This is a list of ERRIN events and seminars organised and/or planned in 2010. For more information on these events please consult the ERRIN Events Calendar.

Please note that this list does not include regular thematic Working Group meetings and ERRIN Management Board meetings.

If you want to help us to further improve the quality of our events please return this questionnaire to communication@errin.eu. We appreciate your feed-back.

Events for members

•Future RTD WG: Learning Seminar: SME access to R&D funding (19 Jan)
•Energy and Climat Change WG: Follow-up Practitioners CIP-IEE (4 Feb)
•Transport WG: Briefing on Green Cars (15 Mar) and (4 June)                         
•Transport WG: Briefing on Logistics (22 Mar)
•Biotech WG: Emerging Bio Regions (29 Apr)
•Biotech WG: Meeting with Euro TransBio Eranet (12 May)
•Innovation Funding WG: How to work with EIB instruments for regional innovation projects (27 May)
•ERRIN Spring AGM (9 June)
•ICT WG: AAL Brokerage event (9 June)
•Project WG: Project Development Training (11 June)
•Transport WG: RoK Practitioner event (15 June)
•Biotech WG: KBBE Brokerage Event (22 June)
•Innovation Funding WG: Regional Clusters and beyond (24 June) , Conclusion paper
•Briefing on the Belgian Presidency R&D&I Priorities (29 June)
•Project WG: Legal and Financial Aspects in FP7 (27 Sept)
•Science in Society WG: PLACES project first science cities workshop (12 Oct)
•ERRIN Autumn AGM (18 November)
•Innovation Funding WG/MKW project: EU R&I Action Plan (October)
•Transport WG: Road Security briefing – INTERREG practitioner event (Sept)
•Innovaton Funding WG: FP7 People briefing (Nov)
•Innovation Funding WG: Practitioner event on People (Nov)
•ICT WG: KIC info session (Nov)
•Transport WG: Maritime transport briefing – Marco Polo practitioner event (Dec)
•ICT WG: CIP ICT PSP info session (Dec)
•Innovation Funding WG: JT Platforms, KICs (Dec)

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Public Events (open to ERRIN members and non-members)

Please find below a list of a series of planned ERRIN public events in 2010, to be branded ERRIN Mind Forums, organized by or in cooperation with ERRIN’s thematic working groups . These are public events, aimed at the wider R&D and innovation community and Brussels-based stakeholders, which will frame and discuss cutting-edge issues and provide opportunities present good practice from ERRIN regions to a wider audience.

This is a draft document, which is going to be updated regularly depending on availability of information. Please note: As discussed at the MB Meeting of 15 December 2009, the two Annual General Meetings of ERRIN will be reduced to two half-day internal meetings for ERRIN members only, which will focusing on improving and streamlining ERRIN business.

(1) Hospital of the Future (2 March 2010)

While we are all familiar with hospitals, value innovation and demand high quality healthcare, the hospital itself is in many cases an institution that remains largely unreformed. Indeed, increased demands have been placed on hospitals and they continue to be central to all healthcare systems. This event will explore the future role of hospitals and their ability to anchor care, embrace good management, work with new knowledge and research, and adopt innovative changes, and in this way act as a “model company” showing effective use of public money, demonstrating sustainable development and at the same time contributing to regional advantage. More information
Presentations
Seminar conclusions


(2) Smart Region - How to get there? (25 March 2010)

The recently released Commission communication on investing in the development of low carbon technologies (Strategic Energy Technology Plan - SET) referred amongst others to the smart cities initiative, put in place to support not only cities but also regions in taking ambitious steps to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. It will help regional innovation stakeholders and actors to develop better understanding of the concept of „smart region", allow the sharing of best practice and benchmarking, and will encourage a wider take up of „smart" policies, practices and technologies. More information and registration
Presentations
Seminar conclusions

(3) Innovation, Research and Design for Development (7 September 2010)

Science and Innovation are fundamental building blocs of human development. They are responsible for many of the comforts and amenities that we enjoy today, from plane travel to mobile telephones. They are also increasingly looked at as the main providers of solutions to man made generated problems like environmental degradation and climate change. More generally, economic theory has attributed a prominent role to science and innovation as drivers of both economic and productivity growth and of development. The role of Science and Innovation in development thinking/aid has always been controversial with the pendulum repeatedly shifting between an emphasis on social and cultural structures, governance etc. and the importance of fostering technological and scientific advancement as the key component in development strategies. Today, however, the traditional relief focused approach to development has changed and recent developments such as rising food and energy prices are focusing international attention on the importance of supporting science and innovation.

