• how digital media and content are distributed and used - in order to find sustainable ways to help businesses co-operate to create profitable value chains and services,
• the pervasiveness of digital services - addressing the impact of new technologies and systems such as cloud computing and identity management, as businesses and industries become more digital and interconnected, and
• the blending of digital and physical worlds - looking at how objects such as cars, clothes, and consumer goods can become better connected, enhance our lives and create new business opportunities.

The Connected Digital Economy Catapult will also help businesses that traditionally are less active in the digital market place by transferring knowledge and experience from industries which are leading, such as the creative sectors.  This will help a broad spectrum of UK business take advantage of digital technology and quickly exploit profitable new business models. The Catapult will also enable small and medium enterprises to collaborate with the wider digital value chain and showcase their products using state-of-the-art demonstrators that will be found at the Catapult.

The vision for this Catapult would not have been possible without the support and contribution from the Creative and Digital Industries and Future Internet communities. During our consultation process we engaged with over 400 organizations through 80 in-depth interviews, over 300 responses to online questionnaires from SMEs and universities, a workshop with 25 participants from multinationals with nearly $1t of combined revenue, 7 focussed roundtables, an oversubscribed open workshop with 90 participants, as well as countless 1:1 discussions and inputs.  We would like to thank all of those who have contributed in one way or another, and look forward to continue the engagement on this exciting project.

Next steps

Over the next few months the Technology Strategy Board will be working with interested individuals, companies, research groups and key stakeholders to plan the establishment a Connected Digital Economy Catapult.  We expect to publish a document in February detailing the vision, scope, ways to engage and the next steps for establishing the Catapult.

Get involved

You are strongly encouraged to join the new _connect  group for the Digital Connected Economy at https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/connected-digital-economy.  This will be the main forum for engagement and discussions with businesses and academics and other stakeholders interested in the establishment of this Catapult.

Stay informed!

Make sure you stay informed by following @Catapult_TSB or the public list we created for the Digital Connected Economy Catapult: https://twitter.com/#!/Catapult_TSB/connected-digital-economy.  Subscribers to the _connect  group for the Digital Connected Economy will also be able to receive the Catapult newsletter.

The revision of the public procurement Directives announced by the Commission today is part of an overall programme to thoroughly modernise public tendering in the European Union. This programme also includes a Directive on concessions, which until now have been only partially regulated at European level and present specific features which justify a separate text, while maintaining consistency with the general reform.

The reform of legislation on public procurement is one of the twelve priority actions set out in the Single Market Act adopted in April 2011. Indeed, the efficiency of public tendering has become a priority for all Member States, in view of the current budgetary constraints. Europe needs flexible, simple instruments which allow public authorities and their suppliers to conclude transparent, competitive contracts as easily as possible and at the best value for money.

According to the results of the survey, the economic crisis has left its mark on businesses from all size-classes, with micro firms being particularly vulnerable. As a result of the 2009/2010 economic crisis the number of jobs in the SME sector has on average decreased by 2.4% annually, as against 0.95% annually in the large company sector. Employment developments are still negative in 2010, but expectations for 2011 are believed to be improving. The share of firms that expected to lay off employees in 2011 was smaller than the share of firms that actually laid off employees in 2010.

As well as the employment effects, by far the most important negative effect of the crisis on companies is the overall decline of total demand for their products and services (62% of companies), followed by the increase in customer payment terms (48% of firms) and finally the shortage of working capital, which affected 31% of the respondents.

Innovativeness is a weapon against the crisis

Innovation seems to have a positive effect: innovative enterprises, as well as businesses from more innovative countries, more often report employment growth and have higher employment growth rates.

The survey underlines that innovative SMEs or companies operating in more innovative economies suffered less from the economic crisis. For example, while the decline in overall demand is mentioned by 70% of businesses in countries that are considered modest innovators, the corresponding figure is 45% for countries which are innovation leaders.

Job quality in SMEs

The study distinguishes two broad dimensions of the job quality: employment quality and work quality. On average it is true that jobs in small businesses are less productive, less well paid and less unionised than jobs in large companies. However, microenterprises report that they have a competitive advantage over their competitors as far as 'soft' aspects of the human resource aspects of an enterprise are concerned: working climate, work-life balance, working-time arrangements.

