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eBusiness Guide for SMEs
Today it is clearer than ever that information and communication technology (ICT) and eBusiness models are the most important drivers of innovation and competitiveness. ICT has revolutionised the way business is done and it will continue to do so in the future. But ICT can only lead to substantial productivity gains when
accompanied by organisational changes: innovative eBusiness models and investment in skills.
The unfettering demand for European funding
In its first two years, with around 25,000 FP7 proposals reaching the final evaluation stage, 5,500 were selected to receive grants totalling around €10 billion.
The new Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), managed together with the European Investment Bank, has approved loans of €2 billion to support high risk R&D projects.
Click here for more information
Download the European Commission's report on the progress of FP7
Minister urges North East England firms to export and beat the global economic downturn
With figures showing that exporting firms do better in a downturn, Trade and Investment Minister Lord Davies of Abersoch today urged firms in the North East to take up Government help on offer to explore overseas markets,
Lord Davies said:
“Times are difficult here and across the world, but North East companies have shown that they can win business overseas.
Practical Guide to EU funding opportunities for Research and Innovation
Europe has three broad initiatives for which offer organisations funding and support for research and innovation.
This includes the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP), Framework Programme Seven (FP7) and Structured Funds (SF).
CIP includes special finance instruments, which offer through intermediaries access to loans and venture capital for SMEs. FP7 now includes the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility managed by the European Investment Bank as well as the Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs)
Click here to go to the EU's online Practical Guide
Download the associated document
Public Consultantion: Effectiveness of Innovation Support in Europe - Deadline 4th May 2008
The main purpose of this public consultation is to get insights on how to best improve the effectiveness of public innovation support mechanisms in the EU, against the background of constantly evolving innovation patterns in enterprises. The public consultation consists of two online questionnaires :
- One asks the beneficiaries of innovation support measures, namely companies , to provide their views on the direction of future innovation support policies and instruments in the EU
- While the other invites institutional stakeholders active in the design, funding, implementation, and evaluation of innovation support measures at regional, national and European level to give their opinion on the key issues of better innovation support in Europe.
Have your say by completing the relevant online survey
Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) 2009 Call for proposals - Deadline 25th June 2009
The 2009 Intelligent Energy Europe call for proposals now open. The objective of the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme is to contribute to secure, sustainable and competitively priced energy for Europe, by providing for action to:
- Foster energy efficiency and the rational use of energy resources;
Promote new and renewable energy sources and to support energy diversification - Promote energy efficiency and the use of new and renewable energy sources in transport
Download information on the Intelligent Energy Europe 2009 Call
A Strategy for ICT R&D and Innovation in Europe: Raising the Game - source DG Enterprise & Industry
Making Europe the world leader in ICT is the goal of the new strategy proposed by the European Commission. Today Europe represents 34% of the global information and communication technologies (ICT) market, and its value is growing by 4% per year.
However, the value added produced by the EU's ICT sector amounts to only 23% of the total, because both Europe's market and research efforts are fragmented. As a result, Europe is lagging behind its global competitors in ICT research and in the production of innovative ICT-based products and services.
The strategy proposed calls on Member States and industry to pool resources and work together more in ICT research and innovation. The strategy also proposes showcase ICT innovation projects to deliver modern services infrastructures in areas like healthcare and energy efficiency.
Download and read communication published by the EC
EuropeAid: Central Asian Invest and ACP Programmes
DiagnosingDVT, a European business co-operation project for improving the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis
DiagnosingDVT is a ICT research programme funded by the the European Commission and led by businesses and scientists from North East England.
The consortium are now in the third year of the project and will be developing a prototype device for improving diagnosing of deep vein thrombosis at the point-of-first-contact:
Click here to learn more about the project
Securing raw materials for European competitiveness
Modern cars, flat-screen televisions, mobile phones, and countless other tools based on technological developments of the past couple of decades rely on a basket of metals and other raw materials. In many cases, the quantity required for each product is tiny, but with a mobile phone made up of around 40 high-tech metals – such as lithium, tantalum, cobalt and antimony – it is a major challenge and cost for any manufacturer to ensure they have supplies of all of them.
European Economic Recovery Plan for Growth and Jobs
A major plank of the European Commission’s €200 billion Economic Recovery Plan is the emphasis on financial and administrative support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are key to rebooting Europe’s economic growth and safeguarding jobs.
The measures include providing SMEs with better access to loans and speeding up reforms under the Small Business Act.
Click here for more information...
£72 million investment in innovative research and development - 10th November 2008
National and European funding sources for research are vital for innovative SMEs in North East England. The Technology Strategy Board is to invest a further £72 million in innovative new research and development projects in eight key areas, its Chief Executive, Iain Gray, announced in October 2008.
