Stefano Fontana
European Commission
DG RTD
Research for the benefit of SMEs
SMEs in the
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
SMEs in FP7
DIFFERENT!!!
A grant for research, not a loan.
The grant covers a big part, but not all. Participants, SMEs as well, need to co- finance.
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
SMEs in FP7 - why?
SMEs are at the core of European industry and key players in the innovation system.
SMEs have to respond increasingly to a strong competition in the internal market and globally.
Need to increase their knowledge base and their research efforts in transnational co-operations.
Actions at EU level are necessary to complement and enhance the impact of actions taken at national and regional level.
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
SMEs in FP7 Main initiatives
Optimized participation of SMEs
Dedicated scheme with special emphasis
on SMEs
Budget increase for the SME specific
measures
"Cooperation" "People" "Capacities"
Research performing SMEs
Research performing SMEs
SMEs outsourcing research
Thematic areasIndustry-academia
pathwaysBottom-up approach
Complementary pillars of SME support in FP7
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Budget allocation to SMEs in FP6 and FP7
€ million FP6 FP7 FP6annual average
FP7annual average
Increaseannual average
SME specific measures
473 1.336 118 191 61%
SME participation (15% target)
1.865 4.862 466 695 49%
Total 2.338 6.198 585 885 51%
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Dedicated SME strategy under each Theme
Identification of areas of particular interest to SMEs in the individual work programmes
15% target for SME participation (early indications meeting and exceeding 15%)
Greater flexibility in choosing the appropriate funding scheme
Simplified financial and administrative procedures (e.g. 75% funding rate for SMEs, no bank guarantees)
SMEs in FP7 “Cooperation”
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Industry-academia partnerships and pathways between public and private research organisations based on a common research project and aim to increase the exchange of skills between the two sectors:
Staff secondment between academia and industry including SMEs
Temporary hosting of experienced researchers from outside partnership
Possible financial contribution to small equipment related to SME participation
SMEs in FP7 “People”
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Capacities – Research for the benefit of SMEs
Research for SMEs: Low to medium technology SMEs with
little or no research capability Research intensive SMEs that need to
outsource research to complement their core research capability
Research for SME associations: SME associations representing their members
and their common technical problems
bottom-up approach, no thematic focus
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Objectives
Strengthen the innovation capacities and competitiveness of SMEs, to develop new products and markets by outsourcing of research.
Clear exploitation potential with economic benefits for the SMEs (or for the SME members of the associations) involved.
Research for the benefit of SMEs
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Research for the benefit of SMEs
Research for SMEs: Strengthening the competitiveness of the
SMEs
Research for SME associations: Improve industrial competitiveness
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Research for the benefit of SMEs
SMEsSME Associations
RTD-Performers
Investing in Research
Results & IPR
Other enterprises, End users
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Research for the benefit of SMEs
Special IPR-principle
The default regime leaves full ownership of all project results and IPR with those who pay, i.e. the SMEs or the SME Associations.
The consortium may however reach a different agreement in their own best interest, as long as the SMEs or SME associations are provided with all the rights needed for their use and dissemination of the results, and they do not pay the full costs of the RTDs.
