REC4 6100_ETI 2.

2 20/07/05 15:24 Page 1

Economic and Technological Intelligence

(ETI) projects for SMEs – 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contract number Project Acronym

CT-2004-508563 DETECT-IT Big companies are opening their doors

CT-2004-508533 ECTIST Integrating clusters with similar needs

CT-2004-508559 FASHION NET A dedicated follower of fashion

CT-2004-508519 FASTER Fast-track access to European transport research

CT-2004-508547 FISH Fishing for information on FP6

CT-2004-508564 ITE Human factor brings hope to ailing textiles

CT-2004-508476 LINK A unique web of public and private networks

CT-2004-508507 MISMEC Multifaceted mechatronics

CT-2004-508695 NANOMAT Big help for nanotech

CT-2004-508505 NAoMITEC Small scale but high tech

CT-2004-508583 NATIBS Getting off to a good start in biotech

CT-2004-508520 PATENT Towards the multimedia future

CT-2004-508566 PLASTEAM Moulding plastics SMEs into European research

CT-2004-508683 PRODESTS Wasting away

CT-2004-508513 PRO-KNOWLEDGE Promoting joined-up European research

CT-2004-508500 RURAL-ETINET Widening the horizons of rural SMEs

CT-2004-508562 SHOES5000 Finding a better fit for EU footwear

CT-2004-508589 SMESFORFOOD A feast of innovation

CT-2004-508527 SMES GO LIFESCIENCES Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match

CT-2004-508721 STIMULATE Harnessing the power of trade associations

CT-2004-508508 SYNERGY The power of SYNERGY

CT-2004-508510 TALENT SCOUT A helping hand for biotech innovators

CT-2004-508590 WOMEN2FP6 FP6 for the other half

CT-2004-508617 WOODISM Stronger links for better business

REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 2
Big companies are opening their doors
“The project puts SMEs in a ‘club’
where they can find qualified, on-the-
spot intermediaries.” medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and fostering transnational
links amongst all the parties. Under the leadership of EBN (European
Business and Innovation Centre Network), a network of business innovation
centres (BICs) across Europe is developing clusters of SMEs to prepare them for
participation in European research. Corporate leaders from mainstream industry are also taking
part to mentor the clusters.
The DETECT-it project encourages SMEs in specific sectors of indus-
try to participate in European research, especially the Sixth
Framework Programme (FP6). It targets technology-based SMEs in
three sectors – IT, renewable energy, and food quality and safety.
It is mobilising a network of 30 BIC incubators in 15 EU countries
to foster SME participation in FP6, and especially in Integrated
Projects and Networks of Excellence, with the support of appropri-
ate National Contact Points (NCPs) and Innovation Relay Centres
(IRCs). They are developing clusters of SMEs with similar technol-
ogy profiles and innovation needs corresponding to the designat-
ed FP6 research areas, and identifying opportunities for participa-
tion in new and existing projects.
The project consortium consists of 42 partners from 17 different coun-
tries, including the 30 BICs, and is coordinated by the EBN. During
the course of the project, more than 1 000 SMEs will be screened
and assessed for clustering. SMEs with well-defined research and
technological innovation requirements and capabilities are preferred.
The BIC partners oversee the clusters, while corporate leaders
from the private sector in each of the industry sectors offer them men-
toring services. Since SMEs generally find it difficult to fund research
activities, a number of financial support organisations are commit-
ted to assisting the clusters. It is expected that these developed clus-
ters will eventually generate high-tech SME start-ups, building on
the foundation of results from FP6 research projects.
Forward propulsion
A network of FP6 experts in each of the three industry sectors, includ-
ing NCPs and technology brokers, guides the clusters of SMEs
towards appropriate FP6 research projects. At the beginning, this
pool of experts concentrated on training and educating the BICs
on all aspects of the current Framework Programme. The empha-
sis now is on identifying appropriate Integrated Projects (IPs) and
Networks of Excellence (NoEs) for SME participation.
This is a large and ambitious project, bringing together two exten-
sive networks – the leaders of IPs and NoEs, and the locally-based
innovative businesses organised by the BICs. The BICs’ core mis-
sion is to incubate small businesses and make them more innova-
tive. They have expanded over the last 20 years supporting inno-
vative businesses of all kinds. Many of their SME clients have
DETECT-it
An ETI project is bringing together extensive
European networks of intermediaries for small and
never been active in research. Therefore, as specialists in FP mech-
anisms, they can offer powerful insights into how these innovative
small businesses that would otherwise stay off the radar screen might
join in FP6 research activities.
Perhaps the project’s most innovative contribution lies in the inte-
gration of FP6 instruments, SME support bodies, and the SMEs them-
selves, and the way different organisations are being involved. This
applies in particular to sizeable corporations since the project
assumes that mentoring schemes from the large corporate partners
like British Telecom, Procter & Gamble, and Gaz de France can real-
ly provide the leverage to propel SMEs forward into research
activities. This makes sense, however, since most large corporations
– whether technology-based or not – are increasingly outsourcing
many of their research requirements. SMEs now have an opportu-
nity to position themselves in the value chain of corporate outsourc-
ing mechanisms. This ‘network networking’ effect also applies to
the clever way EC intermediaries are co-operating for the benefit
of SMEs and FP6 stakeholders.
Long-term effects
The big company partners are opening up to all kinds of collabo-
rative ventures proposed by the SMEs. Many of the large corpo-
rations are already involved in advanced DG Research instru-
ments, such as technology platforms. It
appears that they do indeed
provide a link to even
the most recently
formed policy
instruments. For
example, the
presence of a
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major multinational in the chemical industry has visibly cemented “Big companies are betting on
the commitment to the project of BICs, companies and technology clusters as the best way for
platforms in that field.
small businesses to move
A long-term goal of the project is to set up a sustainable mecha-
forward.”
nism to channel the BICs’ SME clients towards appropriate research
opportunities, with the help of the relevant NCPs as intermediaries.
In fact, improving NCP-BIC co-operation is seen as an important Project website
outcome of the project that will further benefit SMEs in the future. www.detect-it.org

Another important facet of DETECT-it is the development of region- Participants

al networking models for research in the new accession countries. 1 European Business and Innovation Centre Network (BE)
The project aims to overcome many of the obstacles preventing SMEs 2 Innovatie- en Technologiecentrum Kempen (BE)
in the new EU Member States from participating in FP6. This will 3 Société de Création d’Activités Nouvelles (BE)
be achieved by networking with FP6 experts, corporate players, 4 BIC Brno spol. s.r.o. (CZ)
financial support instruments, and NCPs and other SME interme- 5 BIC Ostrava s.r.o. (CZ)
diaries. The consequent research results will help create high-tech 6 BIC Plzen (CZ)
start-ups in these countries. 7 Hermia Business Development (FI)
8 CICOM Organisation (FR)
Project title 9 Thésame (FR)
A dedicated network of incubators to detect and favour SME par- 10 BIC Business and Innovation Centre Frankfurt (DE)
ticipation in FP6 (DETECT-it) 11 WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH (DE)
12 Business and Innovation Centre of Attika (EL)
Contract number 13 INNOSTART National Business and Innovation Centre (HU)
CT-2004-508563 14 Dublin Business Innovation Centre (IE)
15 South East Business & Innovation Centre Ltd (IE)
Duration 16 BIC LAZIO spa (IT)
30 months 17 Eurobic Abruzzo e Molise scrl (IT)
18 Promofirenze – Special Agency of the Chamber of Commerce
Global project cost of Florence (IT)
€ 1 985 000 19 Tecnopolis CSATA Scrl (IT)
20 Foundation Business Innovation Centre Twente (NL)
EC contribution 21 NET – Novas Empresas e Tecnologias, S.A. (PT)
€ 1 286 250 22 BIC Bratislava, spol. s.r.o. (SK)
23 CASSOVIA BIC s.r.o. (SK)
Contact person 24 BIC EURONOVA, S.A. (ES)
Mr Philippe Vanrie 25 Centro Europeo de Empresa e Innovacion de Ciudad Real (ES)
European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN) 26 CENTRO EUROPEO DE EMPRESAS INNOVADORAS DE VALEN-
168 Avenue de Tervuren CIA (ES)
1150 Bruxelles – Belgium 27 Cimtec – Valais (CH)
Tel: +32 2 772 8900 28 Birmingham Technology Ltd (UK)
Fax: +32 2 772 9574 29 Technology Enterprise Kent (UK)
pva@ebn.be 30 Pronovus Limited (UK)
www.ebn.be 31 Culminatum Ltd Oy (FI)
32 Agence Nationale de Valorisation de la Recherche (FR)
33 Ubifrance (FR)
34 The Brussels Enterprise Agency (BE)
35 ZUPA PAOLO (IT)
36 Pôle Européen Agro alimentaire pour la Communication, la
Recherche, L’innovation et le Transfert de Technologies (FR)
37 Centro Sviluppo Spa (IT)
38 EuroScan Services ApS (DK)
39 INBIS Group PLC (LU)
40 British Telecom (UK)
41 Procter & Gamble Eurocor (BE)
42 Gaz de France (FR)
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Integrating clusters with similar needs

EcTIST

“Competitiveness and business growth A German-led group of seven Euro Info Centres
will save jobs in the future.” (EICs) is helping small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in the field of surface technology to become involved
in European research projects. It encourages compatible SMEs to work
in clusters, and networks incubators that can foster their progress. It also assists
large companies and research organisations in finding project partners among SMEs
in this field. The EICs provide an extensive range of services to SMEs, most notably a large
pool of potential project partners throughout Europe. Other services include company visits,
workshops, screening project material, and help with submission of a written project proposal.

Surface technology is a leading-edge approach with applications
in many industrial sectors and, as such, is a popular subject for
research. It is fast becoming very important to the competitiveness
of SMEs in Europe. The major objective of the EcTIST (Economic and
Technological Intelligence in the field of Surface Technologies)
project is to help SMEs participate in European research projects.
Therefore, it targets businesses and research institutes that are
linked to surface technologies. Even very small SMEs can benefit,
for example, by working as testers and implementers of research
project results.
The submission of a successful research proposal involves working
through complex procedures, for which SMEs have neither sufficient
time nor resources. This ETI project can help them to become part-
ners in projects, by providing all the relevant information as it
becomes available and taking them, step by step, through the var-
ious search and application procedures. The smaller the SME, the
more this assistance is needed. EcTIST also aims to find SMEs that
have already been involved in previous Framework Programme (FP)
research projects to promote the current Sixth Framework Programme
(FP6) to other SMEs in their region.
Clustering together
The seven EcTIST consortium members are all EICs, a primary
European information and problem-solving network for SMEs. The
partners are from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Slovenia
and Sweden. The host structures in which they are based are var-
ied – Chambers of Commerce, research institutes, universities and
banks – so they offer a variety experience and ways of dealing with
problems. They also operate simultaneously within other regional
and national networks, such as Innovation Relay Centres (IRCs).
ing countries that focus on successful research projects in surface
technology so as to provide SMEs with examples of best practice.
This whole exercise should give a better understanding of the
need for innovation between researchers, businesses, policy-mak-
ers and society in general.
Extensive services
The broad experience of the EIC partners in helping SMEs of all
kinds allows them to take a many-sided view of a potential project.
They can help SMEs and research organisations build their consor-
tia in a balanced way, using the most suitable partners. The EIC
network ranges widely across Europe, so EICs in other countries
may be able to find likely partners amongst their contacts. Thus, the
project could suggest potential SME partners to project coordina-
tors of Specific Support Actions (SSA) and SME- led Integrated
Projects (IPs).
The EICs also help the research institutes – often the best sources of
good ideas for projects – by looking for SMEs to become partners
for projects. They take the profile of a company, which details its main
business areas and know-how, and work out ways in which it might
participate. The profiles are entered in a database which is then dis-
tributed through other SME-intermediary networks, such as the IRCs
and CORDIS. Widely advertised, the profiles have a better chance
of catching the attention of a
large company or
research institute
looking for proj-
ect partners.

The consortium aims to facilitate the creation of clusters of SMEs

with similar innovation needs. Therefore, EcTIST tries to identify suit-
able candidates for clusters as well as identifying and networking
incubators in various fields of surface technology. Expert groups will
study the national multipliers for SMEs in the appropriate industri-
al sectors. After this initial groundwork, the EcTIST team plans reg-
ular visits to SMEs to determine their needs, so that they can either
recommend appropriate instruments within FP6 or national and
regional programmes. Various events will be held in the participat-
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“If a project is performed well, partners

At the beginning of EcTIST, the EIC partners made an overview of tend to keep in touch afterwards.”
relevant research programmes in the field of surface technology.
They now monitor relevant calls for proposals and are trying to estab-
lish a pool of potential project partners in Europe. They publish a
regular info-letter for SMEs giving the latest project developments,
and will hold workshops and information and partnering events to
consolidate the project’s progress. Eventually, once an SME decides
to join a research project, they advise on how to write a success-
ful proposal.

SMEs will benefit immediately from participating in FP6 projects,

since the development costs and risks undertaken are shared
among all the partners. International links to companies and
research institutions with similar interests generally pay off.
Experience in European projects often leads to long-term co-oper-
ation with the project partners. The research results should lead to
innovative improvements among SMEs, boosting their growth and
competitiveness.

Project title Contact person

Economic and Technological Intelligence in the field of Surface Ms Antje Schmerwitz
Technologies – EcTIST NBank- Investitions- und Förderbank Niedersachsen GmbH
Günther-Wagner-Allee 12-14
Contract number 30177 Hanover
CT-2004-508533 Germany
Tel: +495 113 0031-373
Duration Fax: +495 113 0031 11-373
36 months antje.schmerwitz@nbank.de
www.eic-hannover.de
Global project cost
€ 1 133 131 Project website
www.ectist.com
EC contribution
€ 906 504 Participants
1 Investitions- und Förderbank Niedersachsen GmbH (DE)
2 Azienda speciale CCIAA Milano – Euro Info Centre IT 351 (IT)
3 Agderforskning, EIC Kristiansand (NO)
4 The Upper Silesian Regional Development Agency Co. (PL)
5 UP-SRC Koper (SI)
6 CRCI of Upper Normandy (FR)
7 Euro Info Centre Jönköpings län AB (SE)

The EcTIST project partners.

REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 6

A dedicated follower of fashion

FASHION NET

”We want to include all sectors of the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in
industry. Wider integration offers many the European fashion industry face a growing threat
possibilities.” from global competition, and need to innovate rapidly to add
value to their businesses. The Economic and Technological Intelligence
(ETI) project, Fashion Net, with 16 partners in eight countries, aims to
consolidate and extend the existing networks of intermediaries. The extended
networks should greatly facilitate the participation of SMEs in FP6 research projects. Fashion
Net promotes the formation of clusters of intermediaries Europe-wide, and also supports clusters of
SMEs at a local level. There are already two other ETI projects – Shoes5000 and ITE (Intelligent Textile
Environment) – networking in synergy with Fashion Net.