• ICT for "smart" cities
• Digital content, open data and creativity
• ICT for Health, ageing well and inclusion
• ICT for innovative government and public services
• Trusted eServices and other actions

Innovation in sustainability is vital for the continued success and growth of the UK process industry, including for the bulk and fine chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech, agrochemical, coatings and lubricant, food and drink, home and personal care, mining, water, construction materials, and oil and fuel sectors. We aim to encourage innovation in manufacturing steps that improve economic performance, benefit the environment and have a positive social impact.

Up to £4.6m is available for collaborative R&D projects, which must be business-led and include an end user.

Up to £400k is available for feasibility projects, which must be business-led and may be collaborative or led by single companies. Collaborative R&D projects should last one to three years and will atract up to 50% public funding.

Feasibility projects should last six to nine months and will attract up to 75% public funding.

The competition opens on 27 February 2012. The deadline for applications for feasibility funding is at noon on 25 April 2012.

There is a two-stage process for collaborative R&D funding. Expressions of interest must be submitted by noon on 25 April 2012 and the second stage for invited applicants opens on 21 May 2012.

The deadline for final applications is at noon on 4 July 2012. A briefing day for potential applicants for feasibility and collaborative R&D funding will be held on 8 March 2012.

Open date: 27 February 2012

Registration close date: 18 April 2012

Close date: 25 April 2012

Email: competitions@innovateuk.org

Phone number: 0300 321 4357  

Proposals must be centred on the vehicle and cover at least one technical area and at least one competition theme as detailed in the brief.  Projects must be collaborative and business-led. We expect to award a range of grants from £500k and potentially up to figures in excess of £5m.

This competition opens for expressions of interest on 20 February 2012. The deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 28 March 2012. The second stage for invited applicants opens on 23 April 2012 and the deadline for completed applications is at noon on 30 May 2012.  A networking event to encourage consortia-building will be held on 10 January 2012 and a virtual networking space has been created on _connect. Join the IDP7 group here.

We are specifically encouraging businesses outside the automotive sector to bring their technical knowledge and expertise to consortia.

Open date: 20 February 2012

Registration close date: 21 March 2012

Close date: 28 March 2012

Website: www.innovateuk.org

Email: competitions@innovateuk.org

Phone number: 0300 321 4357 

Our focus is on recent technological discoveries or breakthroughs that have inspired people to innovate in a context of significant technology risk, or have led to ideas that are yet to find application in a recognised market or business sector. Innovation in manufacturing capability often builds on new-found technology and can be a significant driver of economic growth and enhance the quality of life.

Proposals must be collaborative and led by a business and involve at least one other non-academic partner. We expect to invest between £250k and £500k in each project, although projects outside this range will be considered. We are primarily looking to fund applied research projects attracting up to 50% public funding.

This is a two-stage competition. It opens on 16 January 2012 and the deadline for registration is at noon on 22 February 2012.

The second stage for invited applicants opens on 19 March 2012 and the deadline for completed applications is at noon on 25 April 2012. A briefing event will be held in London on 25 January 2012.

Open date: 16 January 2012

Registration close date: 22 February 2012

Close date: 29 February 2012

Email: competitions@innovateuk.org

Phone number: 0300 321 4357 

Horizon 2020 - proposed new programme architecture
EU funding for research and innovation will be focused on three strategic objectives, implemented through specific programmes and a dedicated financial contribution to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

The first objective is dedicated to supporting an 'Excellent science' in Europe. A budget of €24.6 billion will strengthen the EU's position as a world leader in science. This will include:

• €13.2 billion for the highly successful European Research Council (ERC), which provides substantial grants to top-level individual researchers working in Europe.
• Investment of €3.1 billion in future and emerging technologies (FET) to open up new fields of research and innovation.
• A budget of €5.75 billion for the Marie Curie Actions to develop research and innovation skills through the training, mobility and career development of researchers.
• Funding of €2.4 billion will also be available for supporting access to, and networking of priority research infrastructures (including e-infrastructures) across Europe.

The second objective, 'Industrial leadership', with a budget of €17.9 billion, will help make Europe a more attractive location to invest in research and innovation. It will include major investments in key industrial technologies such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), nanotechnologies, biotechnology and space (total of €13.7 billion). It will facilitate access to risk finance, which has a high leverage on private investment and has been shown to be a very valuable tool in fighting the lack of risk capital following the financial crisis (dedicated budget of €3.5 billion). It will also provide EU-wide support for innovation in SMEs with high growth potential (€0.6 billion).

