, workshops, seminars selected by INSME
 
INSMEnews!
Contact the editorial staff
 
 

Dear INSMEnews Readers,

let me provide you with a few main updates about the life of our international network before the usual break in August.

After 3 years of activity, the INSME Association has gained a global reach, gathering 77 member organisations in 30 countries in 5 continents. We involve innovation stakeholders and players concerned with policies, programmes and projects aimed to bring more knowledge and awareness to SME intermediaries and to SMEs for their competitiveness.

Open transnational collaboration and knowledge-sharing for mutual learning, rather than competition with other international networks, is at the basis of our approach to increase problem solving capabilities and networking opportunities for our Members, acting in different regions and thematic areas, but all focussing on innovation matters. Several public and private partnering organisations around the globe are regularly involved in our activity and further partners are welcome to join forces with us. I believe that this continued dialogue and exchange, with a  public-private partnership orientation,  is one of our main intangible asset, also with a view to bridging the gap between knowledge and technology exporting and importing countries.

In our attempt to better reach other geographical areas, with a view to further spread the culture of innovation among SME players, I am pleased to inform you that this newsletter will be issued also in Spanish thanks to the contribution of ABCnet, INSME Member.

Looking forward to keeping international cooperation for SME innovation on the top of our 2007 agenda, the INSME Secretariat wishes you an energetic summer break. 

Ms. Simona Marzetti
INSME Association Secretary General

 

The next issue of INSMEnews will be available in
late September

 

 

 

top of the page   

Life of the Network
   INSME Annual Meeting 2007

Learn more about the main innovation related issues discussed at the INSME Annual Meeting 2007, held in Rome on July 13. Read the  presentations made by selected INSME Members and find out about the new INSME Board Members, mandate 2007-2009:
 http://www.insme.org/

Further documents related to the 3rd INSME Association General Assembly are available for INSME Members in the Members' Area of the INSME portal:
 http://www.insme.org/

 

 

top of the page
News from the INSME Members
   Guide to successful EU research & development projects for SMEs in the fashion industry (F2F)

A practical guide to help textile, clothing and footwear SMEs to design and manage R&D projects under the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7), pointing out some tips on how to deal with the proposal preparation, the implementation and dissemination phases. The manual collects more than 70 FP5 and FP6 R&D fashion projects and 4 best practice cases.

The guide is available as a free download on Fashion to Future (F2F) project website:
 http://www.fashiontofuture.eu

F2F is coordinated by IPI, INSME founding Member.

Subscribe for free to F2F Newsletter:
 http://www.fashiontofuture.eu/f2f/category_news.php?id_rubrique=5

 

top of the page
Focus on...INSME Members
   Intrasoft International

Find out about the new INSME Member, the international NGO Intrasoft International, which has joined the INSME network in July 2007:

 Intrasoft International presentantion


 http://www.intrasoft.lu

 

top of the page
INSME's Picks in the News
   Europe races ahead of US in university-industry collaboration

According to a recent survey on European collaboration between industry and universities, carried out by the European network ProTon Europe, it was found out  that in the year 2005 Europe had a better performance than  the US in terms of level of knowledge transfer (KT) activities carried out by dedicated Knowledge Transfer Offices (KTO) affiliated to European Public Research Organisations (PRO).

The survey was released in April 2007 and is co-funded under the EU's Gate2Growth initiative.

For further information, please visit:
 http://www.protoneurope.org/Files/2005AnnualSurveyReport/download

 

   OECD Innovation Strategy

Plans for an OECD innovation strategy were put forward in the last Ministerial Level Council meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD Forum on Innovation, Growth and Equity, Paris, 14-15 May 2007).

This new OECD Innovation Strategy would add to the existing body of OECD work on innovation, providing a cross-disciplinary package of policy elements and recommendations to boost innovation capacity and performance.

This would include the identification of good policy practices and policy guidelines, as well as better metrics to identify and benchmark innovation performance. It would also provide analysis clarifying the links between innovation and entrepreneurship, economic growth, social progress and global challenges in domains such as environment and health.

For further information:
 http://www.oecd.org/mcm2007

 

   ISOPTT: Increasing the SMEs Own Potential for Transnational Technology Transfer


This is a European project aimed at improving SMEs' competitiveness and their capacity to perform effective technology transfer through the achievement of the knowledge and skills in order to enhance their business and establish national and international partnerships.

For more details, visit the website in each European partner country:
http://www.isoptt.eu/uk/partners.shtml

 

top of the page
Tenders & Calls
   European Venture Contest 2007


Since 2005, this annual contest is dedicated to European innovative ventures that have the ambition and potential to reshape their industry and conquer the international market.