The fashion industry contributes strongly to the European economy,
giving employment to about 3 million people. However, SMEs
throughout the industry need to undergo dramatic innovative
change if they are going to compete successfully on a global
scale. They already suffer from severe competition from Asian
companies, and will face a major challenge in 2005 when a new
WTO agreement comes into force. From January 1, all EU quotas
will be removed. This will mean that European trade protection in
the fashion industry will disappear completely, opening the way to
competition from international imports. This was a main motivation
for setting up the Fashion Net project.
Fashion Net aims to facilitate the access of SMEs in this sector to
Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) research projects. It ranges
greatly in scope, covering all types of business, from design to pro-
duction of clothing materials of all kinds. It also addresses SMEs
involved in associated activities, such as supply-chain management
and business development. Its main targets are those SMEs which
are already innovative to some degree – roughly half of the total
involved in the fashion business.
There are good reasons why SMEs need to participate and bene-
fit from this ETI project. First, they are generally short of personnel
who need to dedicate virtually all their time to coping with daily
activities. Secondly, it is difficult for them to obtain information about
potential research partnerships and how they might gain access to
them. Fortunately, intermediary organisations can help greatly by
taking their innovative ideas and formalising them in proposals for
specific transnational collaborative projects.
Effective networks
The idea behind Fashion Net was to promote the benefits of SME
involvement in FP6 projects right across Europe. This project is being
carried out by 16 partners in eight countries – Czech Republic,
France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Turkey. The
tools used to analyse and disseminate information include a web-
based computer platform which contains four separate databases.
An information campaign is planned that will target 4 500 SMEs.
It will be implemented through two conferences, eight innovation
workshops and eight training sessions. In addition, 155 technolo-
gy audits and a number of best practice cases will be collected
during the duration of the project. The actions of SMEs will also be
integrated and coordinated once they have joined up to an FP6
project proposal.
One of Fashion Net’s objectives is to promote transnational activ-
ities and relationships by creating an effective European network
of intermediaries. At the same time, the project will operate at local
level, organising events close to individual clusters of SMEs.
Shared opportunities
It is intended to strengthen the various networks for exchanging
expertise and best practice, which will help boost the competitive-
ness of small businesses. Therefore, networks are being linked
among all the different intermediaries – industrial associations, incu-
bators, research organisations, and national contact points, as well
as between clusters of SMEs themselves. This network of SME-
intermediaries forms the core of Fashion Net. Its primary role is to
encourage transnational innovation and technology transfer among
European SMEs operating in the fashion business.
The wider the network, the greater number of activities will be car-
ried out resulting in more benefits for those SMEs involved. This is why
the networking activities in Fashion Net have focused on clustered
collaborations. There are already two other ETI projects networking
with SMEs in clusters from Fashion Net –
Shoes5000 (in the footwear
industry) and ITE, both
within FP6. This exten-
sive co-operation
should net many
more SMEs
and intermedi-
Luminex®, a non-reflective
new fabric. © Luminex
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“The first benefit is putting people in

ary organisations, even in countries not directly involved in the touch with each other.”
Fashion Net project. In fact, altogether there are 40 partners from
18 different countries involved in the three projects.

The enhanced networking activities will involve the exchange and

sharing of information via each other’s websites, communication
materials, workshops and seminars, and promotional activities.
Intermediary organisations are in contact with many potential proj-
ect partners for SMEs – for instance, this might be a relatively
unknown fashion department in a technical university in one of the
new Member States. The human element is emphasised in this net-
work-building exercise, since the mutual trust built up over time in
personal contacts between the respective parties and an interme-
diary greatly assists in welding a new partnership.

Project title Contact person

Network of intermediaries to foster transnational research and Dr Silvia Grandi
innovation in SMEs in the fashion industry system (FASHION NET) Istituto per la Promozione Industriale
Viale Maresciallo Pilsudski, 124
Contract number 00197 Rome
CT-2004-508559 Italy
Tel: +39 068 097 2215
Duration Fax: +39 068 097 2443
24 months grandi@ipi.it
www.ipi.it
Global project cost
€ 930 466 Project website
www.fashionnet.org
EC contribution
€ 697 589 Participants
1 Istituto per la Promozione Industriale (IT)
2 Hellenic Organisation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
and Handicraft (EL)
3 Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (IT)
4 Agence Nationale de Valorisation de la Recherche (FR)
5 ADEI Agencia de Desarrollo Económico e Innovación, S.L. (ES)
6 Small and Medium Industry Development Organisation (TR)
7 Initiative, Cité & Développement (FR)
8 CITER-Centro Informazione Tessile dell’Emilia Romagna (IT)
9 Tecnotessile-Società Nazionale di Ricerca Tecnologica r.l. (IT)
10 Lithuanian Apparel and Textile Industry Association (LT)
11 INOTEX Ltd (CZ)
12 Institut Français Textile Habillement (FR)
13 Clothing Textile and Fibre Technological Developments (EL)
14 Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Textile si
Pielarie (RO)
15 Asociación para la Incorporación de las Nuevas Tecnologías
en la Empresa (ES)
16 Asociación de Investigación de la Industria Textil (ES)

Luminex® integrates luminous fibres developed using knowledge

gained in the field of sub-nuclear physics. © Luminex
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 8

Fast-track access to European transport research

FASTER

“Europe is keen for SMEs to get involved in Transportation is one of the pillars of
research and technological development. Europe’s internal trade, so it must remain competitive
Faster will really help them to access through innovation and business growth. Europe supports
the many opportunities.”
research in this area, but SMEs struggle to participate. The Faster project
aims to increase their involvement. Faster will inform SMEs of research and
technological development opportunities, assess their suitability for participation and
match their needs and skills to suitable projects and partners – all for free. Greater SME
representation on projects should stimulate innovation and technology transfer throughout the
entire transport community, and ensure that it continues to play a key role in Europe’s economy.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the transport sector
and related business areas need to be at the forefront of innova-
tion, yet they do not have the resources – financial or human – to
embark on ‘risky’ research projects. They even find it hard to tap
into European research funding, and tend to be poorly represent-
ed in European Union Sixth Framework Projects (FP6) projects, espe-
cially the large-scale Integrated Projects and Networks of Excellence.
Consequently, these SMEs risk losing a competitive edge or becom-
ing a weak link in the transportation value chain.
The Faster consultants will analyse companies’ research ideas and
suggested topics and identify suitable themes for future European
projects. Where projects appear viable, Faster can match compa-
nies to potential partners, give advice on the best FP6 instruments
for their proposals, and help SMEs develop their funding applica-
tions. This level of service could not be achieved without Faster which
gathers experts from across Europe who, by working together, are
able to see ‘the big picture’ and identify links between SMEs in
different Member States.

Fast forward SME ambassadors

The FASTER project intends to correct this situation and help
increase SME representation in projects towards the Commission’s
target level of 15%. Faster brings together a variety of actors
involved in the transport sector. They include port authorities, trans-
port industry associations with access to a large pool of target SMEs
from across Europe, and specialist consultancy organisations offer-
ing the small firms free, core advisory and coaching services. The
consortium also includes a number of agencies involved in support-
ing SME involvement in R&D, and a marketing and communications
company which is coordinating the project’s entire communications
and dissemination strategy.
In order to help SMEs get actively involved in European RTD initia-
tives, the project will follow a step-by-step methodology which
aims to integrate leading SMEs into appropriate FP6 projects.
Initially, the partners intend to contact a large number of SMEs and
inform them about FASTER and the availability of its free services.
This should stimulate interest from a significant number of compa-
nies which the Faster experts will profile to get a clearer picture of
each company’s RTD needs, capabilities and ideas. Such profiling
will highlight the SMEs with the greatest potential to participate in
FP6 projects – often those companies with prior experience of
conducting research, or with strong university links. They will also
undergo a technology audit to assess whether they have the nec-
essary infrastructure and resources to participate in FP6 research.
Faster hopes to integrate appropriate companies into existing or
soon-to-launch FP6 research projects. The incorporation of SMEs into
up-and-running projects is a particular challenge, but the Faster
assessment methodology is designed to identify ‘SMEs of excellence’
which have a lot to offer and will be able to meet their commitments.
These companies, at the forefront of innovation, stand to gain
tremendous competitive and business advantage and will consequent-
ly invigorate their local transport environment. Furthermore, by mix-
ing with complementary and competitive companies from around
Europe they may also find ways to expand their markets, form
alliances, and develop a vision beyond the immediate worries of
cash flow and survival.
But the impact of Faster will
go far beyond the ‘select
few’. For the majori-
ty of SMEs, Faster
will simply raise
awareness of
the impor-

The European
transportation sector
is a pillar of internal
trade – and must innovate
to remain competitive.
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“Thanks to our network and combined

tance of innovation – and the possibility of research participation. expertise, we are able to match SMEs to
Some of these companies will go away, refine their ideas, and come
European projects and to partners
back stronger, ready to face the challenge of FP6 collaboration.
with whom they might
In the meantime, those firms that do become FP6 project partners collaborate in
through Faster will give a voice to all European SMEs in the trans- the future.”
port sector and related business areas. Their research needs will
be heard and projects will begin to take them into account. As a
result, SMEs will be strengthened, preserving employment for mil-
lions of employees and ensuring that European transportation
remains competitive for the future.

Project title Project website

Fostering Alliances for Sustainable Transport in European Research www.fasterproject.org
(FASTER)
Participants
Contract number 1 Horama Marketing and Engineering Services (EL)
CT-2004-508519 2 Innova (IT)
3 Mediterranean Ports Community (ES)
Duration 4 The Alliance of Maritime Regional Interests in Europe (BE)
30 Months 5 Central European Initiative (IT)
Global project cost 6 TUHH-Technologie GmbH (DE)
€927 316 7 Agend bruxelloise pour l’entreprise (BE)
8 AID Marketing and Communication (BE)
EC contribution
€702 846

Contact person
Mauro Bianchi
Technical Support for European Organisations Sprl
8, Avenue Paul Vanden Thoren
1160 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 230 1090
Fax: +32 2 230 1377
screening@fasterproject.org

The transportation sector and related business areas involves many SMEs struggling
to access European research funding.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 10

Fishing for information on FP6

FISH

“Demonstration activities give SMEs a Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in

taste of what R&D is all about.” the fisheries and marine resources industries are
constantly looking for ways to be competitive. They search
internationally, visiting suppliers, business associates and trade fairs to
seek out new strategies and technologies. But what they rarely do is participate
in research projects which offer them sustainable innovative improvements to their
businesses. In the FISH project, a consortium of 12 SME intermediaries is raising awareness among
SMEs about EC-funded large-scale research projects. Partners promote examples of the successful
integration of SMEs from this industrial sector into FP6 proposals, which should encourage others to try.

The FISH project is targeting the majority of SMEs within the fish-
ing industry and its ancillary services, even those with minimal tech-
nological development. The first objective is to increase their under-
standing and acceptance of applied research as a means of
improving their core business over the longer term. Such awareness-
raising is carried out in collaboration with national contact points
and national organisations for fisheries and marine resources.
Through national and European stimulation activities, project part-
ners inform as many SMEs as possible about Sixth Framework
Programme (FP6) research activities.
The project takes this informative stage a big step further, with per-
sonal visits to companies that express interest in order to identify
and analyse their technology needs. The aim is to visit a total of
480 SMEs, make detailed assessments of 125 of them, and even-
tually to have a total of 24 participating in EU research projects.
The emphasis is on taking positive action to find the right SMEs and
the right project concepts. The pan-European dimension of FISH is
important because it means that the SMEs have a much better chance
of finding optimal research partners than if they had restricted their
search to domestic organisations.
Established networks
FISH is linked to other national innovation programmes, and to the
EC-funded Innovation Relay Centres (IRCs) across Europe. The
idea was to collaborate in particular with the IRC network so that
a project can start from a base of considerable experience and good
contacts amongst SMEs in this industrial sector. In fact, nine of the
12 partners are IRCs – the remaining three are consulting compa-
nies with their own contacts among SMEs. The consultancies offer
expertise in facilitating the entry of SMEs into project consortia.
The numerous face-to-face meetings between project partners and
SMEs are enabled by the extensive IRC networks. The SME profiles
developed at these meetings are entered into databases for analy-
sis and matching with possible partners. Personal contact with
potential project coordinators is also very important as it is an oppor-
tunity to actively promote those SME profiles and to foster mutual
trust. One FISH national stimulation action was held in Norway in
November 2004. Over 100 people attended the meeting, 72 of
whom came from SMEs. A FISH European stimulation action also
took place in November, in France, where FISH partners met with
representatives from approximately 20 companies, leading to
intensive discussions among them to identify their needs and take
their profiles.
Some SMEs in the fishing and allied industries, especially certain
more innovative firms, are already involved in FP6 Integrated
Projects (IPs). However, the majority of SMEs should at least be aware
of research projects. One FISH initiative is designed to convince
some firms to take part in the demonstration activities of IPs – a rel-
atively easy first step. Many of them could qualify for these demon-
stration tasks, and thereby experience a first taste of what transna-
tional research projects really entail. This would set them off on a
learning curve leading them to a greater awareness of the possi-
bilities and eventually, it is hoped, to involvement in a full-scale
research project.
Imaginative innovation
There is a good deal of technical know-how required in the fisheries
and allied industries – particularly in relation to exporting, logis-
tics, processing, filleting and freezing. The SMEs are generally aware
that they need to innovate to remain competitive. To do so, they are
forced to think internationally which means tapping into a reliable
network of contacts in the industry. An SME in fish processing, for
example, has a great deal of knowledge to
share with others. Through a
network of contacts, very
innovative solutions
can be found. For
instance, a fish
processor in
Norway has
A Norwegian salmon farm.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 11

ETI–1

“Personal contact is very important if you

found it worthwhile to send freshly caught frozen cod to be fillet- want to sell company profiles to
ed in China where labour costs are much lower than in the Europe.
prospective project partners.”
The fish are then returned for distribution and sale in Europe.
Naturally, this has meant introducing major logistical and techno-
logical innovative changes in the company to ensure that overall
costs remain low, and that the schedules between continents are
maintained.

The biggest area of potential innovation that remains largely unex-

plored is probably research. The problem is generally one of
access, which is why FISH aims to break down the barriers between
SMEs and research-led organisations. This will be done through var-
ious analyses and auditing schemes based on earlier EC-funded proj-
ects and national technology transfer programmes.

Project title Contact person

Facilitating Innovation for Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Mr John A. Bjorgen
Resources (FISH) SINTEF
S.P. Andersens vei 5
Contract number 7465 Trondheim
CT-2004-508547 Norway
Tel: +47 7359 6958
Duration Fax: +47 7459 1299
24 months john.a.bjorgen@sintef.no
www.sintef.no
Global project cost
€ 688 384 Participants
1 SINTEF (NO)
EC contribution 2 The Technological Institute of Iceland (IS)
€ 516 291 3 National Documentation Centre (EL)
4 Cyprus Institute of Technology (CY)
5 INNOVA S.p.A. (IT)
6 Inovamais SA (PT)
7 Innovación, Desarrollo y Transferencia de Tecnologia, S.A.
(ES)
8 Bretagne Innovation (FR)
9 Osrodek Przetwarzania Informacji (PL)
10 ALMI Företagspartner Uppsala AB (S)
11 SENTER (NL)

Farming salmon in Norway.

REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 12

Human factor brings hope to ailing textiles

ITE

“ITE is about breaking down the barriers Fierce global competition and the recent
that limit innovation.” abolition of import quotas have left Europe’s textile
industry in a fragile state. Increasing its competitiveness calls
for continued innovation – to improve efficiency, add value and access
markets. But limited awareness of new developments and a basic preoccupation
with the daily grind of earning a living are restricting the sector’s willingness and ability
to innovate. The ITE (Intelligent Textile Environment) project combines expertise from 22 partners
across 16 countries to promote both innovation per se, and the opportunities offered to small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the European Union’s R&D programmes. The project hopes to reach
some 9 000 textiles enterprises across Europe.

Employing around 2 million people in some 177 000 enterprises
– most of which are small and medium-sized enterprises – Europe’s
textile industry is a critical one. But, like any sector dominated by
SMEs, the business of facilitating informed management decisions
across a large number of small companies is a big one. Can we
improve quality without adding to costs? How do we deal with new
legislative demands? How can we increase market penetration?
Small businesses with limited capacity really need to know what
works elsewhere – because reinventing the wheel is not a compet-
itive option.
SMEs need two things: better ways to address common concerns,
and greater access to the scientific, technical and commercial
intelligence that allows them to develop more successful business
strategies. The ITE project hopes to contribute to textile SMEs in both
respects – by improving information flows on the latest innovations,
and by engaging more enterprises in relevant research and devel-
opment initiatives.
The ITE consortium plans to build on the legacy of the earlier
BenTex project. Also funded by European Union Framework
Programmes, BenTex focused largely on benchmarking as a key deci-
sion-making tool. Addressing criteria such as size, production
processes, distribution channels, markets, management issues and
competitive tactics (including innovation, quality, service and cost),
BenTex attracted participation from around 300 European SMEs.
Managers exchanged their experiences and methodologies, iden-
tified and shared best practices, and many took on new innovations
to help improve production. The project also opened the way to
developing 18 co-operative research proposals to address key issues
identified by SMEs.
Shifting priorities
While BenTex proved a success in many ways, it also identified a
critical barrier to its approach: the human factor. The ITE project
aims to capitalise on these findings to improve future project
achievements. Recognising that it is people who develop and
absorb knowledge, and people who adopt and adapt innovations,
the new project will target SME personnel. Through seminars and
workshops, as well as by visiting companies, the ITE consortium will
engage real people – not just companies – in the issue of innova-
tion. By raising awareness of relevant EU-funded projects, and by
training individuals to participate in such projects, the ITE group
hopes to increase awareness of – and openness towards – new
developments.
To do this, the ITE consortium is bringing together experts in areas
ranging from quality control and product certification to cross-bor-
der technology and knowledge transfer. Networking activities will
be used to attract SMEs and link them with researchers working on
the technological or business solutions that they need. They will also
help to improve dissemination of current benchmarking methods and
best practices. The hope is that by improving links between enter-
prise and research, European R&D can benefit from the SMEs’ expert-
ise, networks and perspectives, while the companies themselves can
become more receptive to taking up the new developments emerg-
ing from ongoing research.