The third objective, 'Societal challenges' will see €31.7 billion allocated to tackling the major issues affecting the lives of European citizens. The focus will be on six key areas:

• Health, demographic change and well-being (€8 billion);
• Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research and the bio-based economy (€4.1 billion);
• Secure, clean and efficient energy (€5.7 billion);
• Smart, green and integrated transport (€6.8 billion);
• Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials (€3.1 billion);
• Inclusive, innovative and secure societies (€3.8 billion).
• The goal will be more than ever to bring excellent research results to market. This will deliver direct benefits to citizens, such as affordable health-care, protection against cyber-crime, and the transition to a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy.

The Commission has launched a new website for Horizon 2020. Further information, including the published proposals can be found here.

OLAE + is a transnational call for collaborative research and development proposals under the European Commission’s (EC’s) ERA-NET Plus scheme. We are seeking proposals to develop and stimulate the technology and business relationships within the European organic large-area electronics (OLAE) community, building the supply chain and removing barriers to industrialisation.

OLAE + is a joint initiative by:

•Technology Strategy Board, UK
•Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
•VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH, Germany
•Israel-Europe R&D Directorate for the EU Framework Program (ISERD), Israel
•Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWT), Flanders
•VINNOVA – Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems, Sweden National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR), Poland
•Agency for the Support of Businesses in Catalonia (ACC1Ó), Catalonia
•Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)/Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT), Austria.
It is co-funded by the EC’s Directorate- General Information Society and Media (DG INFSO). The rules and procedures of this call have been developed and agreed by the participating national funding bodies (OLAE+ agencies) in strict consideration of the ERA-NET Plus scheme as defined by the EC. The call is organised as a competition for funding and will be implemented jointly by the national funding bodies.

The competition is open to participants from Austria, Catalonia, Flanders, Germany, Israel, Poland, Sweden and the UK (the participating countries and regions). We expect to fund a mixture of small and large projects, with total costs typically in the range €0.5m to €3m. Projects must be bi or multinational, collaborative, application-orientated and pre-competitive.

Applications will need to satisfy general and national criteria to be eligible for funding. The participants in a project to be funded through this competition will need to confirm that a consortium agreement is in place before the project starts.

Each national funding body will issue funding contracts (grant agreements) to individual project participants in accordance with its national law. Grants will be paid to the project participants solely by the national funding bodies.

The reporting duties of individual project participants will be determined by the relevant national regulations.  Each project must attend an annual co-ordination meeting of all the OLAE + projects to share progress and best practice as the projects develop. The project co-ordinator, on behalf of the consortium, must also submit an annual short standard report in English on the project’s progress. For the final report, the project co-ordinator must summarise the results, accomplishments and impact of the project. The final reports must be suitable to be published by the participating countries and the EC.

This is a two-stage competition. It opens on 24 October 2011; the deadline for submitting stage-1 pre-proposals is 31 January 2012 (13:00 CET); and the deadline for submitting stage-2 full proposals is 31 May 2012 (13:00 CET).

All proposals must be submitted online by one of the partners, acting as the project coordinator on behalf of the consortium. Application forms (including nationalannexes) are available for download from the OLAE+ website at www.olaeplus.eu

This competition is the first and exploratory phase in a new four-year programme. We aim to stimulate the rapid delivery of innovative technologies and disruptive business models that address the technical and socio-economic challenges posed by reduced generation of power through fossil fuels, increased generation through renewable sources and a predicted surge in demand from the electrification of heat supplies and from electric vehicles.

To support and secure the UK’s role in delivering innovation for future power systems, we will encourage and support collaborative working, technology transfer, and systems integration across the energy generation and supply, digital, built environment, transport, and creative sectors.

There are two strands to the competition. The first is for feasibility studies lasting up to four months where grants will not exceed £25k. The second is for feasibility studies lasting between six and 12 months where grants will not exceed £100k.

Projects in both strands are open to companies of any size but must be led by a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). Strand 1 projects may be collaborative or led by a single company. Strand 2 projects must be collaborative. This is a single-stage competition. It opens on 9 January 2012 and the deadline for the receipt of applications is at noon on 22 February 2012. A briefing day for potential applicants will be held on 18 January 2012.

Proposals must be centred on the vehicle and cover at least one technical area and at least one competition theme as detailed in the brief.  Projects must be collaborative and business-led. We expect to award a range of grants from £500k and potentially up to figures in excess of £5m.

