23^rd - 26^th May, 2011
Helsinki, Finland

We welcome in the INSME Network the following four Organisations:

Chamber of Commerce of Manizales (CCM), a Private not for profit Organisation based in Colombia;
Corporation for the Development of Micro-Enterprises (CDM), a Private not for profit Organisation based in Colombia;
Italian-Libyan Chamber of Commerce, a Private not for profit Organisation based in Italy and in Libya;
World Technopolis Association (WTA), an International Network based in South Korea.

With the aim to better promote multilateral cooperation in the field of innovation, science and technology transfer, the INSME Association has signed in Rome on June 25^th a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the WTA in the spirit of friendly and open partnership, by mutually exchanging free Associated Membership.

The INSME Association now includes 79 Members from 32 Countries (16 OECD and 16 non-OECD) in 5 continents: 16 Governmental Bodies, 18 International Organisations, 13 International NGOs and 32 networks and intermediaries acting in the field of innovation and technology transfer to SMEs.

 View the full list of the INSME Members.
 Apply for membership in the INSME Association.

The SME Division of the World Intellectual Property Organisation-WIPO is organising the 8^th Annual Forum on Intellectual Property (IP) and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises for Intellectual Property Offices (IPOs) and Other Relevant Institutions in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Countries to be held on 4^th-5^th October 2010 in Rome, Italy in collaboration with the Italian Ministry for Economic Development (UIBM).

More details will be available soon on the following website:
 http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=20402

The International Conference on Policies to Address Financing and Entrepreneurial Challenges in High-growth Innovative Firms, jointly organised by the United Nation Economic Commission for Europe - UNECE, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, took place in Helsinki, Finland on 2^nd-4^th June 2010. The Conference aimed to enhance the exchange of mutual learning of good practices and policies related to the development of high-growth innovative firms, in particular in the new financial and economic conditions.

All the presentations made at the event are currently available at the following link:
 http://www.unece.org/ceci/ppt_presentations/2010/ic/Helsinki/conf_icp.html

The European Investment Fund- EIF has recently published its 2009 Annual Report which  provides details of EIF activity from 2005 to 2009.

Moreover, on May 2010 EIF issued a new Working Paper on Private Equity Market Outlook. This publication is the latest issue of the EIF Working Paper Series conceived to diffuse information on topics and studies linked to EIF business.

 Download the 2009 Annual Report.
 Read the Private Equity Market Outlook- Working Paper and the previous Working Papers.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development-OECD Council Meeting at Ministerial Level From Recovery to Sustained Growth held on 27^th-28^th May 2010 in Paris, France, focussed on the key challenges facing governments, including ways to promote green growth and boost innovation.

Within this framework, the OECD published the following documentation related to the development of its Innovation Strategy:
- Analytical report on Innovation Strategy: Getting a Head Start on Tomorrow
- Compendium of statistical indicators Measuring Innovation: A New Perspective
- Innovation Strategy key findings

For more details on the outreaches of the OECD Meeting, the final Declaration and other relevant documents, please visit the following website: http://www.oecd.org/site/0,3407,en_21571361_45014763_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

The presentations made during the Conference on European Challenges for Innovation, jointly organised by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Commission on 27^th-28^th April 2010 in Bilbao (Spain), are available at the following link:
http://www.challenges4innovation.es/Publico/Programme/index.aspx?idioma=en

 To learn more about the conference conclusions, please, visit the dedicated section of the conference website here.

EPROCA is a non-profit Pan-European cluster organization aimed at fostering and enhancing the national and transnational clustering initiatives and improving cluster cooperation knowledge and competencies of enterprises, governmental structures, educational institutions and business support organisations.

EPROCA promotes prosperity by cultivating collaborative competitiveness culture. EPROCA is an INSME Member since May 2010 and will co-host the 7^th INSME Association Annual Meeting in Helsinki, Finland.

Read more at:
 http://www.eproca.org/

Call for Papers

Read about the Call for Papers launched by the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology for The 8th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, to be held in November 22^nd-24^th , 2010 at Abu Dhabi University Khalifa City Campus, UAE.

Deadline for abstracts submission: 30^th June, 2010

 Download the Brochure.

Visit the website at:
 http://www.aimevents.net/icsm/papers.html

Call for Proposals

The initiative CIP Eco-innovation (Competitiveness and Innovation Programme) has launched a Call for proposals mainly addressed to organisations that have developed an environmental product, service, management practice or process which has a proven track record, yet is not fully marketed due to residual risks.

Call Identifier: CIP-EIP-ECO-INNOVATION-2010

Aim: To reduce environmental impacts or to improve environmental performance of enterprises, in particular SMEs.

Participants: all legal persons based in eligible countries but the priority will be given to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). Clusters of applicants and projects which demonstrate a European added value and have a high potential for market replication are strongly encouraged.

Deadline for submission of applications: 9^th September 2010

Budget: Around �35 million will be available to fund new projects this year

 Read more here.

Call for Tenders

Call for Tender No: 8/PP/ENT/CIP/10/E/N02C011

Aim: To prepare future innovation policy measures of various nature (a study assessing options for the future structure and implementation methods of the innovation-related EU funding programme; a Secretariat for the European Design Innovation Initiative; a study on future EU support to public procurement of innovative solutions).

Submission deadline: 23^rd July 2010.

 To find out more, please, click here

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched three new Call for Proposals within its EIB-Universities Research Action.

OJ Reference: 2010/C 142/09

Aim: To provide grants to European University Research Centres working on research topics and themes related to: Benchmarking European SME Credit Performance; the History of European Infrastructure Finance; the Economic Impact of Law: an Economic Assessment of the Impact of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive.