The ITE consortium

brings research and
business together to break
down barriers to innovation.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 13

ETI–1

Building bridges “Scientists learn from business and vice

ITE is basically about breaking down barriers – to communication, versa. Research becomes more
to the exchange of ideas and information, and to innovation. The pro-
targeted and the uptake of
ject’s organisers are certainly hoping to overcome these hurdles in
the textile sector, but they are also hoping to actually cross bound-
findings improves.”
aries between sectors. One key goal is to stimulate the development
of a cross-sectoral network of experts able to act as advocates and
brokers for new ideas throughout Europe’s SME community.

ITE hopes that focusing on the human element in innovation – and
on best practices for maximising human potential in all aspects of
innovation – can help to break down conventional cultural, sectoral
and geographic divides. It is looking to cross the boundaries
between industry and science; between old and new EU members,
and between one sector and another. It is planning to encourage
transnational and trans-sector learning. And it is hoping that break-
ing down these divisions can eventually contribute to widespread
economic success by stimulating more and better jobs and creat-
ing greater social cohesion. In a region of such great diversity in
culture and experience, this is an ambitious project – but one that
could fundamentally change the way that European SMEs are
able to compete in an increasingly global market.
Project title
Intelligent Textile Environment (ITE)
Contract number
CT-2004-508564
Duration
24 months
Global project cost
€1 154 558
EC contribution
€895 751
Contact person
Nena Malliou
Clothing Textile and Fibre Technological Developments SA
4 El. Venizelou
17676 Kallithea/Athens
Greece
Tel: +30 210 923 4932
Fax: +30 210 923 5603
nmalliou@etakei.gr
Project website
www.etakei.gr/ite
Participants
1 Business and Project Management (EL)
2 Tecnotessile – Società Nazionale di Ricerca Tecnologica r.l. (IT)
3 Centro d’Informazione Tessile dell’Emilia Romagna (IT)
4 Asociación de Investigación de la Industria Textil (ES)
5 The Research – Development National Institute for Textile and
Leather (RO)
6 Institut fuer Textil und Verfahrenstechnik Denkendorf der
Deutschen Institute fuer Textil und Faserforschung Stuttgart (DE)
7 Istituto per la Promozione Industriale (IT)
8 Lietuvos Inovaciju Centras (LT)
9 Inotex Ltd. (CZ)
10 Institute of textile Architecture (PL)
11 Innovatext Textile Engineering and Testing Institute (HU)
12 Applied Research and Communications Fund (BG)
13 Latvian Technological Centre (LV)
14.Firenze Tecnologia – Azienda speciale della Camera di
Commercio di Firenze (IT)
15 Turkish Textile Employer’s Association (TR)
16 Cyprus Institute of Technology (CY)
17 Vutch-Chemitex (SK)
18 Integrated Resources Management Company Ltd. (MT)
19 Centro Tecnologico das Industrias Textil o do Vestuario de
Portugal (PT)
20.Steinbeis Europa Zentrum des Steinbeis Stiftung für
Wirtschaftsforderung (DE)
21 Agencia de Inovação – Inovação Empresarial e
Transferencia de Tecnologia (PT)

New textiles with novel

properties.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 14

A unique web of public and private networks

LINK

“Unitl now the European intermediaries A consortium of small and medium-sized

have tended to work in isolation.” enterprise (SME) intermediaries from both the public and
private sectors is collaborating in the LINK project. It is offering
SMEs in the plastics and electronics industries a range of support
services to facilitate their access to the Sixth Framework Programme’s
Integrated Projects and Specific Targeted Projects (IPs and STREPs). LINK identifies high
and medium technology SMEs then matches them with the right project. It also shows project
coordinators how these particular SMEs can fulfil project needs by bringing in additional expertise. Thus,
the SME and its project partners meet in a relationship based on their mutual best commercial interests.

LINK partners undertake to promote the benefits of IP and STREP
projects to SMEs, and the positive attributes of SMEs as potential
partners to the project coordinators. There are 20 participants in
total in LINK, from 14 different Member States and one Associated
State. About two-thirds come from the public sector and one-third
from the private sector. They are all experienced and effective
European SME intermediaries – National Contact Points, Innovation
Relay Centres, business and innovation centres, trade associa-
tions, registered trade organisations, as well as private consulting
firms.
The so-called ‘broad-band’ support LINK offers is actually the
awareness-raising of mutual benefits SMEs and its project partners
can expect from co-operation. ‘Narrow-band’ support refers to very
detailed, one-to-one assistance provided in the all-important match-
ing and integration processes required to set up the project part-
nerships. Project proposals can be registered, together with SME
needs, on the LINK database and matched against profiles of all
LINK-registered SMEs to find the best fit. The next step is for a LINK
partner to help the SME identified as an optimal partner through
the required project participation procedures while, at the same time,
liaising with the project coordinator. The SME is thus integrated in
the project with a minimum of difficulty, and can function immedi-
ately as a direct participant in core research activities.
be hard to understand how an SME-national contact point could
communicate freely with a private consulting firm, due to the pos-
sible conflicts of interest. But consulting firms are important as they
have their own networks and are often in contact with large num-
bers of SMEs. Despite the difficulties, the organisation of LINK enables
a representative from each of the main networks to oversee vari-
ous smaller networks operating under its umbrella. Regular meet-
ings are held in small groups at first, then the agreements and under-
standings reached are disseminated to the other networks. This
scheme has been found to work very well so far, and it is hoped
that it will expand a lot further.
Bright future
SMEs are bombarded with information from all kinds of network
services, each offering something different but, by necessity, limit-
ed in choice, scope and support. Now that this significant network
of networks has been set up, life is becoming much easier for the
SMEs. By using this Economic and Technological Intelligence (ETI)
project as a stepping stone into FP6, they will be able to develop
their own IPR-protected technology, enabling them to add value to
their products and services. It should help to make them more
competitive with their counterparts outside the European Union, in
countries with low labour costs.

A successful start
It would normally be very difficult for SMEs to gain access to IPs –
and to a lesser extent STREPs – in FP6, since these are large proj-
ects with multinational companies as partners. SMEs generally
have very few contacts with major companies, which do not usu-
ally recognise them as potential project partners. In any case,
small businesses rarely have enough time or resources available to
search around and create their own projects. This is where LINK
comes in. To begin with, its website offers SMEs automatic profil-
ing and matching facilities that tap into the resources of this large
web of networks. Enterprises can either log on and feed in data them-
selves, or ask a project assistant to help them enter their data.

One of LINK’s major initial achievements was to establish a com-

Advanced injection
mon understanding of how project partners from both the public
moulding technology.
and private sectors could work well together. For instance, it might © Pera
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 15

ETI–1

“We have already agreed ways of

Another novelty, an ‘intelligent data system’ which makes use of maximising our effectiveness for our
dynamic profiling techniques, helps to implement the LINK objec-
SME customers.”
tives. This network aims to generate a significant number of SME
participants in IPs/STREPs. The final target is to enable the partic-
ipation of at least 65 additional SMEs in IPs and STREPs – for exam-
ple, 5% of additional SME participation in such projects, each with
a value typically around € 20 million.

Plastics and electronics are the two areas of industry selected as

prime targets for LINK because they complement each other in many
ways, including innovation potential. In fact, together they are
covered by five of the seven FP6 priority thematic areas. In future,
it is expected that LINK will become the foundation for an even more
widespread web of networks that will benefit SMEs across a wide
range of industries.
Contact person
Project title Mr Mick Parmar
Leverage SME Intermediary NetworK Integrating Private and Public Pera Innovation Limited
Sector Intermediary Networks to More Effectively LINK SMEs into Pera Innovation Park, Nottingham Road
Integrated Projects (LINK) LE13 0PB Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
United Kingdom
Contract number Tel: +44 168 4501 501
CT-2004-508476 Fax: +44 166 4501 589
mick.parmar@pera.com
Duration www.pera.com
24 months
Project website
Global project cost www.link-eu.org
€ 877 890
Participants
EC contribution 1 Pera Innovation Ltd (UK)
€ 845 402 2 Pro Support B.V. (NL)
3 Agence Nationale de Valorisation de la Recherche (FR)
4 The Brussels Enterprise Agency (BE)
5 European Business and Innovation Centre Network (BE)
6 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angerwandten
Forschung (DE)
7 AIMPLAS – Instituto Tecnologico del Plastico (ES)
8 Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (FI)
9 Innovages Fomento de la Innovacion (ES)
10 ALMA Consulting Group Ltd (IL)
11 HLP Developpement (FR)
12 Agência de Inovaçao S.A. – Inovação Empresarial e
Transferencia de Tecnología (PT)
13 Hungarian Science and Technology Foundation (HU)
14 Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (IT)
15 Latvian Technological Centre (LV)
16 Cracow University of Technology (PL)
17 CATT Innovation Management GmbH (AT)
18 D’Appolonia S.p.A. (IT)
19 Fédération Plasturgie Activités (FR)
20 Fachverband Elektronik-Design e.V. (DE)

Resin fibres being pushed, rather

than pulled as in extrusion. © Pera
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 16

Multifaceted mechatronics
MISMEC

“We can help SMEs seeking projects, or Innovation in mechatronics relies on bringing
projects that need SMEs – it works both together a wide range of skills in mechanics, electronics
ways.” and information technology. Some of the key requirements for
innovation can be found in a variety of small companies which may
be unaware that their expertise could be useful in mechatronics research. The
MISMEC project is locating SMEs that could make contributions to mechatronics
research and helping them to become involved in larger research projects funded by the Sixth
Framework Programme. As part of this work, MISMEC is developing some new working practices to
help widely dispersed SMEs to work together and maintain the networks that can drive innovation.

When mechanical engineering combines with electronics and
computing it forms the field of ‘mechatronics’, a diverse sector cov-
ering a vast range of applications. Industrial and domestic appli-
ances, aircraft, motor vehicles and all those applications where com-
puter software controls moving parts can have elements of
mechatronics at their core. Therefore, it is considered as a central
aspect of modern technology, so research in mechatronics is cru-
cial for building the technology of the future.
The MISMEC project is helping European small and medium-sized
enterprise (SMEs) with expertise in this area to understand and take
advantage of research opportunities within the Sixth Framework pro-
gramme (FP6), especially those being offered by the new Integrated
Projects and Networks of Excellence. Such large collaborative
projects create high hurdles for SMEs wishing to join in, so the kind
of help offered by MISMEC can be crucial. By their very nature,
many SMEs are isolated companies working in their own small geo-
graphical and technological niches. There is an important job to
be done in introducing them to the wider picture and adding their
needs and ideas for innovation to the work of European research
programmes.
The SMEs being targeted by the MISMEC project are largely those
that use mechatronics in their work, or can input expertise into the
mechatronics sector, rather than being pure mechatronics compa-
nies. The sector is so wide and varied that it depends on the skills
of many different types of enterprise. So the project is trying to bring
a range of companies involved in information technology and
electronics together into larger mechatronic research projects.
Mix and match
The seven MISMEC partners are all designated European Innovation
Relay Centres. These are companies, associations or other institutes
that spend a great deal of their time trying to match up requirements
for innovation in their local region with innovative technologies across
Europe, while also helping to distribute innovations developed in
their own regions. Their time is devoted to matching technological
problems with solutions.
The process of identifying who is writing FP6 proposals and which
SMEs may be able to participate in them draws heavily on the
extensive network of research and commercial contacts the partners
have developed over the years.
SMEs that are candidates for assistance are being identified
through a series of awareness actions, including seminars, work-
shops and web-based promotions designed to instruct SMEs about
the services available and get them thinking about the possibilities
of becoming involved. The partners then conduct technology audits
to identify SMEs with clear potential to participate in FP6 research
programmes. This involves assessing their existing technological
capacities, as well as future needs. The partners are also working
directly with the coordinators of new and ongoing FP6 projects to
explore the opportunities for drawing SMEs into existing projects
or new project proposals.
Once MISMEC has identified an SME with good potential for get-
ting involved in a research programme, one of the partners will work
closely with the SME to explain how the Framework Programme
works and give them the help they need to become part of a well-
structured proposal. The SMEs have very different experiences
and needs, so the help the project provides must be carefully tai-
lored to each company’s specific requirements.
The project goal is to assist at least 270 SMEs, leading to partici-
pation by some of them in at least 70 FP6 project proposals. They
can participate in research projects as coordinators and main driv-
ers, research partners, partners to influ-
ence long-term objectives within
a specific research theme,
and/or as partners for
take-up measures.
Simulation and
visualisation are among the
many cross-border areas
involving mechatronics.
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ETI–1

Best practice “For an SME new to research it is a big

A key part of the MISMEC project is to develop new working prac- step – that’s why we are there to help
tices to assist in the general process of networking SMEs together
them.”
into collaborative groups. One of these comprises a new internal
management tool. This is a web application for following up proj-
ect results, activities, company and FP6 project profiles, and the sta-
tus of and interlinkage between these profiles. The tool is particu-
larly helpful for large consortia working with numerous clients who
are involved in many projects. Other practices involve the use of
wide-ranging web-based conferencing and events that enable
SMEs to meet and talk in ways that can throw up new ideas and
opportunities for collaboration.

The work of the project will assist the participating SMEs to become
more competitive and give them opportunities to develop and cre-
ate the jobs and new technologies Europe requires. By bringing var-
ious SMEs with different expertise together, these small players can
become involved in larger research projects that they could never
manage alone.

Project title Contact person

New Methods for Involving SMEs in Mechatronics sectors in FP6 Mr Max Maupoix
(MISMEC) IVF Industrial Research and Development Corporation
Argongatan 30
Contract number 431 53 Mölndal
CT-2004-508507 Sweden
Tel: +46 3170 66193
Duration Fax: +46 3127 6130
36 months max.maupoix@ivf.se
www.mismec.nu
Global project cost
€ 1 160 244 Participants
1 IVF Industrial Research and Development Corporation (SE)
EC contribution 2 Steinbeis Stiftung für Technologie Transfer (DE)
€ 972 224 3 Welsh Development Agency (UK)
4 MATIMOP, Israeli Industry Center for R&D (IL)
5 MSI – Institute of the Lithuanian Scientific Society (LT)
6 CECCP – Centro Estero Camere Commercio Piemontesi (IT)
7 Help-Forward Network/Diktyo PRAXI (EL)

Mechatronics is a union of
overlapping sectors. © IVF
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 18

Big help for nanotech

NANOMAT

“We are putting western know-how and The Nanomat project provides training and
experience at the service of the eastern innovation services to help SMEs working with
countries.” nanotechnologies to become more innovative and involved in
EU-funded programmes. It is especially targeted at small companies
from the new Member States and associated candidate countries. The size
of EU projects and the administrative aspects can seem daunting to these SMEs. The
key role of Nanomat is to show them the potential advantages of collaborative EU research
and help them link into good projects that suit them. In addition to the direct benefits coming from
any research they get involved in, SMEs can gain commercial advantages by becoming part of networks that
were previously closed to them.