This competition opens for expressions of interest on 20 February 2012. The deadline for expressions of interest is at noon on 28 March 2012. The second stage for invited applicants opens on 23 April 2012 and the deadline for completed applications is at noon on 30 May 2012.  A networking event to encourage consortia-building will be held on 10 January 2012 and a virtual networking space has been created on _connect. Join the IDP7 group here.

We are specifically encouraging businesses outside the automotive sector to bring their technical knowledge and expertise to consortia.

One of the challenges facing fuel-cell and hydrogen technologies is to move from development to providing practical low-carbon solutions in combination with other energy and transport products. The aim of this competition is to encourage UK businesses developing fuel cells and hydrogen systems to work with partners to overcome the system integration challenges, to design complete solutions that can be easily used by customers and to gain an insight into the use of whole systems in realistic scenarios. We also aim to build on existing investments, to strengthen UK capability by supporting the development of new strategic partnerships, and to provide evidence to government and industry on the case for further investment.

This is a two-stage open competition. Proposals must be collaborative and business-led and must clearly present the benefits to UK businesses. The competition opens on 9 January 2012 and the registration deadline is at noon on 15 February 2012. There is a briefing day on 18 January 2012. Successful projects will generally attract up to 50% public funding and we expect the total cost of each project to be £3m-5m.

One of the challenges facing fuel-cell and hydrogen technologies is to move from development to providing practical low-carbon solutions in combination with other energy and transport products. The aim of this competition is to encourage UK businesses developing fuel cells and hydrogen systems to work with partners to overcome the system integration challenges, to design complete solutions that can be easily used by customers and to gain an insight into the use of whole systems in realistic scenarios. We also aim to build on existing investments, to strengthen UK capability by supporting the development of new strategic partnerships, and to provide evidence to government and industry on the case for further investment.

This is a two-stage open competition. Proposals must be collaborative and business-led and must clearly present the benefits to UK businesses. The competition opens on 9 January 2012 and the registration deadline is at noon on 15 February 2012. There is a briefing day on 18 January 2012. Successful projects will generally attract up to 50% public funding and we expect the total cost of each project to be £3m-5m.

Open date: 09 January 2012

Registration close date: 15 February 2012

Close date: 22 February 2012

Email: competitions@innovateuk.org   

Participant Portal: is used for interactions with the participants of EU-funded research and innovation projects; it also provides information on funding opportunities.

CORDIS: disseminates information on the EU-funded research projects, their outcomes and their exploitation.

As part of the new division of services, from July 2011 the Participant Portal becomes the unique and authoritative website for the publication of FP7 calls and the existing CORDIS service is phased-out.

We will be funding individual companies and other organisations responsible for buildings for the total cost of evaluating the performance of case study buildings they design, build, own and/or operate. This will help builders and developers to deliver more efficient, better performing buildings.

Studies on domestic buildings will cover either the period immediately post construction and into early occupation (Phase 1 studies), or a period of two years in-use for buildings less than 2 years old (Phase 2 studies). Similarly, non-domestic building studies will be either for buildings under construction and nearing completion (Under Construction) to cover the period spanning completion and early occupation, or those in use and no more than 3 years old (In-Use). All studies will be required to use specified protocols, tools and techniques to capture data in a comparable form.

We aim to assemble a substantial body of data for many building types to draw generic conclusions on the performance obtained through various design strategies, building fabric, target performances, construction methods and occupancy patterns, handover and operational practices. These will be shared across the industry with a view to providing reliable information to enable improvements in the performance of new and refurbished buildings through specification, design, delivery and operation. To this end we may prioritise buildings from certain industry sectors or with particular characteristics in order to satisfy overall programme requirements.

In this latest tranche, in the non-domestic stream, we are particularly keen to receive initial applications focused on retail, hospitality and industrial buildings and buildings in any sector that are of small (<1000m2) or medium (<5000m2) in treated floor area or are refurbishments.  Additionally, in accordance with the programme’s objective of encouraging the development of skills and practice in building performance evaluation across the construction and property sectors, submissions from first time applicants are particularly welcome.

Funding will be allocated in tranches over two years – see below for the next closing date.

Important Notice - Building Performance Evaluation

Please note that current and future tranches of this Competition are open to new applicants. Unsuccessful applicants from the previous tranches may reapply if their projects fall within the eligible scope and timing for the current tranche.

Close dates:  14th September 2011; 18th January 2012, and for Domestic projects only 23rd May 2012

Please note that registration for all Technology Strategy Board administered competitions will close one week before the competition application deadline. Registration is required to receive application forms and access the applications area.

