European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN)
January 2009

For more news please also check our Director's i-blog

The Commission adopts Lisbon Strategy Recommendations to build a lasting Recovery, 28 January 2009

The European Commission has adopted "country chapters" and recommendations under the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy to back the European Economic Recovery Plan.

Commission President José Manuel Barroso said: "The €200 billion targeted fiscal stimulus proposed by the Commission and agreed in December is the crucial short-term energy boost our economies need to fight the crisis while also investing in the future. But we need a comprehensive medium-term fitness plan and the Lisbon Strategy provides that.”

Detailed country specific analysis published in a staff working paper highlights the chapters and recommendations. Together with the Recovery Plan and the report on the Community Lisbon programme adopted on 16 December 2008, they constitute the full Lisbon Strategy Annual Progress Report.

By giving an account of the financial crisis impact on the Lisbon Agenda implementation and proposing subsequent country specific recommendations, the documents contribute to set the tone of the forthcoming Spring European Council talks (19-20 March 2009). The full texts will soon be available, along with all background information on the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy, at: http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/index_en.htm

See also EC Press Release IP/09/146

Project Development from Idea to Workpackage (Logframing)
ERRIN first Project Development Training Seminar, 27 January 2009

The second ERRIN project development training session took place on 27 January 2009 at the South Denmark EU Office in Brussels. A first training session had already shown how the organisation of EU regional offices, their role in Brussels and relationship with the home base can differ. This leads to different project development strategies, but a widespread consideration amongst Brussels offices is that it requires increasingly more resources and know-how to be successful.

Johnny Killerup Pederson, Director of the South Denmark EU office which focus activities are projects proposal writing and administration, shared his expertise with ERRIN members and explained how logframing can insure the success of a project. Explanations of fundamental techniques of project management were followed by 3 presentations of EU funding programmes:

- Sylvia Schreiber (Stuttgart EU office) on Regions of Knowledge
- Rasmus Anker Moller (South Denmark EU office) on the Framework Programme 7
- Claus Schultze (ERRIN Secretariat) on INTERREG

A panel-debate moderated by Charlotte Andersdotter (DG RTD) permitted to point some differences amongst EU funding programmes and 'how to press the right buttons' when applying.

Another training session focusing on the evaluation and consultation phase of EU Projects will take place on 3 March 2009. For more information contact communication@errin.eu or visit the ERRIN calendar of events.

 Building Europe of Knowledge
Regional and European Networks promoting Integration between Education, Research and Innovation, 28 January 2009, Turin

Turin will host on the 28 January 2009 an international conference whose aim is analyzing the role of regional and European networks in integrating education, research and innovation. Paramount attention will be dedicated to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and to its strategic position among the knowledge and innovation communities.

The event is organized by the Politecnico di Torino with the support and the cooperation of the Turin Chamber of commerce and of several other regional actors.

The conference will disclose the EIT’s most recent advancements and the new perspectives to boost the European excellence in higher education, research and innovation.

The programme will unveil to the participants the point of view of the European Commission task force on EIT as well as the EIT Executive Committee role and priorities. Furthermore A special focus will be dedicated to the pilot projects (ComplexEIT, SUCCESS, BRIDGE and GAST).

The working day will end with a round table and a debate on the strengths and weakness in promoting integration between education, research and innovation at regional and European levels.

Francesco Profumo, Politecnico di Torino Rector, strongly believes that EIT represents a winning initiative for European competitiveness and growth and strongly promoted Turin’s involvement in the EIT setting up.