Nanotechnology is technology at the very small scale – the scale
of atoms, molecules and tiny multi-molecular structures. The sector
takes its name from the nanometre which is one billionth of a
metre (10-9 m). This technology of the very small is predicted to have
a very big future, with potential applications across the full spec-
trum of technology from healthcare to manufacturing, and comput-
ing to cosmetics. However, as with any technology in its infancy,
it is hard to predict what the most useful applications will be and
where they may come from. It is important to draw small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from across the expanded European
Union into Europe’s nanotechnology research effort. The Nanomat
project is designed to help SMEs, especially from the new and can-
didate Member States, to become involved in collaborative research
programmes.
The ten project partners comprise five institutions from new Member
States and associated candidate countries, and five from Western
European Member States. This allows the Western partners with con-
siderable experience of EU research programmes to transfer their
knowledge to the other five. SMEs from countries without a long tra-
dition of involvement in the EU can thus begin to gain the benefits
on offer and also contribute their own specialist expertise. The knowl-
edge transfer is two-way, with the new Member States and asso-
ciated candidate countries helping the Western partners to learn
about the expertise and opportunities available outside their usual
sphere of operation.
Inside information
The partners include a broad range of specialised companies, train-
ing institutions, consultancies, universities and enterprise promotion
specialists. Each has an extensive database of SMEs in their local-
ity that might benefit from participation in EU-funded research pro-
grammes, and may have specific skills to bring to new projects. The
partners use this inside knowledge to identify a range of SMEs to
offer the project’s services to. The incentive for the SMEs, in addi-
tion to the eventual benefits of any research, is that the EU offers
many potential business partners with whom they might never
make contact without Nanomat or similar initiatives. Joining EU-wide
networks can be the first and most important stage of significant-
ly broadening the range of such SMEs’ commercial opportunities.
The Nanomat project has three main areas of activity, which can
be described as training, technology-watch and Sixth Framework
Programme (FP6) participation.
The first of these is providing tailor-made training in economic
and technological intelligence activities to selected SMEs. More
specifically, the training covers three topics: technology watch and
business intelligence; innovation management and benchmarking;
and technology exploitation and technology marketing. The train-
ing sessions are being held in each of the five Eastern European
countries in the partnership. The local partner hosts these events which
are usually spread over two days. Overall, this training is helping
to make SMEs from NMS and the ACC more aware of the oppor-
tunities for funding, collaborative research and commercial activ-
ity in the EU at large.
A careful watch
The second activity is to provide technology watch services and tech-
nology audits to selected SMEs. This involves assessing the specif-
ic needs and abilities of each company and providing ongoing
research to identify opportunities for collaboration with other com-
panies and institutions across the EU. In assessing the current sta-
tus of each company, the project can also give advice on how to
develop best practices and respond to future development needs.
The third activity is to pro-
mote the participation
of SMEs directly,
especially from
the new
Member States
Nanotechnology
manipulates matter at
the scale of individual
atoms. © IBM
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 19

ETI–1

“FP6 offers SMEs in the new Member

and the associated candidate countries, in FP6 research and tech- States great opportunities for putting
nological development activities. SMEs with particularly good
their good ideas into practice.”
ideas are offered a consultation service guiding them on how to
participate in a wide range of RTD projects, including Cooperative
Research Projects, Collective Research Projects, Specific Targeted
Research Projects, Integrated Projects and Networks of Excellence.
The partnership can offer support from the stage of having a gen-
eral idea, right through the process of finding appropriate partners
and drawing up a finished project proposal.

During the project, which lasts for 30 months, the partners plan to
disseminate information to 500 SMEs, train a selected 300, pro-
vide 200 of these with customised technological intelligence serv-
ices, perform 120 company technology audits, and help up to 100
SMEs become part of new project proposals for EU RTD funding.

Project title Contact person

A targeted action to encourage the participation of SMEs in FP6, Mrs Paula Galvão
in the nanotechnologies and nanomaterials fields (NANOMAT) Inova Europe Sarl
15 Rue de la Chapelle
Contract number 1325 Luxembourg City
CT-2004-508695 Luxembourg
Tel: +352 269 23755
Duration Fax: +352 269 23762
30 months p.galvao@innova-europe.lu
www.innova-europe.lu
Global project cost
€ 1 116 710 Project website
www.innova-europe.lu/nanomat
EC contribution
€ 911 321 Participants
1 Innova Europe Sarl (LU)
2 Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (DE)
3 EUROQUALITY (FR)
4 BIC Bratislava Ltd (SK)
5 Puskas Tivadar Alipitvany – Institute of International Technology
(HU)
6 Politechnika Wroclawska – Centre for Technology Transfer (PL)
7 Inova Pro, s.r.o. (CZ)
8 Politehnica University of Bucharest – Centre for Advanced
Technologies (RO)
9 Fundación para el Conocimiento Madrimasd (ES)
10 SENTER/EG-Liaison (NL)

Silicon fabrication technology is already

approaching the nano-scale. © CEA-LETI
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 20

Small scale but high tech

NAoMITEC

“Networking is the key to the success of The NAoMITEC project is working with small and
NAoMITEC.” medium-sized enterprises in the micro- and
nanotechnology arena in 12 countries to identify those most
suitable to participate in Integrated Projects and Networks of Excellence.
The ETI partners can give selected SMEs the advice and support required to
join in these large transnational projects. This opens up new opportunities for
collaboration and commercialisation that SMEs would otherwise find it difficult to break into
if left to do it alone. The project team is keeping track of developments in a very fast-moving field,
gaining vital expertise to help promote European innovation in the future.

The NAoMITEC Project is focusing on SMEs working in micro- and
nanotechnologies which exploit the properties of materials on very
small scales. The partners are addressing five sectors: aerospace,
automotive technology, the environment, health, and information
and communication technologies (ICT). Expertise in micro- and
nanotechnologies in these sectors is one of Europe’s key strengths,
and is crucial for European competitiveness.
The basic objective of the NAoMITEC project is to promote the par-
ticipation of SMEs in the new instruments of the Sixth Framework
Programme (FP6). These are primarily the large Integrated Projects
(IP) and Networks of Excellence (NoE).
Five-point plan
The partners are tackling their work through a five-point plan. The
first stage is to review the current situation in the partnership coun-
tries, as it affects SMEs in the targeted sectors. The partners then
go on to identify the most active and best qualified SMEs and assess
both their technological needs and their existing development
plans.
Stage three is a matching-up process identifying existing or planned
IPs and NoEs which fit with the needs and plans of the selected SMEs.
Next, the NAoMITEC partners establish the necessary contacts that
allow national and transnational networks to develop in a way that
can help the SMEs to become incorporated into IPs and NoEs.
Finally, all the necessary assistance is given to actually allow the
selected SMEs to join IPs and NoEs that have been identified as
appropriate to their needs. Overall, the small companies gain sig-
nificant benefits from becoming part of large-scale transnational
research and development projects, while the larger partners in these
projects are able to draw on the very specialised expertise found
in European SMEs.
By the end of the project’s 30 month duration, the partners intend
to have identified 385 candidate SMEs, and to have actively
assisted 95 of these to consider the options for participating in select-
ed IPs and NoEs. The final target is to facilitate the entry of 48 SMEs
into these two kinds of FP6 projects.
A wealth of experience
The project brings together 16 partners from Austria, Belgium,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Poland, Switzerland,
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. They comprise a mix-
ture of research and development agencies, enterprise agencies,
academic research centres and business consultancies. Together,
they have the combination of expertise in business, research and
technology required to help SMEs make the sometimes difficult step
towards participating in large European projects. Three of the
partners are based outside of the EU, adding to the inclusive
transnational character of NAoMITEC.
Each partner is undertaking a variety of technology audits of SMEs
in their region. This generates profiles of selected SMEs which are
posted on the NAoMITEC website, alongside a growing list of the
most relevant IPs and NoEs. This will enable the website to evolve
into a central resource, where SMEs and IPs and NoEs can iden-
tify one another and then approach the most appropriate NAoMITEC
project partners for further assistance.
All members of the proj-
ect team have a long
history in dissemi-
nating informa-
tion, contacting
research insti-
tutions and
industries,

Micro- and nanotech-

nologies are at the
heart of European innovation.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 21

ETI–1

both large and SMEs, and in assisting them in their quest for innova- “We work as ‘talent scouts’, discovering
tion. Many also have relevant experience and competence acquired the great potential and skills in
through their participation in the earlier Minatech project which was
European SMEs.”
funded by FP5. The primary objective of Minatech was the promotion
of the use of micro- and nanotechnologies among European SMEs.

Looking forward Contact person

The effects of a successful NAoMITEC project should serve to pro- Piero Bufalini
mote European competitiveness by helping to maximise the effec- Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca Industriale
tiveness of the new initiatives in FP6. The project will increase the Viale Gorizia 25/C
contribution of SMEs to high-tech research and applications signif- 00198 Rome
icantly, and promote the clustering of enterprises with similar aims Italy
for co-operation both at national and transnational level. These end Tel: +39 0688 48831
results should yield a clear increase in transnational technology trans- Fax: +39 0685 52949
fer and a higher return for the EU funding involved.
Project website
The micro- and nanotechnology sector is characterised by rapid tech- www.airi.it/NAOMITEC
nological innovation and a fast-changing business environment.
Companies come and go and merge very rapidly. NAoMITEC will Participants
help in the difficult task of keeping track of this fast-moving field, 1 Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (IT)
deepening the knowledge on the state of art. This will generate a 2 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto per lo Studio
valuable knowledge base that will also help the partners to look dei Materiali Nanostrutturati – Gruppo Tecnologico (IT)
beyond FP6 and prepare for the fresh challenges of the future. 3 Bureau for International Research and Technology
Cooperation (AUT)
Project title 4 Agence bruxelloise pour l’entreprise (BE)
NAno and MIcro -TEC SMEs in Integrated Projects (IPs) and 5 Eureco Oy (FI)
Networks of Excellence (NoE) (NAoMITEC) 6 Chambre régionale de commerce et d’industrie de
Bourgogne (FR)
Contract number 7 Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (FR)
CT-2004-508505 8 Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (EL)
9 VDI/VDE – Innovation + Technik GmbH (DE)
Duration 10 Iserd – Matimop (IL)
30 months 11.Institute of Fundamental Technological Research Polish
Academy of Sciences (PL)
Global project cost 12 Euroresearch – Réseau suisse d’innovation (CH)
€1 811 019 13 Swiss Foundation for Research in Microtechnology (CH)
14 SenterNovem/EG-Liaison (NL)
EC contribution 15 Beta Technology Ltd. (UK)
€1 381 654
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 22

Getting off to a good start in biotech

NATIBS

“There are benefits available for SMEs in The NATIBS project is helping newly created
the short, medium and long term.” biotechnology companies to become involved in Sixth
Framework Programme (FP6) research activities. These start-
up companies would find the complexity of the proposal process and
other administrative hurdles very challenging, and thus would be unlikely to
join FP6 research without significant assistance. They are being encouraged to
become involved in order to reap the benefits of access to the resulting innovations, and the
commercial advantages of being introduced to trans-European networks. The project is also identifying
best practices in project development and will disseminate these through a formal report.

The biotechnology industry is one of the fastest growing and most
exciting sectors of 21st century commerce. Biotechnology is a
very challenging arena to be starting business in, with many com-
panies falling by the wayside or being swallowed up in waves of
consolidation. Young small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
usually have more pressing demands on their attention than the
opportunities offered by participating in FP6 research, but NATI-
BS can give a helping hand.
The FP6 instruments being targeted by NATIBS are the Integrated
Projects and Networks of Excellence, although the NATIBS consor-
tia can also be very useful as regards the traditional instruments.
The partners’ first task is to identify existing and planned projects
that would welcome and benefit from SME involvement. The part-
ners are achieving this by using their extensive networks of contacts,
as well as appraising the forthcoming calls for proposals in order
to be ready to help suitable SMEs to join in.
Guiding lights
The complementary aspect of the project is to identify good biotech-
nology SMEs that might be willing to become part of a new proj-
ect proposal, or to join an existing project. Most of the NATIBS part-
ners are organisations which exist to ‘incubate’ innovative companies
by providing guidance and helping in the search for funding. In most
cases, the partners are publicly funded bodies, although sometimes
private finance from venture capitalists and other sources can be
involved. The project is being coordinated by the Essonne Chamber
of Commerce and Industry in France, using valuable general expe-
rience of the business environment in Europe. Most of the partners
have considerable experience in EU Framework Programmes,
making them ideal for giving guidance to novice companies.
The expertise held by many of the partners includes substantial knowl-
edge of which new biotechnology companies exist in their region
of operation, what they are doing, and which FP6 projects they might
be suited to. Attention is focused mainly on companies that are less
than three years old, are still reliant on outside sources of funding,
and are very busy with the problems of starting out on commercial
life in a very competitive sector.
Lab bench medical science increasingly involves
biotechnology. © J.Grison/Rapho Photo
It can be difficult persuading some of these SMEs of the advantages
of becoming involved in large collaborative research programmes.
An important part of the work of the NATIBS partners is to explain
the long-term benefits, in terms of access to the results of research,
including patents; and the medium- and short-term benefits that
include fast incorporation into trans-European networks. The proj-
ect is encouraging and helping the SMEs to look outwards, to a wider
Europe, at a time in their commercial lives when there is a danger
they may become too preoccupied with the shorter-term demands
for survival. One factor making it easier to draw in SMEs from the
biotechnology sector is that most of these companies already have
a strong culture of research, although on a smaller scale than the
large IPs and NoEs.
Audits and assessments
The project is analysing 240 biotechnology SMEs across Europe,
in the six countries where the partners are based, namely France,
Germany, Spain, Sweden, Estonia and Israel. During their work of
identifying and assessing suitable SMEs, the project partners are
conducting 170 technology audits for the companies, assessing
exactly what they do and what research programmes they might
be suited to.
The partners are also acquiring useful information about best prac-
tices in project and proposal development.
This knowledge will be used
to write a best practice
report in collabora-
tion with another
ETI project
(Talentscout)
which is
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 23

ETI–1

“We hope to integrate 40 SMEs into new

focusing on more mature biotechnology firms. This joint report or existing projects, including 12 into
will review the bigger picture in this area, involving a wider range
Integrated Projects or Networks of
of companies than NATIBS could cover on its own. The lessons
learned will be available to promote good practice across Europe.
Excellence.”
The project website and a series of newsletters are also disseminat-
ing guidance from the NATIBS partners more widely.

The great advantage for Europe as a whole in drawing start-up

biotechnology SMEs into FP6 is that it allows the ideas and expert-
ise within very young companies to feed into wider European
research immediately. This happens long before it might occur if the
SMEs were left to rely on their own initiative. In the large FP6 proj-
ects that result, the SMEs can expect to be working with some long-
established universities, commercial companies and other organisa-
tions, creating a good blend of commercial youth and experience.

Project title Contact person

New approaches and tools for incubated biotechs smes (natibs) to Mr Jérôme Billé
enhanced participation in the 6th FP (NATIBS) Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Essonne
2, cours Monseigneur Roméro
Contract number 91004 Evry
CT-2004-508583 France
Tel: +33 1607 99147
Duration Fax: +33 1607 99071
30 months j.bille@essonne.cci.fr
www.essonne.cci.fr
Global project cost
€ 810 377 Project website
www.natibs.net
EC contribution
€ 607 497 Participants
1 Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Essonne (FR)
2 Inno-TSD (FR)
3 TBS-Technologiestiftung Innovationszentrum Berlin (DE)
4 BBB Management GmbH Campus Berlin-Buch (DE)
5 Parc Cientific de Barcelona (ES)
6 Incubator Novum Research Park (SE)
7 Tallinn Technology Park Development Foundation (EE)
8 Biomedical Incubator Rad Ramot (IL)
9 Genopole Evry-Île de France (FR)

Biomolecules are at the heart

of biotechnology.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 24

Towards the multimedia future

PATENT

“We are gathering the cream of the The PATENT project is a platform of professional
SMEs and feeding them into suitable and high-added-value services for European SMEs in
research projects.” the digital and cross-media sectors, helping them to tap into
new research opportunities. PATENT matches innovative SMEs with
suitable Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) projects. Expert consultants
assist the SMEs in all the phases of developing a research idea, tailoring it to the
Framework Programme’s instruments, finding appropriate partners and helping their
involvement in high-quality proposals. The SMEs gain the technological and commercial opportunities
that come from participating in research programmes with partners they might otherwise never have
teamed up with.