The European Venture Contest:

  • supports innovative companies at an early phase by bringing them into contact with the investment community;
  • promote technology entrepreneurship by exhibiting role models towards a wider audience;
  • facilitate contacts between top innovative regions, investors, entrepreneurs and other major stakeholders in Europe.

European companies need to register to participate. Registration is open until September 8, 2007.

For further information on how to participate, please refer to:
 http://www.europeanventureinstitute.eu

The INSME Association is among the supporting partner organisations of this initiative.

 

   Millennium Technology Prize 2008

Since 2004 this prize is the world's largest technology prize and is awarded every two years for a technological innovation that is significantly improving the quality of human life today and in the future. Nominations of candidates (all fields of technology) can be made only by academies, universities, research institutions and industrial communities.
Self-nominations are not accepted.

Read instructions to nominate your candidate:
 http://www.milleniumprize.fi/index.php?m=2&s=3&id=37

Nominations can be made until the 1st of October, 2007.

The Millennium Technology Prize is awarded by the Millennium Prize Foundation, an independent fund established by Finnish industry in partnership with the Finnish state.

 http://www.milleniumprize.fi

 

   Research for the benefit of SMEs Call 1 (EU Commission)

Launched under the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7), this call aims at strengthening the innovation capacity of European SMEs and their contribution to the development of new technology based products and markets by helping them outsource research, increase their research efforts, extend their networks, better exploit research results and acquire technological know how.

Closing date: September 4, 2007.

Available budget: 100 meuro.

For further information:
 http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CapacitiesDetailsCallPage&call_id=35

 

   European Innovation Platform for Knowledge Intensive Services

The overall objective of the European Innovation Platform for Knowledge Intensive Services (KIS-Platform) is to foster technological as well as non-technological innovation in services, taking into account the dynamic interconnections between reaserch, skills, entrepreneurship, finance and clusters.

In order to maximise the potential impact, it will particularly address the needs and specificities of potential high growth ventures active in KIS.

The KIS-Platform is supposed to be implemented through a public-private partnership, based on a sectoral networking approach (strand 1) complemented with horizontal support services (strand 2).

 Read the full text of the call

For further information:
 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/funding/files/themes_2007/calls_prop.htm

Closing date: 7 September 2007.

Global budget: 5 meuro.

 

   EU online survey: Which skills do Technology Transfer professionals need?

The European Commission is promoting a  survey aimed at investigating the need for technology transfer training programmes across Europe. The survey findings will be used to build up a framework to qualify TT-Managers on a trans-national level and with mutual recognition (Certified Trans-national TT-Manager Project, CERT-TTT-M).

To join the survey please visit:
 http://www.ttt-manager.eu/ttt-skills-survey/index_uk.php?l=uk

 

top of the page
Recommended Websites
   World BizBank

Sponsored by the Syrian Enterprise and Business Center (SEBC), World BizBank aims at creating a network of companies and organisations from all over the world, in particular in the European, Mediterranean, Middle East and Gulf Region, to exchange information services, consulting opportunities and proposals on innovation and other sectors.

This new portal includes: international tenders, exhibitions, trade fairs and conferences, business to business opportunities, international business directory, business guides and a consulting database.
A weekly e-newsletter service is also available.

 http://www.worldbizbank.com

 

   EuroMed Info Centre

This portal is a 'one-stop shop' providing political, institutional, business and industrial information for anyone interested in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and in the regional and bilateral projects. It is available in English, French and  Arabic.

The EuroMed Info Centre is a project financed by the MEDA Regional Information and Communication programme.

 http://www.euromedinfo.eu

 

top of the page
Publications
   Competitive Regional Clusters: National Policy Approaches

If you're looking to learn more about cluster-based innovation strategies in Europe, this new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a good start.
 
Competitive Regional Clusters: National Policy Approaches is a compendium that examines regional cluster strategies in fourteen different OECD member countries. It includes detailed case studies for each country and concludes with several important lessons learned:
- policymakers must be very explicit in determining the whys of cluster policies. What are the intended outcomes of the programs?
- Cluster policies cannot operate in a vacuum. They must be closely integrated with other efforts to promote innovation and technology development.
- Cluster policies are doomed to failure without active leadership from the private sector.

Access a summary of the OECD study at:
  http://www.oecd.org/
(information on how to obtain the full copy included)

 

   Key Figures 2007 on Science, Technology and Innovation. Towards a European Knowledge Area

This report by the European Commission on Europe's position in research and innovation includes data and statistics on science, technology and innovation up to 2005. In particular, it compares the stagnation of the R&D investments in Europe against the major competitors such as Japan, China or South Korea that have been able to increase their R&D effort, shaping a world where knowledge is more evenly distributed.

