ERRIN News & Events provides reports of main ERRIN activities (public events and project news) and EU research and innovation news from other sources. For more info on ERRIN activities see the weekly newsletters or check check the Director's Blog.
European Cluster Alliance newsletter
30 April 2010
The overall ECA vision is to strive for excellent clusters and to make better use of these excellent clusters. The ECA aims to become an action oriented driver of better cluster policies in Europe. Its members will have a direct involvement in this policy building process over the next programming period. They will be able to participate actively in pilot initiatives and the implementation of new mechanisms and funding initiatives.
ECA members are committed to going beyond policy dialogue and to encouraging the development of cluster policy actions that will have a direct impact on the competitiveness and performance of clusters. This will notably accelerate their internationalisation but also benefit the cluster members such as companies and in particular SMEs. The ECA also expects to play an active role in developing linkages with non EU countries and zones - such as the Mediterranean Basin - interested in cluster policy dialogue.
Source: ECA newsletter
EU wants researchers 'in the lab, not in the office
30 April 2010
Scientists will face less paperwork under a new bureaucracy-cutting plan outlined by the European Commission, which also aims to make it easier for small businesses to tap into European research funds.
Red tape has proven a major turn-off for top-class researchers who fear being overwhelmed by the onerous audit requirements that accompany EU support.
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, EU commissioner for research, innovation and science, says she wants scientists "to spend more time in the lab and less time in the office".
Geoghegan-Quinn has launched a detailed proposal designed to make EU-funded research projects more attractive.
She noted that almost 11,000 people had signed a petition demanding that funding be based on trust rather than tick-box auditing.
Anew financial regulation, due to be introduced in May 2010 the way for more radical changes.
The Commission wants to pay researchers and companies based on average costs, rather than forcing them to account separately for all of their costs and for each task performed by staff.
More flat-rate reimbursements will be used and there will be more cash prizes for scientists, which give more freedom.
The new rules will push member states towards greater harmonisation of accounting methods fro research funding. The Commission will allow projects to use the same methods for EU schemes as for national funding projects, on the basis that using one accounting method instead of two will save time and reduce errors.
The detailed proposals will require a decision from the European Parliament and European Council, according to the commissioner. She said some of the changes can come into force without delay but others will have to wait until the new framework research programme kicks off in 2014.
Geoghegan-Quinn said she wants to see "radical changes" in the administration of projects, including a shift towards paying scientists to meet an agreed set of objectives and paying the full amount depending on their success in hitting these targets.
Source: EurActiv
EU puts spotlight on cultural industries
With the launch of a Green Paper and public consultation this week, the European Commission is looking to boost cultural and creative industries as part of efforts to accelerate economic growth. But access to finance for small firms remains a barrier.
Encouraging small businesses is seen as a key element of Brussels' plan to develop a sector which already provides five million jobs.
Arts, cultural heritage, film, music, publishing, design and new media are part of a growing industry which accounts for 2.6% of Europe's GDP but the full potential of the sector has yet to be unlocked, according to the European Commission, which launched a public consultation in tandem with a Green Paper.
Digitisation and globalisation are opening new market opportunities, in particular for small businesses. But these businesses very often face obstacles to fulfilling their full potential.
As well as looking for innovative sources of funding, getting the right mix of creative and management skills remains a challenge for micro enterprises.
Cultural and creative industries are contributing to the competitiveness and social cohesion of cities and regions across Europe, the Commission says. European Capitals of Culture such as Lille, Liverpool and others have shown that investing in this sector creates jobs and helps transform the image of cities, it claims.
Cultural and creative industries can also have beneficial spill-over effects on a wide range of other businesses and society at large, according to the EU executive, which points out that designers, for example, have gradually become an essential part of the management team of many big companies.
Source: EurActiv
Commission to boost research and innovation by making it easier to apply for and manage EU grants
29 April 2010
The European Commission has unveiled a plan to simplify the procedures for taking part in EU-funded research projects. The overall aim is to make participation transparent and attractive to the best researchers and innovative companies in Europe and beyond. Ensuring European research realises its full potential is crucial to the EU's Europe 2020 Strategy, given the need to consolidate economic recovery and develop new sources of growth and jobs to replace those lost in the crisis. Complementing the proposals on simplification, the Commission has also appointed a group of independent experts to review all aspects of the current Seventh Framework Programme.
The first part of the Commission's strategy will make improvements possible under the current legal and regulatory framework, some of which are already underway. These involve, for example, better IT systems, more consistent application of rules, in particular on auditing, and improving the structure and content of the "calls for proposals" in response to which research organisations bid for funding.
The second part involves changing the existing financial rules to allow more radical simplification while maintaining effective control.
The third type of change envisaged will be considered for implementation under future Research Framework Programmes. Among the options presented is a move towards "payment by results", which would mean that beneficiaries were paid lump sums to undertake specific scientific tasks and would need to demonstrate that they have done so effectively and efficiently, rather than to report individual cost items.
