Projects And Initiatives http://www.insme.org daily 1 2011-05-19T19:18:00Z J-Bilat project http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/j-bilat-project J-Bilat project, contributed by the European Commission, aims to facilitate EU-Japan cooperation in research and innovation with a view to reinforce collaboration and S&T partnerships. The project is based on the creation and development of an information support mechanism for the research community in Japan. J-Bilat project, contributed by the European Commission, aims to facilitate EU-Japan cooperation in research and innovation with a view to reinforce collaboration and S&T partnerships. The project is based on the creation and development of an information support mechanism for the research community in Japan.

Read the latest newsletter at:
http://documents.eu-japan.eu/media/publications/newsletter/october11.pdf

]]> No publisher INSME 2011-11-24T13:56:17Z Project Strategy Lab http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/strategy-lab Smart Specialization is a new concept aimed at identifying regional economic niches to facilitate the channelling of EU Innovation Structural Funds towards key regional innovation assets and to maximize their impact on regional competitiveness. Smart Specialization is a new concept aimed at identifying regional economic niches to facilitate the channelling of EU Innovation Structural Funds towards key regional innovation assets and to maximize their impact on regional competitiveness.

To learn more, take a look at: www.meta-group.com/strategylab.

NEW VIDEO on “Smart Specialisation” from the META Group Innovation Practitioners Series is now available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX0sQNu3jI4

To see the previous video of the Series, “Triple Helix: the role of Industries and Entrepreneurs”, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XBfYCak90o&feature=related

]]> No publisher INSME 2011-10-24T10:52:36Z Project US - EU Match http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/153 The US-EU Match Network, is a project launched on September 10, 2008 and managed by INTRASOFT International with the aim to link together business and research organizations from both sides on the Atlantic by providing them with tools as the QUICK MATCH Platform and the e-MATCH and with a range of business support and technology transfer services.
On the European side, us-eu-match links up to the Enterprise Europe Network and through it, to European business and research organizations.
On the US side, three major organizations assist US companies according to their specialty:
-<A href="http://www]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-22T15:01:43Z Project EMPRETEC http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/152 EMPRETEC, the Spanish acronym for emprendedores (entrepreneurs) and tecnología (technology), is the integrated capacity-building programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the area of SMEs and entrepreneurial skills promotion dedicated to helping promising entrepreneurs put their ideas into action and fledgling businesses to grow.
The EMPRETEC programme has been initiated in 27 countries, assisting more than 120,000 entrepreneurs through local market-driven EMPRETEC/business support centres.

EMPRETEC's core product, the Entrepreneurship Training Workshop (ETW), is based on a unique Harvard originated methodology focused on a behavioural approach to entrepreneurship.

UNCTAD installs the programme at the requests of its member States and in coopera]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-22T15:01:43Z Project Invest in Med http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/148 Invest in Med is a 3-year program co-financed by the European Commission (2008-2011) and coordinated by ANIMA Investment Network.

The Invest in Med project operates as an economic promotion agency and focuses  on investment and business partnerships in the following 9 Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia.

Invest in Med is an ambitious €12 million programme, including €9 million brought in by the European Commission, and €3 million by consortium members and their sponsors.

Invest in Med’s aims is to develop Foreign Direct Investment and trade flows into the Mediterranean region, to build sustainable business partnerships on its north and south rims and to promote co-development in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-22T15:01:43Z Project The EU-China Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR2) http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/150 The EU-China Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR2), jointly implemented by the European Commission and the Government of People’s Republic of China, will last 4 years (2007-2011) with the aim to improve the effectiveness of intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement in China and to support the smooth transition of China into the world trading system and contributing to its transition to a market economy.

Areas of activity:

- Improving Chinese legal framework of IPR laws and regulations on all aspects of Criminal law, Patent law, Trademark law, Copyright law, Geographic Indications, Civil and Administrative procedures;
- Capacity building to build human capital in the IP sector in China;
- Access to information to enable and encourage more efficient IP enforcement through better access to information at all levels;

]]> No publisher admin 2011-05-24T14:34:29Z Project IPR Helpdesk http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/151 The IPR-Helpdesk is a constituent part of the IP Awareness and Enforcement: Modular Based Actions for SMEs project which is financed by the CIP Programme, DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission.

The project provides the information and services, free-of-charge, on Intellectual Property Rights related issues in EU-funded projects.

]]> No publisher admin 2011-05-16T15:37:15Z Project Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Toolkit http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/127 The SME Toolkit offers software, business forms, training, and more to help small businesses in emerging markets grow and succeed. The SME Toolkit offers free business management information and training to small and medium enterprises in emerging markets on issues such as accounting and finance, business planning, human resources, marketing and sales, operations, and information technology. It is a project launched a few years ago by the International Finance Corporation (member of the World Bank Group).

The SME Toolkit has localised versions in eight languages and has distributed more than 3,000 CD-ROMs to date.

Learn more about the SME Toolkit at the IFC website:
  http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/sme.nsf/Content/SME_Toolkit

]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-22T15:01:43Z Project The STEP Programme http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/79 The Shell Technology Enterprise Programme(STEP) Programme is an initiative of the St. John's Innovation Centre of Cambridge which places undergraduated into SMEs and community organisations to undertake a specific business or technical project driven by the needs of the host business, enabling them to develop their business through the recruitment of bright, intelligent and talented individuals.