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Research for the benefit of SMEs
Research for SMEs Research for SME associations
Duration 1-2 years 2-3 years
Number of partners
5-10 10-15
Total budget € 0.5 – 1.5 Million € 1.5 – 4 Million
Activities R&D, demonstration, management, other activities
R&D, demonstration, management, other activities
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Research for the benefit of SMEsWork programme
1. Supporting SMEs outsourcing research activities- Research for SMEs- Research for SME associations
2. Developing and coordinating support to SMEs at national level
- Eurostars Article 169 Initiative- ERA-NET - Support to national and/or regional “exploratory awards”- NCP-network (TransCoSME)
3. Support measures- Coordination and Support Actions- Studies
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Results of FP7 calls (1)
FP7-SME-2007-2
EL
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
PA
RTI
CIP
AN
TS
Proposals 122 92 54 41 119 117 52 60 278 493 191 93 78 599 29 33 7 26 148 176 107 78 33 70 622 137 590
Negotiation 12 14 8 5 22 23 13 11 52 107 26 13 15 101 5 4 1 7 30 23 15 10 4 2 96 19 117
AT BE BG CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE EL HU IE IT LV LT LU MT NL PL PT RO SK SI ES SE UK
EL = 13.6 / 17
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Results of FP7 calls (2)
FP7-SME-2007-2_second stage
EL
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
PA
RTI
CIP
AN
TS
Proposals 17 64 23 2 13 9 8 11 52 116 46 25 15 151 8 5 1 5 41 39 39 20 5 26 165 24 147
Negotiation 0 29 6 1 9 2 7 1 16 40 13 11 2 35 2 3 1 2 18 8 7 2 1 4 41 11 48
AT BE BG CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE EL HU IE IT LV LT LU MT NL PL PT RO SK SI ES SE UK
EL = 28.3 / 29.7
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Results of FP7 calls (3)
FP7-SME-2008-1
EL
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
PA
RT
ICIP
AN
TS
Proposals 165 99 86 65 82 123 68 65 285 574 311 110 69 614 35 54 4 24 197 182 142 102 40 82 701 134 687
Negotiations 15 14 8 9 7 24 9 12 52 94 40 14 19 75 3 11 1 2 31 21 19 13 6 4 105 19 135
AT BE BG CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE EL HU IE IT LV LT LU MT NL PL PT RO SK SI ES SE UK
EL = 12.9 / 14.9
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
EUROSTARS: Article 169 Initiative EUREKA initiative with a joint programme,
based on national schemes. Supporting trans-national, multi-partner
R&D projects initiated and led by at least two R&D-performing SMEs.
31 countries have agreed to participate in the joint programme.(26 MS and 5 AS to the FP)
2. Developing and coordinating support to SMEs at national level
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
ERA-NET Follow-up of FP6 ERA-NET projects: ERA-SME & CORNET Increase integration, coverage and number/budget of common
calls.
Support to national and/or regional “exploratory awards” Establish durable schemes and services to increase the number of
awards provided by the national and/or regional schemes. A first preparatory Coordination and Support Action dedicated to
the development of implementation modalities.
Network of National Contact Points (NCPs) Identifying and sharing good practices, developing common tools. Supporting less experienced NCPs to rapidly acquire the
know-how accumulated in other countries.
2. Developing and coordinating support to SMEs at national level
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Support to dissemination and exploitation of research results and exchange of good practices by e.g.:
a) clustering of projects on common topics to improve interaction and joint dissemination and exploitation activities and
b) developing and implementing strategies aiming at a reinforced exploitation of results.
Contributing to the identification of priority research topics for SME associations, especially by establishing a dialogue with European Technology Platforms (ETP).
3. Support measures: Coordination and Support Activities
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Capacities: New calls
• Call FP7-SME-2009-1 : Coordination and Support Action
• Publication: 03 September 2008• Closing : 27 January 2009• Indicative budget: 4 M €
• Call FP7-SME-2008-2 : Research for SME Associations• Publication: 03 September 2008• Closing: 18 December 2008• Indicative budget: 78.55 M €
• Eurostars art 169: Aiming at 100 M€ EC contribution on a 400 M€ total budget)
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
EUROSTARS
• Support to R&D projects driven by one or more R&D performing SME(s) in any field of S&T:
• At least two partners from different Eurostars countries
• R&D performing SME(s) execute the larger part of the R&D activities
• Targeted at market-oriented research• SME(s) should demonstrate the capability to
exploit the project results
• Next call deadline: 24 September 2009
Information: http://www.eurostars-eureka.eu or contact [email protected]
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
Important documents
Workprogramme "Research for the benefit of SMEs"
Guides for applicants "Research for SMEs“ and “Research for SME associations”
Guide to Intellectual Property Rules for FP7 projects
Rules for the submission of proposals
Stefano Fontana, European Commission, DG RTDResearch for the benefit of SMEs
More information
Research for the benefit of SMEs:http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/capacities/research-sme_en.html
SME TechWeb:ec.europa.eu/research/sme-techweb
Get Support http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/get-support_en.html