Food sector: Lithuanian experience in R&DI projects

Raimonda Petkevičienė

Kaunas 16-05-2013

Content 1. Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) 2. International Programmes: • EUREKA – market oriented R&D • FP7 – the biggest research funding European

programme 3. Innovation Vouchers - „quick money“ 4. Horizon 2020

MITA – INNOVATION FUNDING AGENCY

Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) is

the main governmental institution, responsible for implementation of innovation policy in Lithuania. It is a national innovation funding agency. MITA was established in 2010 with the aim to foster business and science cooperation and to create a favorable environment for entrepreneurship and innovation in Lithuania.

Our MISSION is to provide professional services aiming to foster the development of Lithuanian science, industry and services sectors based on advanced technologies and innovation.

The founders of MITA:

MITA – INNOVATION FUNDING AGENCY

MITA has a strategic goal to stimulate applied research, technological development and innovation in Lithuania. Important tasks: • to concentrate expert and financial resources (including the EU structural support); • to support applied research, technological development and innovative projects; • to strengthen the clustering processes and public- private partnership; • to develop the innovation management skills, especially in research commercialization, technology transfer or intellectual property processes.

MITA: GOALS &TASKS

MITA: KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Coordination of national R&D programmes:

• High Technology Development Programme for 2011–2013,

• Industrial Biotechnology Development Programme for Lithuania for 2011–2013.

Coordination of national means to foster the implementation of innovation:

• Innovation vouchers,

• Tool aimed to give financial support for the protection of industrial property rights,

• MITA identifies new potential clusters, coordinates their activities, assists young clusters, to present their products and services internationally

Coordination of international R&DI programmes:

• FP7

• EUREKA

• EUROSTARS

• CIP (Eco-innovation)

MITA: KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

International cooperation • Lithuanian and Israel cooperation agreement in industrial

R&D field,

• Participation in international networking activities

(FP7 national contact point’s network,

EUREKA national coordinators network and etc.),

• Membership in TAFTIE (The European Association of leading

national innovation agencies).

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES: EUREKA

EUREKA is an intergovernmental network, aimed to support market-oriented R&D and innovation projects led by industry, research centers and universities across all technological sectors. It is composed of 43 members in Europe and beyond, including the European Commission. With its flexible and decentralized network, EUREKA offers to project partners rapid access to skills and expertise across Europe and national public and private funding schemes. Through EUREKA, organizations are introducing new products, processes and services to market, helping make Europe economically strong and socially sound.

Requirements for EUREKA projects

• The EUREKA initiative has a bottom up approach — it is up to the participating companies and institutions to propose their projects in any domain of research and development.

• The project is directed at a product, process or service. • The relevant market for the product, process or service has to be

at a level that promises a very high profitability for each partner in the project.

MITA participates in national programme coordinators network providing information, consultation and partners search services for Lithuanian participants. The main task of MITA is to ensure national funding for EUREKA projects.

EUREKA Food area: Lithuanian participation

E!6855“ EUROAGRI FOODCHAIN ECORAW „Higher Functionality Food

Products From Organic Vegetable Raw Materials“ Running 2012-06-02 2014-12-02

E!5363 BaltVegStor „Optimisation And Adjustment Of Post-Harvest

Parameters Of Baltic Vegetables In Controlled Atmosphere“ Finished 2010-04-01 2012-11-01

E!4478

EUROAGRI+ POULTRY NUTRITION „Establishment Of New Poultry

Feeding Technology In Order To Produce Better Value Poultry Meat

And Eggs“

Finished 2009-07-01 2012-08-01

E!4449

AKTINIDIA „Creation Of New Confectionery Product Production

Technology, Using Organic Plants Grown In Baltic And Nordic

Regions“

Finished 2008-06-02 2011-12-02

E!3966 FERMFOOD „Fermented Products By Using Lactic Acid Bacteria With

Antimicrobial Activity For Bread Production“ Finished 2007-03-01 2010-01-01

E!3809 SWEETS „Development Of Technology For Producing New Quality

Sweets With Whipped Mass In Coatings And Whipped Fillings“ Finished 2006-06-01 2008-01-01

E!3490 HEALTHFOOD „Functional Food Ingredients From Plant Products“ Finished 2006-01-01 2009-01-01

E!3474 HEALTHY MAN „Creation Of Functional Food With Natural

Licopene“ Finished 2005-01-02 2006-07-02

E!2509 FOOD PRESERVATION „New, Natural Preservation Systems From

Plants For Food Safety And Applications In Food Models“ Finished 2001-01-01 2003-06-30