Some of the most influential innovations of recent years have
involved multimedia and information communication technologies
(ICT), greatly affecting everyday life. Many small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) in the ‘digital and cross-media’ sector have the
potential to develop the innovations that will keep it at the forefront
of modern technology.
The PATENT project is helping small companies with innovative ideas
but limited resources to become partners in FP6 Integrated Projects
(IPs) and Networks of Excellence (NoE). This is drawing suitable
SMEs into wider networks and providing business opportunities they
could not have developed on their own.
The SME target group for the PATENT project includes content
owners and aggregators, hardware and software providers, net-
work operators, broadcasters, telecommunication service providers
and multimedia centres.
A broad spectrum
The research needs and opportunities in this field are very varied,
and comprise new ways to use multimedia technology and ICT to gen-
erate innovative processes for industry, the health sector, commerce,
education and individuals. Examples of areas ripe for research
include new approaches to language-recognition technologies,
analysis of semantics in different languages, and logistics systems.
The PATENT partners are specialist European associations and con-
sultancy companies with wide experience in the sector. Each part-
ner acts as the local contact in a region, inviting SMEs to participate
in ‘mentoring workshops’ which are conducted in two key phases.
The first phase outlines the opportunities in FP6 in the context of the SMEs’
individual specialities. The second stage consists of one-to-one confiden-
tial meetings between PATENT experts and each SME that might ben-
efit from the project’s services. During these meetings the specialist con-
sultants can review company competences and assess any ideas they
have about research work they might wish to develop. This process of
technological audit and idea review is essentially a selection procedure
that establishes whether or not an SME is well-suited to becoming a part-
ner in an FP6 activity. In this way, the local partners in the project filter
out the best SMEs in their region for further assistance.
Once suitable SMEs have been identified, the PATENT consultants
then guide them through the process of refining their ideas, linking
up with suitable partners and selecting an appropriate FP6 instru-
ment from which to apply for funding. Project experts provide
timely information on European programmes and related current
and future calls for projects, while assessing the ‘EU-relevance’ of
ideas and technologies. They also advise on the drafting and con-
solidation of project proposals.
Pooling ideas
PATENT is a 30-month project, which began on 1 October 2003.
Several workshops have already taken place in various countries
across Europe, including some of the new Member States. Some
SMEs have already been linked into IP proposals, working towards
a target of 50 SMEs to be introduced into European R&D projects
over the duration of the project.
Without the type of assistance offered by PATENT, it is sometimes
difficult for SMEs to make contact with and talk to the coordinators
of big IPs and NoE, often established in large organisations. The
project is acting as an intermediary to help the big players in the
sector work with the small ones, to their mutual advantage.
By helping SMEs to realise their strategies and ‘dreams’, through
appropriate research, PATENT is helping the
exploitation of the pool of
research ideas within
SMEs to the benefit
of Europe as a
whole. Such
invaluable
assistance is
Information and
communication technologies
are everywhere.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 25

ETI–1

“Many SMEs have great ideas, but lack

providing SMEs with the opportunity to develop into much bigger resources. We can help them find the
generators of European wealth, jobs and economic growth in the
partners they need.”
future. PATENT will undoubtedly increase the participation of SMEs
in FP6.

By bringing different SMEs together, the project is also contribut-

ing to a ‘clusterisation’ of SMEs which can allow them to identify
areas in which they might benefit from becoming allies rather than
competitors.

Although the final overall objective is to link the most suitable

SMEs into new or existing IPs or NoE, many more SMEs will gain
other benefits from the advice they receive. In its final phase,
PATENT will deliver concrete suggestions for post-project activities
for the benefit of SMEs, beyond EU funding. These will include con-
solidating and developing further the inter-SME networks that have
developed during the course of the project.

Project title Contact person

Partnership for Telecommunication New Technologies for SMEs Mr Mauro Bianchi
(PATENT) Technical Support for European Organisations Sprl
32/34 Avenue de Tervuren
Contract number 1040 Brussels
CT-2004-508520 Belgium
Tel: +32 2 230 1090
Duration Fax: +32 2 230 1377
30 months www.teseo.be

Global project cost Project website

€ 1 132 061 www.patentproject.org

EC contribution Participants
€ 665 658 1 Technical Support for European Organisations Sprl (BE)
2 INNOVA S.p.A. (IT)
3 The Brussels Enterprise Agency (BE)
4 The Open Group (UK)
5 GAIA-The Basque County Telecommunication Cluster (ES)
6 SwissMedia – Swiss Multimedia Association (CH)
7 Magyar Tartalomipari Szövetség (Hungarian Association of
Content Industry) (HU)
8 MMC KIBLA (Association for Culture and Education) (SI)
9 Dmmv e.V. – Deutscher Multimedia Verband (DE)
10 IKT- Norge – Multimedia Centre (NO)

Multimedia is the preferred

method for many presentations.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 26

Moulding plastics SMEs into European research

PLASTEAM

“The networking opportunities alone can The European plastics industry faces a growing
be of great benefit to the SMEs.” challenge from its American and Asian competitors, and
the gap between Europe and the competition is widening. The
two-year PLASTEAM project is finding SMEs with something to contribute
to addressing this challenge, and much to gain by participating in the task.
Once identified, the SMEs are being helped to participate in suitable Integrated
Projects or Networks of Excellence. Small companies in this field, operating largely in their
own localities, can be unaware of what is going on across Europe as a whole, and of the EU-wide
opportunities that are out there. PLASTEAM is giving SMEs a place in the bigger picture.

Plastics are everywhere in the modern world, in everything from the
simplest domestic appliances to the most sophisticated high-tech
machines and medical implants. It is more difficult to think of tech-
nologies that do not rely on plastics in some way, than it is to list
those that do. A continuous research effort is devoted to finding new
and improved applications for plastics, and new chemical technolo-
gies to make plastics with better and more useful properties. Much
of this research takes place in large multinational companies and
in academic research laboratories, but small companies also have
a lot to contribute. Many small and medium-sized enterprises are
at the front line of applying plastics technology to a great variety
of new uses, and have many good ideas and much expertise to feed
into plastics research.
There are problems, however, in that the plastic processing supply
chain in Europe is very fragmented. Many small companies are com-
peting with each other in restricted local markets, unable to bene-
fit from or contribute to the wider European arena, and often not
able to appreciate the benefits of working together. The SMEs are
also under pressure to comply with the demands of the larger
companies in the sector.
Fitting together
The PLASTEAM project is working to alleviate these problems by
assisting SMEs to use the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) as a
means of linking up for mutual benefit, and of becoming more fully
engaged in research on a European scale. As small companies,
each of the SMEs may specialise in a particular aspect of the plas-
tic processing supply chain, such as plastic part design in a spe-
cialised area or a very specific manufacturing process. The PLAS-
TEAM project is trying to help these small players fit into a much
larger frame.
matched ‘problem holders’ and ‘problem solvers’, allowing them to
work together in appropriate FP6 research projects.
The project is participating in a series of events across Europe to
make SMEs aware of the opportunities presented by FP6, and also
to educate them about the challenges which make participation in
large research projects important for them. In some cases the proj-
ect simply distributes printed information for SMEs, while at other
events they make formal presentations to meet SMEs and encour-
age them to become involved.
Full assistance
Once identified, suitable SMEs are in some cases being fitted into
FP6 projects that are already up and running, while in others they
are becoming part of a project proposal at the formulation stage.
The PLASTEAM project partners can perform technology audits to
assess an SME’s technological capabilities and needs, and can pro-
vide full assistance in becoming part of the most appropriate FP6
project. The SMEs have expertise allowing them to contribute to the
development of innovative applications for existing plastics, or
new kinds of plastic materials, in a wide range of fields including
the automotive industry, electronics, medicine and aeronautics.
Through involvement in these European Research projects SMEs can
access two main things. First, a means to
bring their innovative ideas to
the attention of a wider
European market,
giving them the
commercial
advantages of
increased vis-

The work of the project is focused on three key objectives, charac-

terised as knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge
exploitation. The knowledge acquisition phase involves gathering
information on challenges and opportunities relevant to SMEs in the
sector. The knowledge sharing phase is creating a network of SMEs
among whom this knowledge can be shared, for their benefit and
for the benefit of the European plastics industry in general. The knowl-
edge exploitation phase involves establishing the links between
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 27

ETI–1

“Knowledge-engineering can help

ibility and ultimately greater commercial success. Second, the SMEs to access the skills they need to
SMEs can make direct contact with other companies in the sector
solve problems and exploit
that may become potential clients and collaborators, rather than com-
petitors.
opportunities.”

The 12 PLASTEAM partners come from across Europe and as far

afield as Israel, bringing a wide range of expertise in different spe-
cialities and localities. The project also benefits from the fact that
one partner, The European Plastics Converters Federation, has
links with most of the large industrial associations in the European
plastics industry. So the blend of partners gives the project access
to many specialised local SMEs but also to the big players in the
multinational plastics industry.

By the end of the project the PLASTEAM partners expect to have

worked with at least 1 000 SMEs in awareness-raising and infor-
mation events, performed more than 300 technology audits, and
linked up to 100 SMEs into the Integrated Projects or Networks of
Excellence being launched under FP6.

Project title Contact person

Competitive Research and Innovation for the European Plastics Mr Ricard Jimenez
Processing Supply Chain (PLASTEAM) Ascamm Foundation
PTV Av. Universitat Autonoma, 23
Contract number 08290 Cerdanyola del Valles
CT-2004-508566 Spain
Tel: +34 9359 44700
Duration Fax: +34 9358 01102
24 months rjimenez@ascamm.com
www.ascamm.es
Global project cost
€ 1 221 252 Project website
www.plasteam.org
EC contribution
€ 1 099 126 Participants
1 Ascamm Foundation (ES)
2 Fundacion Gaiker (ES)
3 University of Warwick (UK)
4 European Plastics Converters (BE)
5 Bureau for International Research and Technology Cooperation
(AT)
6 Agencia de Inovacao, s.a. (PT)
7 Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (IT)
8 Matimop, Israeli Industry Center for R&D (IL)
9 Elkede – Technology & Design Centre sa (GR)
10 RTD Talos (CY)
11 Slovenian Tool and Die Development Centre (Sl)
12 Plastiasite s.a. (ES)

Moulded plastic components

are everywhere.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 28

Wasting away
PRODESTS

“We will provide easier access to EU Too much best practice in sustainable industrial
funding in technology development and processes does not reach the audience it should.
demonstration.” Advances in developing clean technologies tend to remain
confined to the geographical location where they were conceived, when
they could be put to good use across Europe. The Prodests consortium
aims to change this. Creating Europe-wide networks, breaking down barriers that impede
information dissemination, and developing technology and market road maps, the team will
define business areas and research needs that will enable SMEs to broaden their markets, and become
players at the European level. This 27-member project is also going to create a virtual market place for technology
providers and end-users.

Good news: throughout Europe, national governments are support-
ing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the development
and implementation of environmentally sustainable manufacturing
technologies and waste treatment. Bad news: these initiatives are
mostly regional and, consequently, expertise tends to lie in a spe-
cific geographical area. Valuable technology spreads slowly – if
at all – to other Member States. Clearly, there is a case for dissem-
inating this information and a good reason to blend individual coun-
tries’ research efforts into a pan-European whole.
What is required is a facilitating vehicle to integrate European know-
how and future research efforts, within a framework of the current and
future legislative requirements. Synergy is essential so that the result is
greater than the sum of its individual components, and valuable
research results are not simply left to gather dust. This is where Prodests
– an FP6 Economic and Technological Intelligence (ETI) project –
comes in. It is designed to create the framework that will promote the
involvement of SMEs throughout Europe in EC integrated RTD projects.
Different language, same thoughts
It is common knowledge that managing a small team of creative
people can be a difficult task. Keeping them all focused on specif-
ic objectives and working as a unit can be a challenge. So, trying
to coordinate a grouping of 27 research institutes, universities, com-
panies specialising in technology transfer, and trade associations
– all representing separate SME clusters – is no mean feat. Add to
that the cultural and language difficulties arising because the par-
ticipants come from a total of 17 countries and the problem seems
even greater. Nevertheless, this consortium has focused objec-
tives, knows exactly how it is going to achieve them, and all the
team members are pulling in the same direction.
A crucial part of this project is the way the partners regard waste man-
agement. Too often, for example, an ‘end-of-pipe’ mentality dominates.
Many production engineers take the view that as long as the waste
generated by an industrial process is treated, everything is fine. But
this is not so. A much better approach is to improve the process so
that it creates much less pollution to start with. As in medicine, preven-
tative is better than curative – better and, in the long term, cheaper.
And it is technology providers and end-users who share this opinion
the consortium is seeking out.
Bringing it all together
The team’s task is complex but can be briefly summarised by look-
ing at its six work packages (WPs): first, increase SME visibility with-
in the sector; second, overcome the barriers to SMEs; third, create
connectivity; fourth, develop a technology-driven road map; fifth,
develop a market-driven road map; and sixth, define integrated
projects with SME involvement.
The next critical stage is to link all these tasks together. Starting with
WP2, barriers that inhibit SME participation include such factors
as language and lack of available staff, but to analyse this thorough-
ly, the team has developed a questionnaire which will identify the
main obstacles. This done, the team will develop strategies to
overcome them. WP3 concerns networking and, using the results
from WP2, will define the individual networks most suited to SMEs.
WPs 4 and 5 highlight business or research opportunities, based
on both state-of-the-art and future projections. In particular, the
technology road map will give insight into emerging problems, cur-
rently being studied at the university and research institute level, which
will become mainstream issues in the years to come. These forecasts
are for between five to ten years and, when they are compared,
will show areas where there is a technology requirement to solve
a specific problem.
As for WP1 – the WP2-6 results will feed
into this area which is effec-
tively the knowledge
management infra-
structure, a data-
base restricted
to members
but with a lim-
We have to stop this...
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 29

ETI–1

“The project will link environmental

ited public interface. As it grows in size, and the number of hits technologies suppliers with new market
increases, the partners predict it will develop into a virtual market
opportunities.”
place for environmental technology suppliers and users. Further, it
should become an ‘organic’ growing source of information on future
trends. It will give a feeling of the kind of problems that both mem-
bers and non-members have in mind, and will help to keep the two Contact person
road maps up to date. Ms Helen De Wever
Vito
Reluctantly, the partners admit that they must limit the scope of the Boeretang 200
project because resources are finite. They have confined themselves 2400 Mol
to the areas of water, air and waste. Regrettably, energy is just too Belgium
big to handle at this stage, so they cannot claim universality. Tel: +32 1433 6932
Nevertheless, the Prodests network has the potential to make a sig- Fax: +32 1432 6586
nificant impact concerning the integration of Europe-wide know-how info@prodests.org
into future EU research efforts. www.vito.be

Project title Project website

Set-up of a Market-Oriented Methodology for joining SMEs with- www.prodests.org
in Integrated EU research Projects on Innovative Clean and
Environmental Technologies (PRODESTS) Participants
1 Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek (BE)
Contract number 2 Centre Technique des Industries Mecaniques (FR)
CT-2004-508683 3 Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten
Forschung e.V. (DE)
Duration 4 Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH (AT)
24 months 5 Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford (UK)
6 ELKEDE – Technology and Design Centre SA (EL)
Global project cost 7 Queen’s University Belfast Environmental Science and Technology
€ 1 501 200 Research Centre (UK)
8 Cork Institute of Technology (IE)
EC contribution 9 Centro de Apoio Tecnológico à Indústria Metalomecãnica (PT)
€ 1 125 000 10 Association pour la recherche et le développement des méth-
odes et processus industriels (FR)
11 D’Appolonia S.p.A. (IT)
12 Centre Technique des Industries de la Fonderie (FR)
13 Fundacion Inasmet (ES)
14 INNOTERM Energetikai es Koernyezetvedelmi Fejlesztoe Kft (HU)
15 Ceramics and Refractories Technological Development Company
(EL)
16 BLUEWATERS Project development and environmental egineer-
ing (AT)
17 Findacion Leia C.D.T. (ES)
18 Asociación de Investigación de la Industria Metalmecanica,
Afines y Conexas (ES)
19 TMBK Partners (PL)
20 Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade (PT)
21 Bogazici University (TR)
22 Business Innovation Centre of Latvian Electronic Industry (LV)
23 Institute for Structural Policies (SK)
24 Czech Cleaner Production Centre (CZ)
25 Verein zur Förderung des Technologie Transfers an der
Hochschule Bremerhaven e.V. (DE)
26 Association of Managers for Cleaner Production (CZ)
27 Technical Research Centre of Finland (FI)
... if we want to see more of this.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 30

Promoting joined-up European research

PRO-KNOWLEDGE

“With the European Federation, Far too few SMEs are taking part in important
the national associations and the RTD work being carried out in the welding and joining
other partners, we have coverage field. So say the consortium members of Pro-Knowledge
from the ground up.”
project who think that more should be done to bring SMEs into the
European research arena. So this seven-member partnership is organising
technology audits, technology brokerage events and workshops to spread the word
about SME participation. For those who take up the offer, the group provides cradle-to-grave
help at the project application stage, ensuring that, whenever possible, funding is made available to
those who qualify. Even those who do not acquire financial aid have found unexpected benefits arising from
their contacts with the consortium.