With the unveiling of multiple calls for proposals for all FP7 programmes on 20 July 2011, CORDIS users will notice some changes to the Community Research and Development Information Service.

The 'Find a call' section on CORDIS now redirects to the relevant pages of the 'FP7 calls' section of the Participant Portal, which is also available via the short and easy URL of http://ec.europa.eu/fp7calls

Users and webmasters are encouraged to update their links and bookmarks using the deep linking options described on the Participant Portal's FAQ page (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/faq).

In order to receive email alerts about future calls, subscribers to CORDIS email notifications need to register with the Participant Portal. RSS feeds for recently published calls and the latest call information are also available to replace the CORDIS calls feed. Both email notifications and RSS feeds can be accessed through the 'Stay tuned' section of the Participant Portal.

In addition to publishing FP7 calls, the Participant Portal aims to become the single entry point for interaction with the research programmes of the European Commission. The Portal started with the registration of organisations through the Unique Registration Facility (URF) which provides the Participant Identification Code (PIC) that is used for proposal submissions. It now offers a variety of tools to support the project lifecycle, from simulating financial viability and eligibility to grant agreement negotiations and project reporting.

Call-related content on CORDIS, such as references in news articles, will link to official information on the Participant Portal. In this way, CORDIS will support the Portal in its new mission as the official information point for FP7 calls.

Further details about the calls funded by the FP7 2012 work programmes are available at http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/521&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Research Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn commented in a statement that this name symbolised a fresh departure for the future EU funding programme proposal, which brings together the existing Framework Programme, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme and the European Institute for Innovation and Technology.
 

Grant for R&D is available to single companies. Three types of grant are available:

- Proof of market grant

- Proof of concept grant

- Development of prototype grant

Pre start-ups, start-ups, and small and medium-sized businesses from all sectors across the UK may apply for the Grant for R&D programme.

Further information, including full guidance for applicants, is available on the right hand side of this page.  Please note that the Guidance for Applicants have been updated and a new rule has been introduced from the open of Round 5. An individual business may only submit one project application per category (eg proof of concept) per round. If more than one application per category is submitted in a round only the first application submitted will be considered for funding.

 Batch assessment date

Grant for R&D responsive mode is “always open”. However to assist the Technology Strategy Board in the processing of these applications, we assign them into batches for final assessment and funding.

Once an application is submitted, it is forwarded to the appointed assessors to begin the assessment process. At the batch assessment date indicated below, any remaining applications are sent to assessors. Any applications submitted after 12.00 noon on the batch assessment date will be reviewed with the following batch of assessments.

Following the batch assessment date, the Technology Strategy Board collates all of the assessment feedback and scores from the assessors and then ranks all submissions in batches and assigns the available funding. Therefore an applicant should expect to hear from the Technology Strategy Board approximately one month after the batch assessment date with respect to its funding decision.

This call is seeking novel and innovative solutions to enable MOD to maintain logistic distribution capacity whilst reducing the number of personnel involved in a re-supply operation. The challenges faced include:

•  Distributing different types of supply materiel (e.g. liquid, palletised)
•  Achieving mobility and manoeuvrability across difficult terrain (e.g. mountainous, desert, urban), extremes of climate and in all environmental conditions
•  Travelling over distances of up to 750km
 

The competition will launch at a seminar event on 19th January. The focus of the seminar is to consider technologies that reduce the manning requirement of distribution platforms and therefore reduce the likelihood of casualties. Information on the challenges and opportunities faced by UK Armed Forces when conducting supply distribution operations around the world will be presented by military and MOD experts for discussion at the seminar. This will be of interest to a range of subject matter experts from academia and industry.

 Potential applicants are strongly recommended to attend the seminar, registration is necessary via http://www.science.mod.uk.

This competition is run by the Centre of Defence Enterprise.

For more information and the application process please register at:

https://innovative.ideas.mod.uk/(Q(4))/Welcome.aspx?QTVShellInfo=.1

David Hewitt of Waringstown based DHA Consulting commented “I’ve used the business information service many times in the past and today’s session updates me on the latest FREE services available such as sourcing opportunities for collaborations across the EU and accessing information and local contacts across the globe.”

David went on to say, “I recommend my business adviser colleagues to attend the November 23rd event with ICAGNI at InvestNI’s HQ in Belfast. They’ll be better business advisers as a result.”