EUREKA: Lithuanian participation in Food sector

EUREKA success story (1)

E!4449 AKTINIDIA „Creation Of New Confectionery

Product Production Technology, Using Organic Plants

Grown In Baltic And Nordic Regions“

Duration: -June, 2008 – December, 2011, 42 months

Participating countries: Estonia, Poland, Lithuania

Coordinator: JSC „Rūta“, Lithuania,

Partner: Kaunas university of technology

Actual cost: 0,47 M€

http://www.eurekanetwork.org/project/-/id/4449

EUREKA success story (2)

Objective: To create new production technology for

confectionery articles by using Baltic and Nordic

regions growing organic Actinidia, Cucurbita, Physalis

alkekengi and Helianthus tuberosus, as well as

economic technologies and equipment designed to save

maximum biologically active materials.

Result: created new and valuable products with

maximum biologically active materials, which have no

analogues in the world and technologies for these

products.

http://www.eurekanetwork.org/project/-/id/4449

The 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) is the European Union’s

chief instrument for funding of research in Europe covering almost all scientific disciplines. FP7 is designed to support a wide range of participants: from universities, through public authorities to small enterprises and researchers. MITA together with the Research Council of Lithuania participates in FP7 national contact points network providing information about the programme in Lithuania. MITA is responsible for coordination of FP7 themes: Health; Food,Agriculture and Biotechnology; Information and communication technologies; Nano science, Nanotechnologies, Materials and New Production Technologies; Research for the benefit of SME’s; Regions of Knowledge; Energy; Transport; Security; Space and EURATOM.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES: FP7

Budget: € 1 935 million (2007 - 2013) The advancement of knowledge in the sustainable management, production and use of biological resources (microbial, plant and animal) will provide the basis for safer, eco-efficient and competitive products and services for agriculture, fisheries, feed, food, health, forest-based and related industries. The integrity and control of the food chain ("fork to farm") is subject to research, addressing food, health and well-being. The creation of a European Bio-Economy is expected to open the way for innovations and effective technology transfer, aiming to include all industries and economic sectors that produce, manage and otherwise exploit biological resources as well as related services from the supply or consumer industries. These activities are in line with the European strategy on life sciences and biotechnology and is expected to promote competitiveness of European agriculture and biotechnology, seed and food companies and in particular high-tech SMEs, while improving social welfare and well-being.

Thematic Area: Food, agriculture and fisheries, biotechnology (KBBE)

Objective: Building a European Knowledge Based Bio-Economy1 (KBBE) by bringing together science, industry and other stakeholders, to exploit new and emerging research opportunities that address social, environmental and economic challenges: the growing demand for safer, healthier, higher quality food and for sustainable use and production of renewable bioresources; the increasing risk of epizootic and zoonotic diseases and food related disorders; threats to the sustainability and security of agricultural, aquaculture and fisheries production; and the increasing demand for high quality food, taking into account animal welfare and rural and coastal context and response to specific dietary needs of consumers. Collaborative projects are targeted to SME’s. Certain amount of the EU contribution (at least 20 percent) was provided to SME’s.

Thematic Area: Food, agriculture and fisheries, biotechnology (KBBE)

Food, agriculture and fisheries, biotechnology (KBBE): projects with Lithuanian partners

No Project acronym Institution Start date End date

1 RURALJOBS Aleksandras Stulginskis university 2008.02.01 2010.10.31 2 AGRIPOLICY Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics 2008.06.01 2010.05.31

3 AQUATERRE Lithuanian Energy Institute 2008.04.01 2010.03.31 4 EMIDA Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania 2008.04.01 2011.12.31

5 TRACK_FAST Kaunas University of Technology 2009.09.01 2012.08.31 6 RURAGRI Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania 2009.10.01 2013.09.31

7 ERA-ARD II Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania 2010.10.01 2013.03.31

8 CORE ORGANIC II Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania 2010.03.01 2013.02.28

9 FOODSEG Lithuanian university of health sciences 2011.05.01 2014.04.30

10 CHANCE Vilnius university 2011.02.01 2014.01.31

11 CHANCE “JsC „Lietpak 2011.02.01 2014.01.31

12 VECTORS Klaipėda university 2011.02.01 2015.01.31

13 EUPHRESCO Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania 2011.01.01 2014.03.31

14 APROPOS Aleksandras Stulginskis university 2012.02.01 2014.12.31

15 ANIHWA Lithuanian university of health sciences 2012.01.01 2015.12.31

16 ENVIEVAL Baltic Environmental Forum 2013.01.01 2015.12.31 17 FIBRA Lithuanian Agriculture and Forestry Sciences Center 2012.09.01 2015.11.30