More details can be found in the pre-publication version of the full document at:
 http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/pdf/kf_2007_prepub_en.pdf

 

top of the page
Events
   Highlighted Events

18-19 October 2007
ASTP Fall Seminar
Industry meets Academia
Venice, Italy

 Presentation and Programme

Organised by the
Association of European Science &
Technology Transfer Professional
(ASTP)

 http://www.astp.net/


5-6 November 2007
Global Economic Forum for the Empowerment of Entrepreneurs
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

Organised by UNIDO ITPO Bahrain (Investment and Technology Promotion Offices of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization).

 

   Future meetings, workshops, seminars selected by INSME

29-31 August 2007
The 7th International Entrepreneurship Forum - "Asian Entrepreneurship: New Asian Ventures in the Global Community of Enterprise and Innovation"
Organised by the Fudan University (China) in collaboration with the University of Essex (UK) and the OECD - LEED Programme (France).
Shangai, China

6-7 September 2007
Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Research and Innovation in Textiles and Clothing
Organised by the European Commission's Enterprise and Industry Directorate General with the support of the Commission's Europe-Aid Co-operation Office.
Cairo, Egypt

7-11 September 2007
The 8th Annual CINet Conference - "Continuous Innovation - Opportunities and Challenges"
Organised by the Continuous Innovation Network (CINet), a global network set up to bring together researchers and industrialists working in the field of Continuous Innovation.
Gothenburg, Sweden

13-15 September 2007
BALTIC DINAMICS 2007 - The 12th Annual Conference of the Business Incubation Associations of the Baltic States - "International Partnership for Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges"
Organised by the Latvia Technological Center.
Riga, Latvia

17-21 September 2007
17th National Seminar on Science Parks and Company Incubators & 15th Anprotec Workshop
Co-organised by the National Society for Bodies Promoting Innovative Enterprises (ANPROTEC) and the Brazilian Support Service for Small and Medium-Sized Companies (SEBRAE).
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

17-21 September 2007
TII Summer School
The Programme is organised by the Technology, Innovation, Information (TII).
Intercollege, Lanarca, Cyprus

20-21 September 2007
2nd Annual Conference of the EPIP Association on Intellectual Property Rights
Organised by the European Policy for Intellectual Property (EPIP) Consortium and hosted by the Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE) at Lund University.
Lund, Sweden

1-2 October 2007
"Actions for the Development of Policies to Foster Small and Medium-sized Enterprises"
Organised by FUNDES (Foundation for Sustainable Development in Latin America) with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, SELA (Latin American Economic System) and IBERPYME (SELA's Ibero-American Programme for Institutional Cooperation for SME Development).
San Salvador, El Salvador

2-3 October 2007
Conference on Patent Statistics for Policy Decision Making 
Organised by OECD and EPO in collaboration with DIME Network of Excellence, and with the support of UIBM, USPTO, JPO, WIPO, the National Science Foundation (United States), Eurostat and the Venice International University.
Venice, Italy

3-5 October 2007
X Inter American Forum on Microenterprise. The Road Ahead
Organised by the Inter-American Development Bank.
San Salvador, El Salvador

3-5 October 2007
2007 Venture Capital Forum
Organised by EVCA (European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association).
Stockholm, Sweden

21-24 October 2007
5th MENAinc Workshop on Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Middle East and Northern Africa
Organized by infoDev Incubator Initiative in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Hosted by the Bahrain Business Incubation Center (BBIC).
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

23-24 October 2007
Turning Knowledge into Practice: Getting More out of Public Investment in Innovation
This Conference is organised under the PRO INNO Europe Initiative of the European Commission.
Berlin, Germany

6-7 November 2007
2007 International Conference on SME Innovation on "Turning Technology into Business Value for SMEs"
Organised by APEC SME Innovation Center.
Seoul, Korea

7-9 November 2007
30th Annual ISBE Conference - "International Entrepreneurship. Stimulating Smarter Successful Small Businesses Worldwide"
Organised by the Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE).
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

 

top of the page
You are receiving this Newsletter because you are included in our mailing list of recipients who are involved or interested in INSME.
Please feel free to forward this Newsletter to others you think might find it interesting and useful.
You are also welcome to partly or fully reproduce and disseminate the contents of this publication
provided that you acknowledge the source.
To subscribe/unsubscribe to the INSME Newsletter, please send an e-mail message to secretariat@insme.it

INSMEnews is edited by the INSME Secretariat. We welcome contributions as well as comments and suggestions.
For enquiries please contact the INSME Secretariat at secretariat@insme.it
Previous editions of INSMEnews are available at
www.insme.org/insme-newsletter


INSME Secretariat
c/o IPI – Institute for Industrial Promotion
Viale M. Pilsudski, 124
00197 Rome
Italy
Tel. +39-06-80972466
      +39-06-80972484
Fax +39-06-80972443
E-mail: secretariat@insme.it

Web sites: www.insme.org | www.ipi.it | www.riditt.it
top of the page
Copyright © 2011 INSME Association