Source: RAPID
Cities 'frustrated' by EU innovation policy
27 April 2010
Europe's biggest cities believe the European Commission's definition of innovation is too narrowly focused on the commercial and research sectors. What their main concern is that the role of city governments as innovators and facilitators of market innovation is not part of the discussion.
Eurocities believe the green agenda is a major driver for change and has forced city planners – and citizens – to rethink the way they plan and use public services. Some cities are teaming up with private companies such as Siemens to work on improving the energy efficiency of buildings.
Public private partnerships (PPPs) have become an increasingly common feature of how public authorities use their budgets and are likely to continue to grow.
Private sector expertise can help deliver large projects and it is up to each city to decide whether to launch PPPs. However, Brussels might force cities to rely more heavily on the private sector.
Public sector deficits will heap pressure on cities, requiring more innovative ways of working, but e-government has also shown how rapidly local governments can change how they do business.
Source: EurActiv
EU to revamp Clinical Trials Directive
22 April 2010
The EU executive is planning a major overhaul of the rules governing medical research amid a growing acceptance that a directive in place since 2004 has hampered clinical trials.
The European Commission says it accepts that the implementation of the directive has been deeply flawed and will legislate to fix the problems by October 2011.
Officials are weighing up whether to simply clarify elements of the existing directive or to introduce a new regulation which would oblige national authorities to implement a streamlined version of the rules on medical research.
This would go some way to overcoming the inconsistencies that have arisen in how member states apply the directive.
The European Commission has sponsored an FP7-funded project – the Impact on Clinical Research of European Legislation (ICREL) – to measure the effect of the directive on the pharmaceutical industry, academics, research ethics committees and medicines regulators.
"The outcome was very obvious: all stakeholders had to massively increase their staff to cope with the new requirements and the costs of clinical trials have gone up two-fold or three-fold," says Dr Klingmann of the the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice.
Source: EurActiv
Commission assesses cohesion policy's achievements: around 1.4 million jobs created in Europe in 2000-2006
19 April 2010
The investment of €123 billion through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) between 2000 and 2006 has had a clear impact in the regions. An estimated 1.4 million jobs were created during this period.
The synthesis report shows that nearly 38 000 research and development projects received support with the creation of over 13 000 new long term research jobs during the period. In absolute terms, the ERDF made a perceptible contribution to Research & Development (R&D) expenditure in Objective 1 regions, adding some 12% to national spending in Portugal, 7% in Greece and 6% in Spain and even more in some of the EU 10 countries, especially Estonia (where total R&D was twice as large in relation to GDP in 2006 as in 2000).
Source: EARTO
EU to convene subgroup of 'innovation commissioners'
19 April 2010
The European Commission will formally establish a subgroup of at least eight EU commissioners with a stake in innovation policy.
The committee, chaired by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the EU's commissioner for research, innovation and science, will work on a new research and innovation strategy due to be published in the autumn.
The Commission's innovation subgroup is expected to include Antonio Tajani (Industry and Entrepreneurship), Johannes Hahn (Regional Policy), László Andor (Employment), Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda), Androulla Vassiliou (Education), Michel Barnier (Internal Market), and Günther Oettinger (Energy).
Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn also wants the group to feed into the debate on how to measure the effectiveness of EU spending on R&D. A team of Commission officials is currently working with economists and businesspeople to design a new "innovation indicator," which will be a feature of the Research & Innovation plan.
This follows agreement by EU leaders to invest 3% of GDP in research, provided that a more sophisticated "output measure" is developed by the Commission. The expert panel will report to the EU executive's subgroup on innovation.
Source: EurActiv
EU countries join forces on ageing research
16 April 2010
Researchers from across Europe gathered in Sweden yesterday (15 April) to develop a new pan-EU strategy for taking neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.
The move is the first EU Joint Programming Initiative designed to address the "grand challenges" which policymakers say cannot be tackled by any one member state acting alone.
National science funding agencies will pool resources and expertise to devise a strategy to find new treatments and preventative measures for age-related illnesses.
The European Commission will be supporting the work of the initiative through a coordinating action with an EU contribution of close to €2 million.
The EU commissioner for research, innovation and science said demographic changes mean new solutions will be needed to tackle diseases associated with ageing.
She added that Europe's ageing population poses serious economic challenges but also presents opportunities for new products and services. The EU will contribute €21 million for two new research projects on cancer as part of an international consortium focused on genomics.
Source: EurActiv
EU looks to US model for measuring R&D impact
16 April 2010
The EU may piggyback on US efforts to measure the impact of research spending, as Europe struggles to find more reliable ways to assess the return on its investment in science.
A major push is under way in the US to work out how to measure the long-term impact of public support for R&D. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic believe a common system would make sense given the global nature of science.
The US new system is known as Star Metrics – Science and Technology for America's Reinvestment: Measuring the Effect of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science.
This could include direct job creation, helping to create a skilled workforce which benefits the private sector, generating patents, improving healthcare and the environment
Developing this system remains a huge task but a global effort would help speed up the process. The first step could be to develop a universal researcher identification system which would help "track and credit" researchers who move between continents.