18 iFAAM “JsC „Perspektyvos 2013.03.01 2017.02.28

FP7-KBBE: Lithuanian participation

FP7 success story: CHANCE (1)

CHANCE „Low cost technologies and traditional ingredients for the production of affordable, nutritionally correct foods improving health in population groups at risk of poverty“

Theme: COOPERATION -THEME 2: Food, Agriculture, Fisheries, Biotechnology FP7-KBBE-2010-4

Duration: February, 2011 – January,2014, 36 months

EC Contribution: 2.999.807,00 €

Coordinator: University of Bologna, Italy

Partners: 17 partners from 9 European countries

Lithuanian partners: Vilnius University, JSC „Lietpak“, Lithuania

http://www.chancefood.eu/

FP7 success story: CHANCE (2)

Objectives:

• Identification of population groups at risk of poverty

• From nutrition data to targets for new foods

• Nutri-metabonomics to assess metabolic consequences of different diets

• Methods for food production and packaging

• Processing scale up and technology optimisation

• Technology transfer and test of production

Current results:

• Identification on population groups at risk of poverty

• Guidelines to conduct focus group, consumer, producers and retailers survey interviews

• The major part of consumers were recalled. The recall process of producers and traders is already finished

http://www.chancefood.eu/

Innovation Vouchers - “quick money”

In 2010, the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania introduced a new instrument to promote innovations in SMEs – Innovation Vouchers to –

encourage co-operation between business and research institutions.

Innovation Voucher is a small grant that entitles SME’s to buy R&D expertise or knowledge from research institutions.

The appeal of the Innovation Vouchers scheme is related to its simplicity and low administrative burden both for beneficiaries and administrators.

MITA is the main administrative institution of this scheme.

Innovation Vouchers in Food technologies, 2013

• The most prominent and active research performers in food sector are: Lithuanian Agriculture and Forestry Sciences Center

(The Institute of Horticulture);

Kaunas university of Technology;

Aleksandras Stulginskis university.

• Total number of companies which applied for Innovation Vouchers was 228.

• 22,8% of applicants work in the food sector.

• The most popular topic - Fruit and vegetable processing, modeling and optimization.

OTHER NATIONAL INITIATIVES

Clusterization Starting from 2011 MITA is implementing the project KLASTER.LT on fostering internationalization of partnership between business and science, which is financed by EU structural funds. The main task - to identify new potential clusters, to coordinate their activities, to assist young clusters to present their products and services internationally. In the course of implementation of this project meetings with business and science representatives seeking for expert advice and matchmaking opportunities are organized.

Horizon 2020 the EU framework programme for

research and innovation

What is Horizon 2020 within European strategy for the next 7 years

• Commission proposal for a 80 billion euro research and innovation funding programme (2014-2020)

• Part of proposals for next EU budget, complementing Structural Funds, education, etc.

• A core part of Europe 2020, Innovation Union & European Research Area: – Responding to the economic crisis to invest in

future jobs and growth – Addressing peoples’ concerns about their

livelihoods, safety and environment. – Strengthening the EU’s global position in

research, innovation and technology

1 Excellent science 2 Industrial leadership 3 Societal challenges

Three priorities:

Priority 2 Industrial leadership

• Europe needs more innovative SMEs to create growth and jobs

• Strategic investments in key technologies (e.g. advanced manufacturing, micro-electronics) underpin innovation across existing and emerging sectors

• Europe needs to attract more private investment in research and innovation

Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies (ICT, nanotechnologies, materials, biotechnology, manufacturing, space)

13 781

Access to risk finance

Leveraging private finance and venture capital for research and innovation

3 538

Innovation in SMEs

Fostering all forms of innovation in all types of SMEs

619

2. Industrial leadership Proposed funding (million euro, 2014-2020)

Priority 3 Societal challenges

Why:

• EU policy objectives (climate, environment, energy, transport etc) cannot be achieved without innovation

• Breakthrough solutions come from multi-disciplinary collaborations, including social sciences & humanities

• Promising solutions need to be tested, demonstrated and scaled up

Health, demographic change and wellbeing 8 029

Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research & the bio-economy

4 152

Secure, clean and efficient energy* 5 782

Smart, green and integrated transport 6 802

Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials 3 160

Inclusive, innovative and secure societies 3 819

3. Societal challenges: Proposed funding (million euro, 2014-2020)

*Additional €1 050m for nuclear safety and security from the Euro-atom Treaty activities (2014-18).

Thank you for your attention!

www.mita.lt