Welding is one of the oldest engineering technologies. Whether you
are driving your car, sailing or flying as a passenger, or simply sit-
ting on a metal-framed chair, you are relying on the welder's skill.
An old technology, yes, but it is one that is still evolving rapidly. Plenty
of research is being carried out in the field and more small and medi-
um-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be participating in such work.
That is the view of the partners in the Pro-Knowledge ETI project.
In their opinion, there are opportunities for SMEs to become
involved in EU-funded research which are simply not being taken
up. There are a number of reasons for this: lack of access to infor-
mation, or knowing where to find it; little communication between
companies across Europe which – unknowingly – may need a tech-
nical answer to exactly the same problem; the administrative com-
plexity of applying for, and being granted, funding. And so on –
the list is long.
By pooling their expertise in the fields of joining processes and sur-
face technologies, the consortium believes it can contribute signif-
icantly to the level of SME participation in research projects, par-
ticularly under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). They want
to break down the walls between SMEs and RTD players using
methodologies developed in earlier projects and their individual
national experience, to assess SME needs and increase their capa-
bilities to adopt new technologies, by participating in EU initiatives.
Who and how?
The seven members of this five-country team are different in char-
acter: a European federation representing the welding communi-
ty, five companies and a non-profit organisation specialising in tech-
nology transfer, and a research centre. Quite a mix although they
do have two things in common: they all have an intimate knowl-
edge of their local markets, and they all either possess, or have
access to, technology sources.
The overall result will be a gradual build-up of information in those
technology areas where there are needs, and others where there
is relevant expertise. Then, the team will merge the individual part-
ner networks into a single pan-European data source. When this
has been done, technology availability and need can be overlaid
to match users looking for technology with suppliers potentially capa-
ble of developing it.
Although this is an excellent starting point, there is a long haul between
a bright idea for a project and its acceptance for funding. This is
where the Pro-Knowledge team’s second layer of expertise kicks in.
Questions will be asked about how to start the application, eligibil-
ity, the financial aspects, intellectual property rights issues, how the
projects are administered, and so on. The members of this team are
experts and have the answers to all these questions and more.
The endgame
So what will the end results be? The partners are confident that by
the end of the project they will have been instrumental in involving
around 100 SMEs in various EC Framework Programme instruments
such as IPs, STREPs, CRAFT and Collective Research Projects.
The team members stress that there is also added value to this proj-
ect which is not measurable. SMEs with similar profiles across Europe
have started talking to each other as a
result of the Pro-Knowledge
network. Even if an EU-
funded project is not
an option, they
are still in con-
tact and able
to exchange

The first stage of the plan is to continue the current schedule of com-
pany visits and technology audits. This will then be complemented
by a series of Pro-Knowledge brokerage events that include brain-
storming sessions involving researchers and SME representatives.
Workshops and personal contacts will also play an important part. Not quite seamless, but
getting there.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:25 Page 31

ETI–1

“Our networks will significantly increase

information. This has led to discussions on the various industrial SME awareness of the opportunities
processes in use in different countries and how and why they dif-
offered in FP6.”
fer. The advantages and disadvantages of doing something a cer-
tain way are being informally analysed as never before. People are
seeing how their techniques could be improved by incorporating
elements of someone else's expertise in their own, and vice versa.
This is leading, it seems, to a small but perceptible trend towards
a degree of pan-European harmonisation.

Given that there is a growing number of large European initiatives

– the Airbus A380 and the Eurofighter Typhoon, to name just two
– which rely on components from different countries all made to uni-
form specifications, this can be no bad thing. It could be the only
way that SMEs can get a slice, albeit a small one, of these huge
business opportunities.

Project title Contact person

Promoting SME participation in the ‘Knowledge-based Multifunctional Prof. Susana Escala
Materials’ activity area of FP6 (PRO-KNOWLEDGE) European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting
Av. Prof. Covaco Silva, 33 – Taguspark
Contract number 2780-994 Porto Salvo – Oeiras
CT-2004-508513 Portugal
Tel: +351 2142 11351
Duration Fax: +351 2142 28122
24 months siescala@isq.pt
www.ewf.be
Global project cost
€ 548 456 Participants
1 European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (PT)
EC contribution 2 Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (DE)
€ 471 787 3 INNOVA S.p.A. (IT)
4 Fundacion Inasmet (ES)
5 Inovamais S.A. (PT)
6 BIC Bratislava, spol. s.r.o. (SK)
7 ESACT, consultoría S.L. (ES)

No more 'Friday afternoon' cars.

REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 32

Widening the horizons of rural SMEs

RURAL-ETINET

“RURAL-ETINET is an outstanding Economic and Technological Intelligence (ETI)

opportunity to put rural areas back on projects have a general remit to support SMEs in their
the industrial map.” efforts to become involved in EU-supported research. Many
of these firms are based in urban areas, technology parks, or industrial
areas, although there is also a large community of them located in rural areas.
They play a large part in lessening the effects of downturns in agriculture, and are equally
deserving of EU support. The RURAL-ETINET project aims to see that they get it. The 12-member
consortium is developing a rural SME expertise database, and holding promotional, workshop and
network events to encourage small rural firms to get on board.

Ever since human society changed from being based on hunting
and gathering to one relying on agriculture, there have been rural
SMEs – the blacksmith, the butcher, the woodman. Then came the
Industrial Revolution which saw the majority of industry being con-
centrated in and around cities. However, there is still a significant
number of rural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) –
changed in nature, of course, as technology has developed – and
they qualify for membership of EU-supported research projects
just as much as their urban counterparts. Historically, however, their
uptake of these opportunities has been very low.
The RURAL-ETINET project members want to change all this. Broadly,
the initiative aims to involve SMEs in European research within the
Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) by helping them along the
sometimes tortuous route that leads to approval for funding. It is doing
this by using the technical expertise and local knowledge of SME
capabilities of 12 organisations in 11 European countries. The part-
ners are organisations or private companies that consult in-depth
on EU R&D and technology co-operation activities. They have a
wealth of experience in identifying and contacting individuals and
organisations which could be interested in participating. Once this
has been achieved, they offer their expertise on issues of eligibil-
ity, evaluation, and administrative and legal aspects.
Keeping a high profile
They are getting the message across in a number of ways includ-
ing events such as conferences, seminars and workshops. To com-
plement these services, they are contacting people active in RTD
across a wide range of subjects, within their individual geograph-
ic areas.
Opening up
The open database is an especially useful tool, allowing researchers
and project managers requiring rural SME expertise to find poten-
tial partners. They can either consult it directly on the website, or con-
tact their nearest RURAL-ETINET partner for help and advice. A part-
nership search form, which is currently under development, will save
time wasted trawling the database. When submitted, it will allow
the Europe-wide network created by RURAL-ETINET to find appro-
priate potential SME partners quickly and effectively. Conversely, SMEs
contacted as a result can call upon the project team for free advice
on complex issues such as intellectual property rights and the finan-
cial implications of joining an ongoing or proposed consortium –
areas where SMEs lack knowledge and experience.
The consortium is focusing on three of the FP6 Thematic Priorities,
namely TP5 (food quality and safety), TP6 (sustainable development,
global change and ecosystems), and TP8 (research for policy sup-
port), all of which are of particular relevance to rural regions. As
such, RURAL-ETINET differs slightly from other ETI efforts in that it
covers a wide area of technical fields, rather than taking the nor-
mal ‘single-issue’ approach. But resources are finite, and the part-
ners know they cannot be active in every technical field, so they
have adopted a thematic approach, developing five sub-networks
they believe will cover the majority of their requirements. These
address the areas of novel crops, on-farm
food processing, forestry and
the wood chain, waste
management, and
ecosystems.

The project deliverables comprise the creation of a huge ‘European

rural SME expertise directory’ database (recently made open-
access), and the development of a number of case studies which
demonstrate exactly how SMEs can successfully become involved
in FP6 activities, despite the complexities. These will form the basis
of a number of promotional, workshop and networking events. Far
too often, it seems, perfectly good SME candidates are frightened
off by what they perceive as a prohibitive amount of bureaucratic
requirements that they simply do not know how to handle. Part of
Combining expertise, the
the project team’s job is to allay these fears. way forward for rural SMEs.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 33

ETI–1

The overall success of the RURAL-ETINET partnership will be meas- “Some of these areas have been
ured in terms of the number of consortia it manages to help con- neglected for too long. We have a
struct which include high levels of SME involvement. This is a
chance to put this right.”
tough ask, particularly against a background of rural industries hav-
ing the lowest membership rate in Framework Programmes of any
sector. When the first year of this three-year initiative drew to a close
last December, the signs were good – it is on track. There are def-
inite signs that the initiative can raise, and continue to raise, the
level of rural SME participation in EU-supported research
programmes.

Project title Project website

Economic and Technological Intelligence Project to Facilitate SMEs www.rural-sme.net
in Rural Areas to Participate in the Sixth Framework Programme
(RURAL-ETINET) Participants
1 Beta Technology Ltd (UK)
Contract number 2 Bureau for International Research and Technology
CT-2004-508500 Co-operation (AT)
3 Agenzia Per La Promozione Della Ricerca Europea (IT)
Duration 4 The Swedish EU-R&D Council (SE)
36 months 5 Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TR)
6 University of National and World Economy (BG)
Global project cost 7 RTD Talos Ltd (CY)
€ 1 247 317 8 Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (EL)
9 Food Industrial Research and Technological Development
EC contribution Company S.A. (EL)
€ 979 453 10 Rannsoknamidstod Islands (IS)
11 S.C. Temagon Romania S.R.L. (RO)
Contact person 12 Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of
Mr Roberts Roze Sciences (SK)
Beta Technology Ltd
Barclay Court, Doncaster Carr
DN4 5HZ Doncaster
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 130 232 2633
Fax: +44 130 238 8800
rroze@betatechnology.co.uk
www.betatechnology.co.uk

Many industrial SMEs are ‘hidden’

in the countryside.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 34

Finding a better fit for EU footwear

SHOES5000

”The industry can only move forward by Europe’s shoe and shoe component
pooling individual SME expertise.” manufacturing industries are facing severe threats
from international competitors. The pressure is on to develop
products which will meet current and future requirements. A concerted
approach is required but the industry is dominated by thousands of SMEs which
are spread across the continent and have no history of working together. The
SHOES5000 project is adapting the tools required, such as Integrated Projects and Networks
of Excellent. SMEs are being encouraged to join European initiatives and, by 2007, 5 000 of them
will be involved in producing new products that will safeguard the industries’ future.

The European shoe and shoe component industries are highly
regarded throughout the world, particularly in terms of setting
fashion trends. They are, however, suffering ever-stiffer internation-
al competition, and are losing ground both in European and glob-
al markets. One reason for this is that the industries are dominat-
ed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – many thousands
of them – scattered throughout Europe, resulting in fragmented
responses to this competition and to the need to develop new
products for the future.
But if the industries are to prosper in the future, they must respond
in a concerted and integrated manner. What is needed is an effi-
cient, networked approach that enables manufacturers of similar
products, wherever they may be, to form strategic alliances, share
information, work together on product improvements, and place them-
selves in a much stronger market position. Enter the SHOES5000
ETI initiative which is developing the methodology to identify, sys-
tematise and formalise development initiatives and ideas within the
shoe industry.
Take your partners
To achieve this, SHOES5000 has built a consortium of internation-
ally recognised organisations. It is a five-country, nine-member
alliance made up of centres with a wealth of industry experience
and expertise. Led by Spain’s Insituto Tecnologico del Cazado y
Conexas (Institute for Footwear and Related Industries), the partners
from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain all offer sophisticated
research and marketing services dedicated to the future of the
European footwear industry. Between them they have vast knowl-
edge of both components and final shoe manufacturing process-
es, and the companies involved.
gathering, analysis and dissemination of information on science and
technology developments, applications and markets”. Secondly, it
aims to “promote the participation of SMEs and SME groupings in
FP6, particularly in Integrated Projects (IPs) and Networks of
Excellence (NoE) of potential interest to the shoe and auxiliary
industries”.
Planning the route
One of the core elements in the partners’ ambitions is to develop
a ‘technology road map’, setting out future technical requirements
and how development projects, or clusters of projects, could
achieve them. This is, in fact, quite a radical change in the way things
are done at the moment. In essence, it involves moving away from
the current philosophy of providing solutions then looking for a prod-
uct to apply them to, towards a culture of identifying current and
future problems and reacting accordingly. Responding to the real-
ity rather than to the imagined will make technical developments
much more marketable.
To achieve this, the individual partners will work closely with SMEs
in their respective countries, and combine their knowledge and
experience with their fellow project members, allowing the results to
be disseminated throughout Europe. The requirements of different sec-
tors of the footwear and footwear supply industries will, by definition,
vary, but the team believes that it has the
expertise needed to cover the
majority of urgent require-
ments.

The Slovenian participant does not share this profile, but still qual-
ifies as a team member – it is deeply involved in business incuba-
tion programmes for transition countries. This initiative comprises
a number of schemes supporting SMEs, including those firms in the
footwear sector, plus the company has intimate knowledge of the
industry and its individual players.

The two formal objectives of the project are, first, “to stimulate Footwear can be
technological innovation by supporting activities concerning the a fashion statement...
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 35

ETI–1

“SHOES5000 is developing a
The partners are developing methodologies to enable this approach methodology for the systematic
to work at the European level. Their tools include technology
development of initiatives new
audits, and encouraging SMEs to join Sixth Framework Programme
instruments such as IPs and NoE. One – known as the C212
initiatives and ideas.”
Economic Interest Grouping – is already under construction, and
links are being developed with the Fashion-net ETI. To put some fig-
ures on their targets, before the project ends in February 2003 the
partners plan to carry out 200 technology audits, and to encour-
age 150 SMEs to join NoE or IPs. In addition, they plan to have
submitted ten proposals for Co operative Research and Collective
Research projects, and five for STREPs. And that is just the tip of
the iceberg – the team’s overall target calls for the involvement of
5 000 SMEs in various actions, hence the project name. It should
all be a major boost to the European footwear industry creating both
jobs and wealth for the EU economy.