To get information on the invited speakers and on the programme please go to:
http://www.swas.polito.it/_library/downloadfile.asp?id=51694

To register, to get information on the venue and to contact the organizers:
http://www.swas.polito.it/services/europoli/rue_informa/eventi.asp?id_documento_padre=51652

The CONCERTO Communities pave the Way for an improved Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Brussels

45 communities stretching over 18 Member States have pooled their collective positions under the CONCERTO umbrella to communicate recommendations based on energy performance of buildings experiences.
Responding to the recently launched European Commission public consultation on a recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) (2002/91/EC), the CONCERTO communities have taken the opportunity to offer advice and critical input based on their proven strategies and experiences.
CONCERTO lessons learned and best practises are being converted into best polices. This is evidenced through the European Commission consultation paper in which some of the most innovative CONCERTO principles have already been adopted.
The EPBD, first issued in 2002, aims to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing residential and non-residential buildings in Europe. According to the European Commission the estimated impact of the recast, is comparable to energy savings of 60-80 Mtoe in 2020 or a reduction of the total EU energy consumption by 5-6%, as well as about 5% less CO2 emissions in the whole EU by 2020.
Key recommendations of the CONCERTO position paper are:

A CONCERTO conference taking place on 9 February 2009 in the context of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) will showcase best practice examples on how the CONCERTO projects succeed in tackling and overcoming various economic, regulative and social barriers in the area of energy efficient housing.

For more information on the CONCERTO initiative and please refer to the CONCERTO Website http://www.concertoplus.eu/

The complete common position paper on the recast of the EPBD can be downloaded at:
http://concertoplus.eu/CMS/Events_doc/EPBD_position_paper.pdf

Contact CONCERTO Plus:
Euro Keys, Rue de la Loi 26, 10th floor, box 14, 1040 Brussels
Tel.: 0032 2 777 99 79
Fax: 0032 2 770 36 01
euro.keys@eurokeys.com

ERRIN Cluster Debate still squaring the Circle? 
Interview with Prof. Antoni Subira, January 2009

As a follow up to the ERRIN conference on “European Cluster Policy – What’s in it for the regions” that took place on 11 December 2008 at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels,  Claus Schultze (Director of ERRIN) did an interview in early January 2009 with Antoni Subira, who acted as moderator at that conference.

Antoni Subira was Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Catalan Government between 1989 and 2002. He was one of the pioneers in Europe in applying Porter’s cluster-based approach to boost regional economic development and competitiveness. Antoni Subira is Professor at IESE Business School in Barcelona and, among other engagements, Chairman of the Advisory Board of The Competitiveness Institute (TCI) and of the foundation Clusters and Competitiveness.

To read the interview, please visit our Director's i-blog's page Wider open markets are good for the ones that apply intelligent strategies

Working with EU Projects – Four Model Offices in Brussels
ERRIN first Project Development Training Seminar, 13 January 2009

The first session of a series of three half-day project development seminars for ERRIN members took place on January 13th.Four models of EU offices were presented in order to discuss different aspects of EU-funded projects.

Presentations are available here:

Best projects by best work flow
Presentation by Sylvia Schreiber, Stuttgart Region EU Office

The triple helix model - Westmidlands in Europe
Presentation by Glynis Whiting, Director of West Midlands in Europe Office

The one woman hub – Unioncamere Lombardia
Presentation by Valentina Pinna, Director, Unioncamere Lombardia

The strong homebase – Eindhoven Office
Presentation by Anthony van.de.Ven, Director Einhoven Office

The Brussels developers- South Denmark,Office
Pesentation by Johnny Killerup Pedersen, Director South Denmark Office

The next sessions whcih will be on 27th January and 3rd March 2009 aim to help ERRIN members to improve the participation and success rates of regional players in EU projects:

· How can Brussels offices support project development and delivery?
· What are the different approaches of giving support?
· What works, what doesn’t?

For more information contact the ERRIN Secretariat at www.communication@errin.eu  

The European Union Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), 9 to 13 February 2009, Brussels

Under the umbrella of the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign (SEE), the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, the European Institutions and major stakeholders concerned with sustainable energy are together putting on the third edition of the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW). It will take place in Brussels, Belgium, and in other cities across Europe from Monday 9 to Friday 13 February 2009, although many side events are foreseen during the weeks immediately before and after.

This is the 3rd edition of Europe's key forum on sustainable energy. Dozens of conferences, workshops, seminars and media events will be organised in Brussels and other places up and down the EU. The events organised during EUSEW cover key topics that highlight the multi-sectoral nature of sustainable energy development and stress the need for everyone to work together towards a common goal.

To register go to http://www.eusew.eu/
For more information email attendees@sustenergy.org