Deadline for the presentation of proposals: 10^th September 2010

 To learn more, please, click here.

Youth Entrenet is a global knowledge-sharing and resource platform created by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Its main objective is to contribute to the design of youth entrepreneurship strategies by carrying out actions and research on the impact of entrepreneurship education and enterprise start-up programs. At the moment, it is operating only in some selected countries (P.R. China, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Peru, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Syria). 
 
 To find out more, please, visit the following website:
http://www.knowaboutbusiness.org/

These guides on IPRs were produced within the project IP Awareness and Enforcement: Modular Based Actions for SMEs (IPeuropAware) managed by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation - EACI.

The 4 publications, issued separately for the Textiles and Clothing, Leather, Footwear and Furniture sectors, explain the role played by IPR for SMEs' development and how to use IPRs. 

The guides are available in 11 European languages.

Download the guides at the following website:
 http://www.innovaccess.eu/handbooks_lang.html

The publication, issued by the ENPI (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument) Info Center, deals with the ENPI financial instruments and the global thematic tools to support reforms and transition processes in the Mediterranean Region and provides links to all related-information.

The Neighbouring Countries benefiting from these instruments and tools are: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Republic of Moldova, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Russian Federation, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine.

 Download the Report.

The INNO-Appraisal project, which run from January 2007 to January 2010, was finalised in February 2010 and the Project Final Report was consequently issued.

It summaries the activities carried out during these years in order to contribute to a better understanding on how appraisal (Evaluations, Peer Review, Benchmarking)  is used in innovation policy in Europe, and the role played by appraisal in the policy making process.

 Download the Final Report .

The EuUsScienceTechnology portal provides up-to-date information on science and technology (S&T) cooperation between the European Union and the United States.

With a view to enhance EU-U.S. S&T cooperation through information sharing, dialogue and network creation the portal includes two complementary projects called BILAT-USA and Link2US.

 Find out more at http://www.euussciencetechnology.eu/

On April 2010 the first edition of the Mediterranean Observatory Newsletter was launched. It is a publication issued by the Fondation Sophia Antipolis focusing on the Mediterranean Countries and related initiatives.

Please note that the newsletter is available also in French and that the next issue will be published in September 2010.

 Download the first issue here.

30^th June-1^st July 2010
European Business Summit 2010 "Putting Europe back on track"
Organised by BUSINESSEUROPE and the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (VBO-FEB)
Brussels, Belgium

2^nd July 2010
INNOVATION and ENTERPRISE. The role of socio-economic players
Organised by the European Economic and Social Committee
Brussels, Belgium

2^nd-7^th July 2010
EuroScience Open Forum ESOF2010
Organized by Euroscience
Turin, Italy

7^th-10^th July 2010
The 2010 International Conference on Innovation and Management (IAM 2010)
Organised by the Electronic Business Management Society (EBMS) and the National Taipei University (NTPU)
Penang, Malaysia

25^th July-2^nd August
4^th Summer Academy on Innovation and Uncertainty
Jointly hosted by the DFG Research Training Group (GSBC-EIC) and the International Max Planck Research School
Jena, Germany

6^th-9^th August 2010
3^rd Conventional International Business Extreme Forum Traditions and Culture. Training Innovators
Organised by the Russian Academy of Management and Market, the National Agency for Entrepreneurship Technological Support (INTECH) and National Business Incubator Association of Russia (NSBI)
Republic of Karelia, Russia

2^nd-3^rd September 2010
7th WTA General Assembly and International Conference on "Science City Development in the Era of Global Financial Crisis"
Organised by the World Technopolis Association (WTA)
Hsinchu, Taiwan

5^th-7^th September 2010
11^th International CINet Conference "Practicing innovation in times of discontinuity"
Organised by the Continuous Innovation Network (CINet)
Z�rich, Switzerland

7^th-9^th September 2010
European Industrial Technologies conference
Organised by Sirris, SPW-Service Public De Wallonie, EWI (Flemish Government, Department of Economy, Science and Innovation), Agoria and the European Union
Brussels, Belgium

14^th-18^th September 2010
14^th International Biotechnology Symposium and Exhibition
Organised by Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
Rimini, Italy

15^th-17^th September 2010
AURP 2010 International Conference
Organised by AURP
Minneapolis, United States

15^th-17^th September 2010
Baltic Dynamics 2010 "Knowledge flow in innovation system: from idea to action"
Organised by the Baltic Association of Science/Technology Parks and Innovation Centres - BASTIC and the Latvian Technological Center
Riga, Latvia

20^th-24^th September 2010
20^th Brazilian National Seminar on Science Parks and Business Incubators and 18^th ANPROTEC Workshop
Organised by ANPROTEC in partnership with SEBRAE
Campo Grande (MS), Brazil

23^rd-25^th September 2010
The Siberian International Innovative Business Congress
Supported by the Russian Venture Company (OJSC), the Russian Union of Industrials and Entrepreneurs and Federal Agency for Innovation and Science of the Russian Federation
Novosibirsk, Russia

26th-29th September 2010
IEDC 2010 Annual Conference "New Paradigms: The Practice of Economic Development in a Changed Landscape"
Organised by the International Economic Development Council - IEDC
Columbus, United States

29^th September - 1^st October 2010
7^th Annual Conference of The Technopolicy Network "Building a World-Class Knowledge Region"
Organised by The Technopolicy Network in collaboration with BioRN Cluster Management GmbH
Heidelberg, Germany

30^th September - 3^rd October 2010
6^th Taipei International Invention Show & Technomart (Taipei INST)
Organised by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)
Taipei, Taiwan