Project title Contact person

Promotion of Footwear and Components Industry Participation in Prof. Enrique Montiel
the Sixth Framework Programme (SHOES5000) Instituto Tecnologico del Calzado y Conexas
Pica
Contract number 03600 Elda
CT-2004-508562 Spain
Tel: +34 96 539 5213
Duration Fax: +34 96 538 1045
30 months emontiel@inescop.es
www.inescop.es
Global project cost
€ 1 842 046 Participants
1 Instituto Tecnologico del Calzado y Conexas (ES)
EC contribution 2 Asociación Española de Empresas de Componentes oara el
€ 1 382 295 Calzado (ES)
3 Innovages Fomento de la Innovacion S.L. (ES)
4 Render Multimedia S.L. (ES)
5 Centre Technique du Cuir, Chaussure et Marroquinerie (FR)
6 C.G.S. di Coluccia Michele & C. S.A.S. (IT)
7 BIC Toscana SCpA (IT)
8 Business Support Centre KRANJ. LTD. (SI)
9 Centro Tecnologico do Calcado (PT)

... or purely functional.

REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 36

A feast of innovation
SMESforFOOD

The importance given to food quality and

safety under FP6 makes this a natural area for
Economic and Technological Intelligence (ETI) projects.
SMEsforFOOD involves a large consortium that aims to help at least
150 SMEs find places in collaborative research projects. Much of the demand
identified from project leaders is for SMEs in the biotech sector, but sensors and
diagnostic techniques are also needed. The SMEsforFOOD database contains many SMEs with
other competences, ranging from agriculture to information technology, that are relevant to modern
food production. SMEsforFOOD has held a large and successful brokerage event, and has already helped several
companies to find projects to join.

With a total EU budget of nearly €700 million, the Sixth Framework
Programme’s Thematic Priority 5 – Food Quality and Safety – has
great potential for innovation. While much of the food industry is
traditionally somewhat conservative in its outlook, recent scientif-
ic progress has created many opportunities for new technology,
explains Michel Ganoote of Agence Nationale de Valorisation de
la Recherche (ANVAR), a French government agency that pro-
motes and supports research and innovation within small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and acts as the National Contact
Point (NCP) for French SMEs.
To increase SME participation in FP6 Integrated projects (IPs) and
Networks of excellence (NoE), ANVAR coordinated the creation of
an ETI project known as SMEsforFOOD. Launched in December
2003, SMEsforFOOD will run for three years. As befits a project
with such wide coverage, SMEsforFOOD has a large budget
(€1.7 million) and a consortium to match: 19 partners from 16 coun-
tries, including four new Member States, one candidate country and
two Associated Countries. The partners include ten SME national
contact points (NCPs), four food NCPs and several technical
centres specialising in the agri-food sector.
The six work packages of SMEsforFOOD cover three main actions.
First, the consortium members act as a general source of SME-relat-
ed information about food matters under FP6. Secondly, the proj-
ect will identify and audit both potential SMEs and coordinators of
IPs and NoEs who are looking for SME partners. Thirdly, it will give
practical assistance to both SMEs and IP/NoE coordinators to
help turn opportunities into real Sixth Framework Programme (FP6)
projects. The aim is for at least 150 SMEs to join IPs or NoEs through
SMEsforFOOD.
The project’s database now contains details of around 200 SMEs
that are actively interested in joining FP6 projects. The spread of
activities is wide with more than a third of the companies in food
processing, food technology and equipment, while a further 20%
specialise in analysis and detection, and 10% in biotech. The
remaining third of the companies include agriculture and aquacul-
ture, nutrition, traceability, and services including software.
High on the menu
SMEsforFOOD was launched with a bang at the second Food Safety
and Quality trade fair in Toulouse. One SME that the organisers met
at the launch, a sensor company researching into electronic noses,
is currently negotiating to join an FP6 collaborative research project.
Since this excellent start, SMEsforFOOD has maintained a high pub-
lic profile. October 2004 saw a brokerage event in Lille, which
SMEsforFOOD organised alongside an important European confer-
ence on food safety and nutrition. The two-day brokerage event
attracted around 110 participants from 20 countries. Presentations cov-
ered 19 FP6 projects, ranging from those in progress to those under
preparation for the third and fourth calls for proposals, and more than
120 meetings were organised between SME representatives and
current or future FP6 projects.
An example of a cur-
rent IP that was
able to locate
three SME
partners

Wide range of opportunities

The first call for proposals under the Food Quality and Safety pro-
gramme yielded a budget allocation of less than 8% for SMEs, com-
pared to the Commission’s target of 15%. Yet many of the pro-
gramme’s themes, especially methods of analysis, detection and
control, are very suitable for high-tech SMEs. For instance a great
deal of the demand from project leaders is for biotechnology,
which is an ideal area for SMEs. Analysis and detection is anoth-
Ciabata production line
er important area where SMEs can make a significant contribution. © Oséo-Anvar/Studio Pons
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 37

ETI–1

through SMEsforFOOD is QualityLowInputFood (QLIF). This project aims

to improve food quality and safety, while simultaneously reducing cost,
in the European organic and ‘low-input’ food chains. A Greek SME
which has developed a pheromone-based crop protection system is
working with QLIF partners to create a nationally funded project. A
French SME producing herbal supplements for animal feed may be
included in a QLIF work package, and another feed supplement
manufacturer – this time an Austrian SME which makes probiotics –
is preparing a CRAFT proposal with QLIF partners.

Another current IP working closely with SMEsforFOOD is

SEAFOODplus, a 70-partner project to create safe and healthy
farmed seafood that is also of high eating quality. And for the future,
SMEsforFOOD is building links between SMEs and projects being Contact person
prepared for the third and fourth calls. One example of such is a Mr Michel Ganoote
Turkish SME in vegetable oils production, which SMEsforFOOD is ANVAR – Agence Française de l’Innovation
helping to join an IP concerned with detection methods. 43, rue de Caumartin
75436 Paris
Project title France
Specific Support action to improve the participation of SMEs in Tel: +33 1401 78538
Integrated projects and Networks of Excellence in the Food Quality Fax: +33 1492 49621
and Safety sector (SMESforFOOD) smesforfood@anvar.fr
www.anvar.fr
Contract number
CT-2004-508589 Project website
www.smesforfood.org
Duration
36 months Participants
1 ANVAR – Agence Française de l’Innovation (FR)
Global project cost 2 HLP Developpement (FR)
€ 1 674 620 3 Association de Coordination Technique pour l’Industrie Agro-
alimentaire (FR)
EC contribution 4 Bureau for International Research and Technology Cooperation
€ 1 227 150 (AT)
5 Euresearch/Schweizer Netzwerk für Innovation – Réseau Suisse
d’Innovation SNI-RSI (CH)
6 Gabinete de Relações Internacionais da Ciência e do Ensino
Superior (PT)
7 SENTER (NL)
8 Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TR)
9 Fundación AZTI – AZTI Fundazioa (ES)
10 ISERD – MATIMOP (IL)
11 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (FR)
12 The Brussels Enterprise Agency (BE)
13 Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (IT)
14 RTD TALOS LTD (CY)
15 Food Industrial Research and Technological Development
Company S.A. (EL)
16 Danish Agricultural Council (DK)
17 Hungarian Science and Technology Foundation (HU)
18 Institute of Fundamental Technological Research Polish Academy
of Sciences (PL)
19 Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences CR (CZ)

In vitro multiplication for the production of a

new onion variety © Oséo-Anvar/Coop D’or
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 38

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match

SMEs go
LifeSciences
“This project represents a golden Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are
opportunity for SMEs to influence the under-represented in the field of life sciences in the EU’s
future of Life Sciences.” Sixth Framework Programme. The 28 members of the SMEs
go LifeSciences ETI consortium are doing something about this. They
have initiated training services for SMEs wanting to get involved in this
European research sector and are helping with proposal documents for research funding.
This, combined with a ‘matchmaking’ service, provides an integrated strategy. The group aims
to contact 2 500 SMEs during project and to encourage as many as possible to benefit from the support.
They will also expand their networks to interact with other European organisations concerned with international
co-operation and technology transfer.

Research into life sciences, broadly defined as those areas, such
as biomedicine, genomics, biochemistry, biotechnology, botany and
genetics, covering living organisms has, for too long, been predom-
inantly in the domain of large organisations. That is the opinion of
the 28 partners in the SMEs go LifeSciences initiative. Their belief
is that SMEs can make a significant contribution in these fields, and
that the goal of 15% SME participation in this thematic priority of
the Sixth Framework Programme can be achieved.
How? Well, the overall objectives of this Economic and Technological
Intelligence (ETI) partnership are to promote two major lines of activ-
ity: first, training and capacity-building for SMEs, SME groupings,
and researchers, on how to involve small and medium-sized firms
in this kind of research; secondly, to provide a consortium-building
and ‘matchmaking’ service for SMEs preparing proposal documents
for research project funding. Throughout the course of this three-year
project, the partners plan to contact no fewer than 2 500 European
life science-related companies. They will place particular empha-
sis on enabling SMEs and SME groupings to join highly Integrated
Projects (IPs) and Networks of Excellence (NoE).
Weaving the web
Naturally, a partnership setting itself these goals must comprise
experts in the scientific field who also have strong links with rele-
vant SMEs in their own geographic area, involvement in interna-
tional networks, and a thorough knowledge of the structure and mech-
anisms involved in EU-supported research, including issues such as
intellectual property rights, financial implications, and EU manage-
ment structures. The SMEs go LifeSciences consortium has those qual-
ities. The members – coming from 20 Member States, three candi-
date countries, and three Associated States – are spreading the
networking web across Europe.
of being found and identified as potential research partners for EU-
funded projects. Numerous SMEs have already registered to take
advantage of this service. Secondly, research consortia that are
preparing FP6 project proposals and are looking for SME partners
can register and enter their project idea into the database. Forty-
two project ideas were prepared for the third call in the FP6 Life
Sciences Programme (Thematic Priority 1), and requests for SME
partners were available in the database. Thirdly, through the
proactive matchmaking activities of the consortium, researchers have
been, and will continue to be, introduced to suitable SMEs. Finally,
interested SMEs and research consortia can actively search the pub-
lic database independently.
The Baltic connection
The project also acts as a helpdesk that is highly focused on
informing and training SMEs and researchers on FP6 issues. The
focus lies mainly on the legal and financial aspects, but issues such
as proposal writing and the importance of SME involvement are also
dealt with. During the first six months, the joint efforts of the proj-
ect partners resulted in the organisation of 39 national and sever-
al transnational training sessions. The highlight of these activities
was a transnational training session, organised for the Baltic
Dynamics Conference in Riga, Latvia, on 10 September 2004. After
three presentations focusing on information about currently open
calls in FP6, tips for preparing a good
project proposal were given
and the financial aspects
of FP6 were dis-
cussed. The event

The initiative’s deadlines called for a rapid set-up of the network,

in particular, to cover the third major call for proposals for life sci-
ences within FP6 in November 2004. At the same time, the con-
sortium has created a website, and established a comprehensive
database which provides several services to its SME clients. First,
it gives SMEs the opportunity to display their companies’ expert-
ise and know-how. This increases their visibility among Europe’s
DNA is the starting point
research community in life sciences and maximises their chances for life sciences...
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 39

ETI–1

“We have set demanding goals but we

served as a forum for SMEs interested in international RTD co-oper- have the team to achieve them.”
ation in Framework Programmes and research consortia looking for
SME partners. The feedback from participants demonstrates that this
kind of event is considered extremely valuable.

Further such events are planned – a total of 160 national and six
transnational – but the consortium is not stopping there. The mem-
bers plan to continue collaboration with the European Commission
and related entrepreneurial networks such as Europabio (the
European Association for Bioindustries) and the Innovation Relay
Centres to ensure their ongoing success.

Project title Project website

Activities supporting SME participation in the instruments – partic- www.smesgolifesciences.org
ularly Integrated Projects and Networks of Excellence – in the
areas of Life Sciences in the 6th Framework Programme (SMEs go Participants
LifeSciences) 1 FFG-Austrian Research Promotion Agency (AT)
2 Institute of Fundamental Technological Research Polish Academy
Contract number of Sciences (PL)
CT-2004-508527 3 The Swedish EU-R&D Council (SE)
4 Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (IT)
Duration 5 Euro Top Cooperation Partners (BE)
36 months 6 Israel-Europe R&D Directorate for FP6 (IL)
7 Hungarian Science and Technology Foundation (HU)
Global project cost 8 The Brussels Enterprise Agency (BE)
€ 2 557 855 9 Emerging Technologies Network Agency Ltd (UK)
10 Latvian Technological Centre (LV)
EC contribution 11 EuroCenter – Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
€ 1 734 025 (DK)
12 Malta Council for Science and Technology (MT)
Contact person 13 Small Business Development Centre Ljubljana (SI)
Ms Birgit Steininger 14 Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TR)
FFG-Austrian Research Promotion Agency 15 Research Promotion Foundation (CY)
Donau-City-Straße 1 16 National Documentation Centre (EL)
1220 Vienna 17 German Aerospace Centre, Project management organisation
Austria on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (DE)
Tel: +435 7755 4101 18 Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (BG)
Fax: +435 7755 94011 19 Agency for International Science and Technology Development
birgit.steininger@ffg.at Programmes (LT)
www.bit.ac.at 20 SenterNovem (NL)
21 SNI-RSI Verein Euresearch (CH)
22 Agence Nationale de Valorisation de la Recherche (FR)
23 SC Temagon Romania SRL (RO)
24 Centre for Advancement, Science and Technology (SK)
25 Gabinete de Relações Internacionais da Ciência e do Ensino
Superior (PT)
26 University-Enterprise Foundations Network (ES)
27 The Research Council of Norway (NO)
28 Beta Technology Ltd (UK)

... and should not just be the domain of the ‘big boys’.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 40

Harnessing the power of trade associations

STIMULATE

“SMEs want to exploit results outside Groups of SMEs operating as single partners
the project’s core area. Large in FP6 collaborative research projects can achieve
companies don’t.” things that are too difficult for SMEs acting individually. A
mechanism for this existed in principle, but had never been properly
defined. StiMulatE is a cross-sectoral project that set out to create a legal
framework, known as an Enterprise Grouping (EG), allowing SMEs to work together
in this way. Using national trade associations as starting points, the project partners are now
in the process of setting up EGs and getting them into real projects in the NMP and IST thematic areas.
Dissemination of research results is one area where EGs are expected to do well.

Getting more small and medium-sized (SMEs) into transnational col-
laborative research projects is an admirable goal, but not one that
individual SMEs always find easy to achieve. Mark Wells, Secretary-
General of the Brussels-based European Association of Innovating
SMEs (EurExcel), explains that when an SME is trying to work along-
side a giant corporation, both parties can sometimes become frus-
trated by differences in culture and expectations.
National associations are generally the most suitable vehicles for
EGs because pan-European organisations often see their main job
as lobbying at European level, and are less interested in individ-
ual research projects. Five of the consortium partners are based in
the new Member States, and Mr Wells is particularly impressed with
their enthusiasm. EGs can also be formed from groups of small
research performers.