The programme has the dual aim of communicating to small business managers the huge impact an undergraduate can have on their business whilst encouraging undergraduates to consider starting a career within the vibrant small business sector. Over the past 18 years, STEP has delivered in excess of 20,000 projects within small businesses throughout the UK.

Since this programme started in 1999, St John’s has sent nearly 50 students to 18 countries in mainland Europe and several have found ]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-22T15:01:43Z Project PROINVEST http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/64 PROINVEST is an EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) partnership programme developed and undertaken by the European Commission on behalf of the ACP countries.

PROINVEST's objective is to promote investment and technology flows to enterprises operating within key sectors in the ACP States. This will be achieved through a two dimensional approach:

  • to support intermediary organisations and professional associations;
  • to develop inter-enterprise partnerships.

PROINVEST supports and strengthens the work of professional organisations (namely chambers of commerce and industry, employers' federations), investment promotion agencies, financial institutions and consultants´ associations whose activities contribute to the improvement of the environment for business and the development of companies.
These organisations may apply for assistance from PROINVEST, on a cost-sharing basis, to develop and optimise the

]]> No publisher admin 2011-05-24T14:26:13Z Project INNOVALOC http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/61 Funded by the European Commission, the main goal of the INNOVALOC project is to evaluate and model the innovative forms of small and very small enterprises in the local development and competitiveness levels of European Less Favoured Regions (LFR), dealing with two different analytical samples:

  • the entrepreneurial context (mainly linked to the agro-food sector);
  • the local environment

The agro-food sector is used because it plays a very important role in the industrial development of such regions.

INNOVALOC’s challenge is to formulate models reflecting the capacity for innovative activities of the enterprises and to analyse the existing interdependencies between the technological changes occurred and the different local contexts. The small and very small enterprises do have to face competitiveness threat by the concurrency from multinationals and rich regions, and therefore their survival is connected to in

]]> No publisher admin 2011-05-24T14:23:58Z Project ITP Programme http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/57 International Technology Promoters Programme The International Technology Promoters (ITP) Programme is funded by the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and is managed by PERA Innovation Company. It is designed to facilitate internationally based partnerships and is a free service to UK companies/organisations.

The Programme offers access to a network of technology transfer specialists (International Technology Promoters, ITPs) who can provide a practical route to leading edge technological developments from the world’s major investors in research and development.

The ITP Programme support ranges from providing straightforward information and referrals to more in-depth assistance. This may include identifying relevant oversees opportunities, establishing business alliances, setting up of licensing arrangements or guidance in the early stages of the transfer of a product, technology or process.

Offered ]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-22T15:01:42Z Project E2B A http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/156 E2B A E2B Association (E2B A), based in Brussels, has been created by nine founding members, among which D’Appolonia. It is a transparent association opened to all organizations interested in Energy Efficiency in Buildings Research and Demonstration.

The main objective of the E2B A was only the creation of the E2B JTI (Energy Efficient Buildings Joint Technology Initiative), an innovative instrument of the FP7 for supporting industrial research on key technologies and developing a competitive industry in the fields of energy efficient construction processes, products and services. At present, the E2B A also stimulates other kind of PPP (Public Private Partnership) known as E2B European Initiative (E2B EI).
]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-06T13:56:30Z Project SIBED II- Sweden Israel Testbed Program for Telecom Applications http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/103 A pro-development joint programme between Sweden and Israel to promote knowledge creation and technology transfer within the telecommunication sector. 2000 the project aims at creating a virtuous collaborative circle between Sweden and Israel in the field of industrial research and development.
The initiative develops a testbed for telecommunications experimental technologies interchange promoting mutual collaboration between the two countries.
The SIBED II Directorate is composed by representatives of Israeli Industry Center for R&D, Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems and the Office of the Chief Scientist under the Swedish Ministry of Industry Trade and Labour.

Successful outcomes led to a further extension of the programme (thereafter the project was renamed SIBED II) through the announcement of a call for joint proposals for innovative projects at the Telecom Israel 2004 conference in Tel Aviv. 
]]> No publisher admin 2011-04-06T13:56:31Z Project Knowledge Centre Program http://www.insme.org/projects-and-initiatives/99 UNDP and NASSCOM Foundation the initiative taking place in Orissa is the result of the Indian public-private effort to revitalise rural knowledge centres.

The project “Strengthening of Service Deliveries through Knowledge Centres for realization of Mission 2007” was generated from a pre-existing network of ICT kiosks with the attempt to reach the objectives of the nation-wide mission 2007 ‘National Alliance on ICTs for Basic Human Needs’.

As stated by , Kiran Karnik, President NASSCOM, “NASSCOM Foundation will focus on the role of ICT in education, health, livelihood and empowerment, and will seek to do this through partnerships with other NGOs, government and industry. In all this, the key partner will, of course, be the people themselves.”
]]> No publisher admin 2011-05-15T17:37:44Z Project