Latest News
The latest European news is reported below, including details of the activities of the Enterprise Europe team. To view the full article, click on the title.
27/01/2012
Yesterday the Technology Strategy announced that it will establish a new Catapult for the digital economy.
The new Catapult is a technology and innovation centre which will accelerate innovation and stimulate growth in this important area of the economy. It will bring together technological expertise to help the UK’s world-leading digital businesses to develop, test and apply new technologies, reducing the risk associated with creating hugely profitable products and services in the future.
Under proposed reform to public procurement legislation the European Commission aims to thoroughly modernise the existing tools and instruments on public tendering. Access to public procurement for SMEs will be increased and made easier by cutting administrative burden.
There will also be strong incentives to divide tenders into lots and limit the financial capacity requirements for tenders.
17/01/2012
The main results of a study on the essential contribution of SMEs on job creation have recently been presented by the European Commission.
85% of net new jobs in the EU between 2002 and 2010 were created by SMEs. This figure is considerably higher than the 67%-share of SMEs in total employment. During this period, net employment in the EU's business economy rose substantially, by an average of 1.1 million new jobs each year.
With 1% annually, the employment growth for SMEs was higher than for large businesses with 0.5%. A clear exception is the trade sector, in which employment in SMEs increased by 0.7% annually, compared to 2.2% in large companies, due in part to the strong increase of large trade businesses, in particular in sales, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles.
Within the SME size-class, micro firms (less than 10 employees) are responsible for the highest proportion of total net employment growth in the business economy with 58%.
Secondly new companies (less than five years in business) are responsible for an overwhelming majority of the new jobs. New companies operating in business services sector create more than a quarter (27%) of the new jobs, while new businesses in transport and communication contribute least (6%).
A N. Ireland based research institute is looking for partners (also in N.Ireland) to join a collaborative network which will bring together organisations with skills and resources relevant to retrofitting housing stock for improved energy performance.
Partners could include Industrial, private and public sector organisations with a background in retrofit technologies (insulation, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, glazing, heat pumps), installers, technology suppliers, architects, social housing landlords and housing associations, training (FE colleges), finance/funding, building regulations as applied to retrofit, local authorities, planning etc.
The network objectives will be to increase collaboration in the supply chain, improve capability, undertake R&D and seek new markets. The network will seek funding from a range of possible sources for some of these activities including the Invest NI Collaborative Networks programme.
All enquires should be directed to Andy Millar at Invest NI in the first instance. andrew.millar@investni.com 02890698824
The ICT Policy Support Programme (or ICT PSP) aims at stimulating innovation and competitiveness through the wider uptake and best use of ICT by citizens, governments and businesses.
The draft ICT PSP Work Programme 2012 has been approved by the CIP ICT Committee . The work programme is still subject to the formal approval by the Commission (expected in January 2012). It is available to download here.
The 6th call for proposals is expected to open on 1st February 2012 with a deadline of 15th May 2012.
The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £5m in feasibility projects and collaborative research and development to encourage the development and commercialisation of innovative approaches to sustainable manufacturing in the process industry.
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 Technology Strategy Board and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles are to invest up to £25m in collaborative R&D and demonstration projects that will accelerate the commercialisation of low carbon vehicles. We aim to strengthen UK capability by encouraging a reduction of costs in the supply base and a faster adoption of new technologies on UK roads. Our focus is on pulling technology through the various stages of the innovation chain. We are looking to invest in highly innovative projects involving low carbon vehicles that aim to achieve significant cuts in CO2 from road transport.
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.
The Technology Strategy Board and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are to invest up to £6m in collaborative research and development that stimulates innovation in manufacturing. We aim to support new technologies with strong potential to underpin new production processes for a wide range of industrial applications and market sectors.
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.
The European Commission has presented an €80 billion package of proposals for research and innovation funding, as part of the drive to create sustainable growth and new jobs in Europe. The new programme, Horizon 2020 will make it easier for applicants to seek funding and is designed to help bring more good ideas to market. Horizon 2020 will run from 2014 to 2020. The proposals will be negotiated by the European Parliament and the European Council over the next two years with a view to adoption of legislative acts by end 2013. Alongside this, Parliament and Council negotiations will determine the EU budget for 2014-20, including the overall budget for Horizon 2020.
Win the chance to exhibit your innovation at EcoBuild 2012
The competition builds on the success of the Innovation Future Zone at Ecobuild 2010 and 2011, where more than 50 new or near to market technologies were demonstrated with visitors to the zone invited to vote for their favourite innovation. The companies involved gained valuable market exposure in a credible and safe way.