Source: EurActiv
CIP is often confusing and has poor visibility, interim evaluation says
12 April 2010
At the beginning of March, at a relatively early stage, the interim evaluation of the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) has been published.
According to the main findings of the evaluation, there is a common misunderstanding regarding the intervention logic of CIP: many national representatives did not understand that the CIP is primary aiming at creating enabling conditions and a supportive framework for SMEs to flourish and to be innovative, but not to support SMEs directly. CIP is indeed not an expenditure-oriented programme like FP7 or the Cohesion Funds, but one that aims at leveraging its ideas and products into other policies and programmes, like a catalyst for further investment in innovation. Other findings of the report are as follows:
• The annual work programmes of the CIP are difficult to follow and they do not always clearly articulate the link between individual measures and the overall programme goal (which is to increase European competitiveness and innovation capacity). Often Member State representatives say that they do not understand the process behind the drafting of the work programmes. The CIP is for them therefore rather confusing and "does not give out one message about what it does and who it is for". The creation of a single framework programme comprising three different pillars is not perceived as an enhancement, as Member State representatives "rarely understood the concept of CIP as an entity" and "were of the opinion that the three pillars exist" but that "there is little interaction between them."
• CIP includes a number of intervention instruments that are rather complex. This makes it difficult to develop indicators to monitor progress. The report concludes that there is a lack of appropriate indicators to monitor the programme.
• The leverage effect of the CIP should be stronger as well as its link with other EU programmes. Furthermore, the administrative burden is too high in all three pillars.
• The current governance structure of CIP is not working as effectively as it should. It fails in particular in providing a strategic steer to the programme. Furthermore, the Commission should provide more feedback on practical results and achievements reached in CIP. The overall visibility of CIP is pooramong national stakeholders, according to the evaluation report.
The full interim evaluation report can be found here
Source: SwissCore
European Research Council slams EU bureaucracy
9 April 2010
The work of Europe's scientific funding body has been marred by ongoing tensions with the European Commission and "stupid" bureaucratic rules, agency representatives have told MEPs.
Helga Nowotny, who was appointed president of the European Research Council (ERC) in March 2010, wants the fledgling body to be an autonomous and permanent fixture in the EU's complex scientific landscape, warning that its work has been hampered by Brussels bureaucracy.
Speaking to the European Parliament's committee on industry, research and industry (ITRE), she said the ERC's original structure was deeply flawed.
This, she said, had led to "an uneasy relationship" between the scientific and administrative sides of the agency and problems between the ERC and the European Commission's research directorate.
She described the ERC's transition to becoming an executive agency as "rather painful" and hit out at the bureaucratic ethos of the European Commission.
The next steps will be to redefine the relationship between the executive agency, scientific council and the Commission, she said.
"I hope the ERC will become a permanent institution and we would like a significantly higher budget," Nowotny told MEPs.
She said the Lisbon Treaty gives scope to create a unique status for the ERC, which would help it to achieve its mission of dramatically boosting research in Europe.
Source: EurActiv
Spanish Presidency publishes updated programme for its Innovation Conference in Bilbao
6 April 2010
The Spanish Presidency has published an updated programme for its Innovation conference taking place in Bilbao on 27 and 28 April. The programme now contains a full list of speakers.
The conference will be web streamed live on the events website.
Link to the website of the conference
Source: EARTO
EC publishes report on first assessment of roll-out of European regional policy
1 April 2010
On 31 March 2010, Commissioners Hahn (Regional Policy) and Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) presented a report which assesses for the first time the rate of progress of each country on delivering agreed EU objectives through regional policy programmes 2007-2013 at the mid-term juncture.
The report shows how well Member States aligned their programmes to the EU goals of jobs and growth and contributes to an open debate on achievements and challenges of cohesion policy programmes. The Commission will prepare a second strategic report on the implementation of the programmes 2007-2013 in 2013.
This first report shows that the progress in implementation is variable from country to country and between different areas (energy and environmental investments and ICT investments are among those areas which are not progressing as expected). The Commission calls on the Member States to quickly implement the already selected projects, to accelerate the selection of quality projects and to ensure that the national co-financing needed to fund the agreed investments is made available so that EU budget resources are fully mobilised.
Sources: EARTO
EC publishes 2010 Work Programme
1 April 2010
On 31 March 2010, the European Commission adopted and published its 2010 Work Programme.
The Work Programme focuses, among other things, on the implementation of EU 2020, how to address long-term societal challenges and simplification of existing legislation and reduction of administrative burden.
For the first time the CWP 2010 provides a multiannual overview of the work which the Commission plans to undertake in the coming years, which should improve predictability for all stakeholders. The Commission commits to deliver on the strategic initiatives foreseen for adoption in 2010 and provides indicative lists of other important initiatives for the years 2010-2014. Through annual updates of the Work Programme, the Commission will identify new annual strategic initiatives and adapt the multiannual strand as necessary.
Source: EARTO
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