(4) How to work with Venture Capital in the Regions (22 September 2010)

Access to finance is probably the most fundamental hurdle for commercialisation of research and knowledge and for building innovation-driven economies in our regions. The dearth of credit caused by the recent economic crisis has only exacerbated this fact.
This seminar is the second of two seminars on this topic, organised by the Valencian Regional Office in cooperation with ERRIN, the European Regions Research and Innovation Network. In this case we want to analyse how regions can work with the Venture Capital and Business Angels community, build their own VC funds and facilitate the access of their SMES to this investments instruments. It will also discuss, based on regional case studies, how to work with these in practical terms, identify possible bottlenecks and ways how to overcome them.

(5) The Role of Regions in ICT (27 September 2010)

This session during the ICT 2010 Belgian EU Presidency Conference will address the role of the Regions in ICT Policy. The Conference aims at engaging regional stakeholders into a discussion about their R&D&I policy in relation to ICT. We want to focus on (reconsidering) the policy mix. Indeed, subsidy is the classical aid of R&D&I, but there exist other possibilities like risk capital, procurement, synergy with structural funds, networking with universities. Why does ICT clustering work in the USA but not in Europe? How to optimize ICT policy? What is the long term vision at European level? ERRIN will also be present with a stand showcasing ERRIN ICT regions and their ICT clusters, as well as the ERRIN network.

(6) The role of ERA-NETS in the development of regional excellence (28 September 2010)

The ERA-net is a funding policy instrument of FP7 (Coordination & Support Action), where member states and regional authorities collaborate in order to coordinate their research funding policies and programs on a European level. This event will highlight the regional dimension of ERA-NETS and their contribution to the implementation of a coherent European Research Area (ERA). It will contribute to the general awareness and knowledge of this important policy instrument from a practical implementation point of view, contribute to the discussion of alignment between European, national and regional research policies and feed relevant perspectives into the ERRIN WG on FP8. These issues are in line with the priorities for R&D and innovation put forward in the draft of the 18 months programme of the Council for the Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian Presidencies.

(7) Regional innovation indicators/ evidence-based policymaking for EU2020 (5 October 2010)

This event will look at the data situation with regard to the local/regional level and discuss, which indicators would make sense for EU2020 and for linking the macro policy and macro indicators of post-Lisbon more than is currently the case to the regional dimension. In particular, it will highlight the results of EU R&D policies at regional level and look at innovation patterns in general, asking the question how EU indicators on innovation can be regionalized, and how can they also encompass rural innovation and non technological innovation in order to reflect other dynamics than the ones happening in urban regions. This event will be jointly organised with CPMR and the Committee of the Regions.

(8) Science and the City (12 October 2010)

This event will examine the concept of science cities, i.e. their role and objectives and how they support the knowledge triangle and build partnerships in the city region. It will also highlight the importance and provide examples of successful science cities concepts and related science communication in building a strong science and research base in the cities. The event is part of the ERRIN activities within the ECSITE/ERRIN FP7 PLACES project starting in June 2010.

(9) The green knowledge triangle (27 October 2010)

The FP8 group’s second major event will be organized in cooperation with CPU, the French University Association, who is a recent ERRIN member. The conference will take place in the European Parliament. It will highlight practical approaches to drive cooperation in the knowledge triangle and will have, as a major thematic focus, ecoinnovation and related cluster development in EU regions and will also highlight related R&D cooperation with third countries, particularly concerning sustainable regional development in the southern hemisphere.

(10) Access to finance and early stage risk capital (December 2010)

There is a clear correlation between access to finance and risk capital for small and medium enterprises and economic growth and competitiveness. It has long been known that the EU, compared to the US and more and more also to Asia, has a clear problem in this respect, which was exacerbated by the financial and economic crisis. This event will present regional good practices and tools in working with a) high-tech start-ups on the one hand and with the VC/BA community on the other in matching these and developing sustainable relationships and b) established SMEs and finance institutions. This event could be organised together with EBN and/or with the European Venture Capital Association.

(11) EUBIO2020 - Driving Biotechnology in Europe (December 2010)

This 2 day working meeting to be organised in cooperation with CEBR and European Biotechnology Network, will bring together experts and representatives of commercial biotechnology across Europe. It will identify the 10 year commercial healthcare biotechnology objectives for Europe as a single biotechnology sector, define the current state of commercial biotechnology delivery in Europe and publish a manifesto of 10 year needs and roadmap to for delivery through policy, regulation, financing and all support needs. A confidential draft concept of the event is available in the Biotech WG section.