The MBE KTN is joining forces with the Technology Strategy Board, UK Green Building Council (GBC) and Marks & Spencer (M&S) to deliver the Innovation Zone competition at Ecobuild 2012. The competition is seeking scalable technologies that can be applied in large scale retail environments, that can demonstrate a good return on investment, and is particularly looking for exemplary new or near to market innovations from SMEs and universities which address the challenges of:
- 0% construction waste to landfill
- Increasing the use of recycled content in construction materials
- Energy reduction and efficiency
- Water reduction and efficiency
All entrants to the competition will be subject to a two-stage evaluation process. The MBE KTN will draw on technical expertise from its partner organisations, Arup, BSRIA, BRE and CIRIA, to ensure that the innovations are technically sound. They will then be submitted to a panel drawn from the Innovation Zone partners, M&S, MBE KTN, Technology Strategy Board and UK GBC, to select the finalists.
M&S will provide the winning innovation with the opportunity to be included in one of its Sustainable Learning Stores.
Full details of the competition can be found here: https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/innovation-showcase-group/ifz-at-ecobuild-20121. To enter your innovation into the competition please complete the entry form (downloadable form the website) and email it to the MBE KTN via information@mbektn.co.uk by Wednesday 11 January 2012.
Should you have any queries, please contact Philbert Chan (chanp@bre.co.uk) or Eloise Burnett (burnette@bre.co.uk).
Society benefits from the economic growth brought about by innovation. UK government wants us to innovate, the EU wants us to innovate, innovation is good everyone. But from the point of view of the SME (or larger company) developing new products, licensing technology, collaborating in joint ventures, all these things are fraught with uncertainty, cost and danger.
So what is being done to incentivise businesses? One area that's often not very well publicised is the tax regime associated with R&D and Patenting.
A recent developement is called the " Patent Box" It,s a way to minimise tax paid on revenue resulting from IP that has been patented.
To find out more:
- Read more about the Patent Box here in the Daily Telegraph http://tinyurl.com/daily-telegraph-patent-box
- Download this paper by Shane Martin of PWC giving in-depth information on R&D Tax Credits and the Patent Box
07/12/2011
OLAE+: Organic large area electronics
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.
The Technology Strategy board is to invest up to £2.4m in feasibility studies to stimulate innovation in power distribution and in management of demand. Proposals are invited that demonstrate innovation in component design, software, implementation, integrated systems and novel business or operational models.
The Technology Strategy Board and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles are to invest up to £25m in collaborative R&D and demonstration projects that will accelerate the commercialisation of low carbon vehicles. We aim to strengthen UK capability by encouraging a reduction of costs in the supply base and a faster adoption of new technologies on UK roads. Our focus is on pulling technology through the various stages of the innovation chain. We are looking to invest in highly innovative projects involving low carbon vehicles that aim to achieve significant cuts in CO2 from road transport.
The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £7.5m in collaborative research and development projects involving fuel cells and hydrogen energy systems. We aim to accelerate the commercialisation of these products by linking them with other technologies to form complete low-carbon solutions.
The Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £7.5m in collaborative research and development projects involving fuel cells and hydrogen energy systems. We aim to accelerate the commercialisation of these products by linking them with other technologies to form complete low-carbon solutions.
09/08/2011
The European Commission is having a general re-organisation of it's web-presence, which will be implemented gradually throughout 2011 and 2012. Key web services for FP7 are going to be redistributed between three main portals.
The Technology Strategy Board has committed up to £8m to fund the costs of building performance evaluation studies on domestic and non-domestic buildings.
TSB 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.
20/07/2011
The publication of Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) calls for proposals has been moved from CORDIS to the Participant Portal (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal), which is now the European Commission's single authoritative website for FP7 calls.
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.
“Horizon 2020” is the winner of the Commission’s online contest to name the future EU funding programme for research and innovation.The full name to be used in the Commission’s legislative proposal at the end of the year will be: Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
The Grant for Research and Development (Grant for R&D) scheme opens on April 4th 2011.
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.
The Ministry of Defence’s Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) is launching a competition for proposals
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.
22/10/2010
"Advisers sometimes use research like a drunk uses a lamp post more for support than for illumination"
.... unless of course you're an ICAGNI adviser
25/06/2010
We have created a free app for your Nokia mobile, which is available to download from the Ovi online store. To find out about that and how to get profiles on other mobile phones, read on
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