Thanking Mr Andrew Millar, the Enterprise Europe Network Northern Ireland Coordinator, for hosting the seminar and the tour of the business information centre, ICAGNI chair Bill MacNeill added, “Invest Northern Ireland provides a top class service to local business. ICAGNI, as part of the Institute of Business Consulting, is committed to ensuring our participants are better informed, better integrated into the institute and better connected with each other and the valuable services Invest NI provides.”

The key websites to be bookmarked are:

http://www.enterpriseeuropeni.com/inx/ - EENNI Website

http://www.enterprise-europe.net/ - UK Portal

http://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/info/network_en.htm - EEN European Website

PLEASE NOTE:

ICAGNI has organised a repeat run of this week’s information sessions at Invest Northern Ireland for November 23rd 2010. 10.45 am arrival for 11.00am start. To book please email your request to chair@icagni.co.uk or skype: billmacneill.

The other events in ICAGNI’s winter calendar continue through to March 2011. Each month there will be at least one event under the theme of ‘advising the adviser’. Further details in next week’s newsletter and on www.icagni.co.uk

ICAGNI information events are open to all IBC, CMI and IMCA members and depending on venues, all should be FREE of charge.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of IBC is welcome to come along too if places are available.

 Nokia Users

Is your inbox overloaded? Like to browse through the many commercial, technical and R&D partnership opportunities on your Nokia mobile phone?

Well now you can!. We have created a free application which is available from the Ovi store.

Simply click on the banner to the left and you will be browsing offers on your phone in minutes.

Android or iPhone?

We plan to also develop apps for Android and Apple phones - so watch out for more news soon.

Blackberry

 A simple way to get our profiles on your Blackberry is as follows.

• Download (free) Blackberry App World. http://www.blackberry.com/appworld/download
• Go to the Blackberry App Store http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/
• There are several RSS readers you can download for a small fee (usually less than $5). For example http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/email/7518
• Once you have installed the reader you can then pick an RSS feed from this site, or contact us to set up your own personal RSS feed using a free text filetr to ensure you get only the orfiles that interest you!

An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is way to get an extract of the latest items from a website you want to follow. It saves you having to go back to the website and search for new items.

Enterprise Europe Collaboration Opportunities

The network publishes around 50 new Collaboraton Opportunities each week.  They cover a wide range of sectors and they can be commercial, technical or R&D opportunities.

Up to now it’s been possible to subscribe to our website and create a keyword based profile. If you do this you get email alerts according to the sectoral keywords you have ticked. This is good, but the sectors are fairly broad and you may prefer not to get alerts by email. Everyone’s inbox is increasingly overloaded.

As an alternative we can set up a tailored RSS feed for you, based around a free text filter rather than sectoral keywords. So for example if you were interested in developing a new type of wind turbine, we can create a feed that sends you only opportunities with the words “wind turbine” in it, rather than everything from the Renewable Energy sector.

First  you need to identify the feed you want. On our website, wherever you see the RSS logo  it means you can use that feed in the reader of your choice (more below). However if you want a feed of New Collaboration Opportunities you need to contact us so that we can can set it up for you. We will then email you the RSS URL (like a website address).

Contact Andrew Millar 028 9069 8824 andrew.millar@investni.com to set this up

Once you have the URL of the feed, you can do a lot of different things with it. That’s the beauty of RSS – it gives you the flexibility to read it when and where you want.

Here’s some of the different ways to use it.

• Some RSS feeds can be read by pasting the link in your browser, but it depends on what version of what browser you have. A better way is to use an RSS reader
• RSS readers – there’s lots of these about to use or download for free. One of the easiest to access is Google’s web based www.google.com/reader. If you want it to run on your desktop you can download one like Feed Demon
• If you prefer to stick to email you can use a service like Google Alerts to send you an email when something new is there to read. Alternatively some email clients scan read RSS Feeds. For example  Outlook 2007: for instructions check here
• You can download free software to get a desktop alert when some something new appears in your feed. Just google "RSS Desktop Alert" to see a selection.
• If you want to get the feed on your mobile phone you can get RSS Readers for iPhone, Symbian or Android phones. Here is a good review of RSS readers for the iphone
  If you’re lucky enough you have a new iPad, again you can download apps to read or alert you based on our feed. Read this review

If you need help with your RSS feeds, just let us know.

If you want to read RSS feeds on your Blackberry Mobile see our news item here http://www.enterpriseeuropeni.com/inx/news/index.asp?newsid=155