The ten new competitions, in important areas such as photonics, high value manufacturing, intelligent transport systems, network security and energy generation and supply, will be split into three phases, with the first three competitions opening in November 2008. UK based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as large multinationals, will have the opportunity to access the funds for market-led R&D projects.
Click here for more information..
National Venture Capital Association predicts investment slowdown into 2009
The National Venture Capital Association predicts that 2009 will be another slow year for investment in venture backed businesses throughout most sectors.
While venture firms are prepared for lower returns in 2009, the upside of this year’s survey reveals that most venture investors think deal activity and exits will increase as soon as 2010, and that surviving companies will come out stronger than before. Especially those companies that continued to get financing from venture capitalists who say that downturns are “the best time to invest when valuations and competition are lower.” That is about 87 percent of them, who said that the value of companies to be acquired will again decline in 2009.
Results from the survey of 400 venture capitalists
Technology Strategy Board to establish a new Knowledge Transfer Network for the Finance Services
The Technology Strategy Board is to stimulate technology-enabled innovation in the financial services sector by investing up to £3 million over three years in a new knowledge-sharing network, and is looking for a consortium to help set up and manage the new organisation.
Do you have ideas for reducing red tape for the European Commission? Get your suggestions submitted by the 31st January 2009
Anyone who has a good idea may participate. The competition is therefore open to all: citizens, companies, business associations, public authorities, non-profit organisations and others. To enter, simply fill in the form of the online consultation on administrative burdens reduction and ensure that the competition box is checked. The deadline for entering the competition is 31 January 2009.
Examples of what a submission might look like can be found in the reports on the online consultation and in the 2008 list of Fast Track Actions.
First European SME Week '09
The Commission is organising the 1st European SME Week from 6 to 14 May 2009. The SME week is an umbrella campaign aiming to promote entrepreneurship and inform entrepreneurs about support that is available to them at European, national and local level. The SME week is coordinated by the European Commission’s Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General and will be launched in Brussels on the 6th of May next year. The opening will be followed by an array of events organised by public administrations, business organisations and SME support providers at the national and local level throughout Europe.
Click here for more information
Free movement of workers is good for Europe's economy
European Commission report published today shows that mobile workers from the countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 have had a positive impact on Member States' economies and have not led to serious disturbances on their labour markets. Workers from the EU-8 as well as Bulgaria and Romania have made a significant contribution to sustained economic growth, without significantly displacing local workers or driving down their wages. Both for the EU as a whole and for most individual countries, labour flows have been limited compared to the size of labour markets and to inflows from non-EU countries.
Click here for more information
European money for small businesses in the UK
Around 16 per cent of companies in the north of England are reporting they cannot survive, while just one per cent in the south-west are saying likewise.
UK Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced £4bn of funding will be available to small and medium-sized firms, to support businesses through the downturn. The funding will come from the European Investment Bank (EIB), via Britain's High Street banks, and will amount to about £1bn of loans a year, for the next four years. The loans can support funding for any amount ranging from very small investments to projects costing up to £19.6m. Loans can be between two and 12 years.
The EIB says that its loans can be used to support a wide range of investment including:
- Puchase of factory
- distribution networks
- Research and development
- The filing or acquisition of patents
- buying up another business to keep that business going
Find more information - EIB funds for UK companies
Find more information - Small firms failing in crunch
Powerful clusters: Main drivers of Europe’s competitiveness
Competitive clusters are powerful engines of economic development and drivers for innovation in the European Union. They provide a fertile business environment for companies, especially Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), to collaborate with research institutions, suppliers, customers and competitors located in the same geographical area. A Commission communication published today, calls for more efforts for facilitating the emergence of world-class clusters in the European Union. It addresses key challenges to achieve this: Deepening the internal market, improving cluster policies, fostering trans-national cooperation, promoting excellence of cluster organisations, and improving the integration of innovative SMEs into clusters.
European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry policy, said: “We need more world-class clusters in the EU. Clusters play a vital role in the much needed innovation of our businesses. They are powerhouses of job creation. Therefore we suggest that cluster policy efforts at all levels should aim at raise excellence and openness for cooperation, while respecting the competitive market-driven nature of clusters.”
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European funding for fuel cells and hyrodgen technologies
The technology challenge facing fuel cells and hydrogen is of great complexity, requiring substantial investments and a high level of technological expertise. At
the same time, its potential contribution to Community policies - in particular energy, environment, transport, sustainable
development and economic growth - is very significant. The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen JTI opened their first call (Euro 28.1M) on the 1st October 2008 for R&D proposals covering:
- Transportation and refuelling infrastructure
- Hydrogen production and distribution
- Stationary power generation and CHP
- Early markets including portable and micro fuel cells