Another option could be to allow a group of SMEs to act as a sin-
gle partner in the project. With more resources at their disposal,
members of such a group would stand a better chance of holding
their own against the big names. They would also be well placed
to take on a part of the project that many large companies try hard
to avoid: disseminating the research results and applying the new
knowledge in areas beyond the scope of the original project.
EurExcel realised that back in 2002 the Commission had pro-
posed a mechanism that would allow groups of SMEs to operate
in this way. The problem was that the arrangement, known as an
Enterprise Grouping (EG), had never been properly specified. So,
EurExcel set up a project, known as StiMulatE, with the aim of cre-
ating a legal framework for EGs, setting them up and getting them
on board existing and new Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) col-
laborative research projects. StiMulatE started in January 2004 and
will finish in April 2006.
Frameworks and opportunities
An obvious place to find ready-made groups of SMEs, explains Mr
Wells, is in trade bodies. Accordingly, the StiMulatE consortium is
made up of 12 industry associations, two of which operate at
European level and ten at national level. The focus is on the NMP
(Nanotechnologies, Multifunctional Materials, New Processes) and
IST (Information Society Technologies) thematic areas of FP6, with
the electronics and automotive industries strongly represented.
The next step, which is the current work of the consortium, is to build
EGs across Europe and incorporate them into existing and new
Integrated Projects (IPs) and Specific Targeted Research Projects
(STREPs) under FP6. A key role for EGs is spreading the knowledge
developed by a project beyond the boundaries of the original core
industry.
Large companies in, for example, the aerospace sector do not take
well to applying their research results elsewhere, even though they
may technically be obliged to do so. An EG that helps the existing
project dissemination and exploitation manager, or takes over this
role completely, can often do the job with much more enthusiasm.
This will benefit the owners of the project’s intellectual property, who
will gain licensing revenue, and the SMEs themselves who will
profit from new products and customers.
Real projects emerge
So far, around 15 EGs formed as a
result of StiMulatE have put
forward project propos-
als, and Mr Wells
expects one or two
of these to evolve

SAFEHOSE, an
The consortium’s first task was to set up a legal framework for EGs. Integrated Project
It turns out that most industry associations have constitutions that are that includes an
Enterprise Grouping
surprisingly flexible, allowing new member companies – even of SMEs formed
from other industries – to join the association if the board agrees. under the StiMulatE
project, aims to improve
StiMulatE has now created the necessary legal framework and know-
automotive hydraulic
how to allow EGs to be set up as required. hoses and fittings.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 41

ETI–1

“The enthusiasm of trade

into real projects. Another project, an IP named SAFEHOSE, is associations from the new Member
already off the ground with EG participation. This €5 million proj-
States is a real pleasure.”
ect aims to develop new technologies for automotive hydraulics, and
is a classic example of R&D with tremendous potential outside its
core area. Without the EG to take the results into other areas, this
work might end up confined to the automotive industry, although
hydraulic systems are used in almost every area of engineering.

The third and final task of StiMulatE is to create financial and other
strategies that will allow the EGs and their SME members to turn
good ideas into new businesses. The problem here is that by the
time the current projects start to yield results, around 2007,
StiMulatE will no longer exist. The coordinator hopes to find more
funding so that he can set up a successor project that can help to
finish the job begun by StiMulatE.

Project title Contact person

An SME Technology & Innovation Multiplier Using Leveraged Mr Mark Wells
Associations, Trade Bodies & Enterprise Groupings (STIMULATE) The European Association of Innovating SMEs
Rue Breydel 40
Contract number B-1040 Brussels
CT-2004-508721 Belgium
Tel: +32 2 235 8622
Duration Fax: +32 2 235 8686
27 months mark.wells@eurexcel.org
www.eurexcel.org
Global project cost
€ 1 693 256 Project website
www.stimulate.org
EC contribution
€ 1 219 837 Participants
1 The European Association for Innovating SMEs (BE)
2 Nederland~ICT (NL)
3 Hungarian Federation for Electronics and Infocommunication
(HU)
4 Fachverband Elektronik-Design e.V. (DE)
5 Latvian Electrical Engineering and Electronics Industry Association
(LV)
6 National Metals Technology Centre Ltd (UK)
7 Polska Izba Konstrukcji Stalowych (PL)
8 The Danish Plastics Federation (DK)
9 Magyar Vegyipari Szövetség (HU)
10 Spanish Association of Equipments and Components
Manufacturers for the Automotive Industry (ES)
11 Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic (SK)
12 European Association of Research and Technology Organisation
(BE)
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 42

The power of SYNERGY

SYNERGY

“Distributed energy offers a superb Although the traditional electricity-generating

opportunity for technology-based SMEs.” market is dominated by a few large companies, recent
deregulation offers excellent opportunities for SMEs. This is
particularly true in ‘distributed energy’ – small-scale, local, generating
and CHP systems often based on renewable energy, where technology is evolving
rapidly. Yet many SMEs in this sector are reluctant to make the leap into transnational
research, so this is an ideal target for an ETI project. The SYNERGY project aims to create practical
mechanisms that will get more SMEs into FP6 research proposals and projects, to create networks of
small energy firms, and to disseminate best practice in both technology and management.

The liberalisation of the energy market has brought great oppor-
tunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The open-
ing up of areas formerly reserved for state-run electricity companies
has created new markets for equipment and services, and nowhere
has this been more apparent than in the distributed energy resource
(DER) sector.
‘Distributed energy’ simply means producing or storing energy, espe-
cially electricity, at or near its point of consumption. Electricity is tra-
ditionally produced in a relatively small number of large power sta-
tions, each rated at hundreds or thousands of megawatts. This power
travels over long distances, first via major transmission systems and
then through local distribution networks serving customers.
Most renewable energy plants – including wind, solar and biomass
– are smaller than their fossil-fuel counterparts, so the trend towards
renewables implies distributed energy. So too does combined heat
and power (CHP) in which waste heat from a small thermal gen-
erating plant is used directly for space heating, hot water or
process steam. And fuel cells, the next big thing in power genera-
tion, are ideal for distributed energy systems.
Neglected opportunities
DERs thus bring SMEs a whole range of opportunities to develop
technologies for power generation and management of distribution
grids. Unfortunately, according to Carlos Peña, many small com-
panies in the energy sector are not making the most of the oppor-
tunities open to them. Experience from the Fifth Framework
Programme (FP5) shows that many SMEs in the energy sector do
not see the need for collaboration at European level, he says, pre-
ferring to work with local partners – often because they are wary
of giving away information to their competitors.
and most of the other partners have specific experience in the ener-
gy sector. The project has seven partners, in Spain, France, Germany,
Austria and Finland, and will run for 18 months from May 2004.
The SYNERGY partners offer SMEs in the distributed energy sec-
tor face-to-face technical and management audits with experi-
enced consultants. Also available are networking opportunities –
with large energy companies and independent energy experts, and
between SMEs themselves. The partners will aim to use this network-
ing to produce easily assimilated chunks of information, or “knowl-
edge pills”, on best practices to support SMEs in their strategic plan-
ning, explains Mr Peña. In this politically sensitive area, these
firms need the best available information on economic, legal,
social and political as well as technical issues.
Finally, the partners will help SMEs prepare proposals for new FP6
projects: Integrated Projects (IPs), Networks of Excellence (NoE),
Specific Targeted Research Projects (STREPs) and CRAFT projects.
They will also match likely SMEs to other project proposals, follow-
ing requests from existing consortia.
Learning and growing
The SYNERGY database lists
companies with
expertise in
many differ-
ent fields

Mr Peña is the coordinator of an ETI project called SYNERGY

which aims to increase the participation of distributed energy SMEs
in FP6 projects. SYNERGY is led by Fundación Labein, a technolo-
gy research centre near Bilbao, in the Basque region of Spain. Labein
has strong links with Iberdrola, Spain’s largest electricity supplier,

Solar thermal energy. The SYNERGY project is promoting innovation among

SMEs, which have enormous potential in the distributed energy field.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 43

ETI–1

of distributed energy, including fuel cells; hydrogen production, stor- “We will information on economic, legal,
age and distribution; CHP (cogeneration); wind power; solar social and political issues, as well as
power; geothermal energy; biomass and waste as fuels for power
technical ones.”
generation; and integration and grid issues surrounding the effec-
tive use of distributed energy resources.

So far, the SYNERGY partners have identified and gathered details

from more than 100 SMEs, some of which are now involved in EU-
supported research projects as a direct result of their links with this
ETI. The aim to create eight new project proposals, involving at least
50 SMEs, is well on the way to being achieved.

Difficulties include the rush to get project proposals in to meet the

December 2004 deadline, limited openings in existing projects, and
reluctance on the part of both large and small companies to work
alongside their competitors. With a whole year to work towards
the next round of project proposals, however, Mr Peña is confident
that the future will bring success to SYNERGY.

One key objective is to carry on expanding the database of inter-

ested companies on the basis that the bigger the network, the greater
the added value for everyone. The new Member States should pro-
vide a rich hunting ground in which to find SMEs. The end result
will be cheaper, more secure and more environment-friendly ener-
gy for everyone.

Project title EC contribution

Strengthening the competitive intelligence of the European Distributed € 933 818
Energy Resources Sector (SYNERGY)
Contact person
Contract number Mr Carlos Peña
CT-2004-508508 Fundación Labein
C/Geldo – Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia
Duration Edificio 700 – 48160 Derio
18 months Spain
Tel: +34 9460 73300
Global project cost Fax: +34 9460 73349
€ 1 447 780 carlos@labein.es
www.labein.es

Project website
www.synergy-project.org

Participants
1 Fundaciòn LABEIN (ES)
2 Cluster de Energia (ES)
3 Institut für Solare Energieversorgungstechnik Verein an der
Universitat Kassel E.V. (DE)
4 Österreichisches Forschungs- und Prüfzentrum Arsenal GmbH
(AT)
5 Technical Research Centre of Finland (FI)
6 TECHNOFI (FR)
7 Oy Merinova Ab (FI)

Wind energy.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 44

A helping hand for biotech innovators

TALENT SCOUT

“High-tech SMEs know the value of Small biotechnology companies – often

transnational research – they just need academic spin-offs – are the innovators behind the big
more visibility.” business of diagnostic kits for healthcare, food and
environmental monitoring. But while these companies know the
value of collaborative research, they can be as reluctant to join FP6 projects
as more traditional firms. Often with just two or three people, it is not surprising they
lack the time to investigate all the options. The TALENT SCOUT project will give them a gentle
push towards new research, new funding and new customers – essential if Europe’s biotech SMEs
are to flourish. Targets include 80 new members of IPs and NoE.

Diagnostic kits based on biotechnology are big business in the food,
healthcare and environmental industries. Generally low in cost
and easy to use, diagnostic kits can identify dangerous micro-organ-
isms or screen for diseases more quickly and accurately than is pos-
sible with older laboratory-based methods.
begins with a thorough survey of the entire biotech sector. The part-
ners aim to target as many SMEs as possible, offer training in best
practices for sharing knowledge and finding funds, and to build up
a database listing each firm’s competences so as to increase their
visibility to European biotech stakeholders.

Developing new diagnostic kits is scientifically challenging, but far
less capital-intensive than, for example, creating a new drug. For
this reason, many diagnostic and detection systems are devel-
oped by small biotech firms, often with just a handful of staff. Many
are set up to develop a single product or line of research, often as
an academic spin-off. Successful products can be licensed to the
big pharmaceutical firms, so these little research-intensive biotech
companies may not even need to do their own manufacturing.
Next, the TALENT SCOUT team wants to help existing FP6 Integrated
Projects (IPs) and Networks of Excellence (NoE) find suitable SME
partners. At the same time, it will encourage the SMEs to join exist-
ing transnational projects and even to set up new ones, as well as
networking with one another. The result will be a more-effective and
less-fragmented European biotech industry, better visibility for the inno-
vative SMEs at the core of diagnostics development, and faster, stead-
ier, growth for those able to tap into more sources of finance.

The snag is that small biotech companies suffer from many of the
problems common to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
in general. With only a few staff, the temptation is to get on with
research rather than investigate unfamiliar and perhaps complex
funding mechanisms. There may also be issues with lack of com-
munication between the research SMEs and the large pharmaceu-
tical companies which will ultimately be responsible for marketing.
This can result in duplication of effort, while other important
research is neglected.
Bridging the gaps
The TALENT SCOUT project aims to ease these difficulties by get-
ting what it calls dedicated biotechnology firms (DBFs) involved in
collaborative research projects under the Sixth Framework
Programme (FP6). The three-year project, which began in January
2004, brings together 12 partner organisations from eight coun-
tries. All have experience in the management of innovation and EU-
supported transnational research projects, and some, such as
Innova, the Italian company coordinating the project, have specif-
ic expertise in biotech-based diagnostics.
None of this is intrinsically difficult, Ms Torrisi says, because unlike
many of those in more traditional industries, the SMEs in question
can immediately see the advantages of collaborative research. The
problem is that when time and money are in short supply, it is eas-
ier to carry on working with the people you know than to seek new
partners, especially abroad. As a result, many biotech SMEs work
closely with a single large company. Although they can survive like
this, many could grow faster if they had other customers.
Squaring up to targets
The TALENT SCOUT partners
have set themselves some
impressive numerical
targets, including
the profiling and
technical audit-

Cristina Torrisi of Innova explains how TALENT SCOUT has already

made initial approaches to nearly 1 000 small biotech firms, out
of a previously mapped total of around 2 000 in Europe. The plan

Biotechnology creates opportunities for SMEs in diagnostic kits.

REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 45

ETI–1

“With one large customer you can

ing of 220 SMEs, 80 SMEs placed in IPs or NoE, and a further 50 survive. With more than one, you can
in alternative innovation initiatives such as CRAFT, STREP, Collective
think about growth.”
Research, and Transnational Technology Transfer actions. As many
SMEs as possible will be encouraged to develop their entrepreneur-
ial skills in areas such as finance, access to venture capital, technol-
ogy transfer, and intellectual property management.

The original step-by-step plan has been somewhat modified in the

light of the need to meet the deadlines for FP6 project proposals,
Ms Torrisi notes, but progress along a more parallel route has been
good so far. Work started with those SMEs that were easiest to reach
and the partners are now ‘fishing’ for more elusive companies.

Cash flow is important for all firms but especially for high-tech start-
ups, and the TALENT SCOUT project has not neglected this angle.
Promoting innovative research is all very well, says Ms Torrisi, but
if a company needs money now, that is an issue that cannot be put
off. As a result, the project is taking a holistic approach that
includes finance plans right from the start.

Project title Contact person

Talented SMEs for EU competitiveness in biotech diagnostic Ms Cristina Torrisi
applications (TALENT SCOUT) Innova S.p.A.
Via della Scrofa 117
Contract number 00186 Rome
CT-2004-508510 Italy
Tel: +39 0667 80071
Duration Fax: +39 0667 80091
36 months c.torrisi@innova-eu.net
www.innova-eu.net
Global project cost
€ 1 249 349 Project website
www.ts4biotech.net
EC contribution
€ 953 319 Participants
1 Innova SpA (IT)
2 Zentrum für Innovation und Technik in NRW GmbH (DE)
3 Instituto Andaluz de Tecnologia (ES)
4 Oxford Innovation Limited (UK)
5 Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (EL)
6 Alma Consulting Group SA (FR)
7 Inova Pro, sro (CZ)
8 Consorzio per l’Area di Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica di
Trieste (IT)
9 Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (IT)
10 Gdansk Technology Transfer Centre (PL)
11 Cybion SrL (IT)
12 Invent SAS Innovation Ventures (FR)

A helping hand.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 46

FP6 for the other half

WomEn2FP6

“Women very rarely ask about European Women who own or manage SMEs are
research. We aim to change that.” essential contributors to Europe’s economic
competitiveness. And, while SMEs in general could do more
to increase their intellectual capital, women entrepreneurs are especially
lacking from collaborative research programmes. The WomEn2FP6 project is
tackling this shortfall, plugging into existing networks favoured by women and
approaching them in environments that help them to feel confident. The project partners are
creating an on-line database listing the capabilities of female-run firms, and aim to get around 50 women
entrepreneurs into FP6 projects they would not otherwise have considered.

Helping women entrepreneurs to get the most out of the Sixth
Framework Programme is the aim of the WomEn2FP6 project.
According to project coordinator Petra Püchner of the Steinbeis-
Europa-Zentrum in Germany, the way women go about setting up
and running businesses, gathering information and networking, often
differs from the way their male counterparts approach the same tasks.
The result, she says, is that women are less likely than men to take
advantage of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), even when
they are already running successful companies.
Dr Püchner is confident that WomEn2FP6 will make a difference by
ensuring that women get information about FP6 through existing,
familiar networks. There are plenty of successful female entrepre-
neurs and scientists, so their relative absence from collaborative
research projects must mean that information about these oppor-
tunities is not reaching them.
Using the right language
Networking comes naturally to women, Püchner points out, but
often in a different way from men. Instead of meeting at the local
Chamber of Commerce, women are more likely to form women-only
networks based around motherhood, self-employment or career
development. Accordingly, the first of WomEn2FP6’s eight work pack-
ages has established a network of 15 regional partners in 11 coun-
tries. Many of the partners are used to working with women entre-
preneurs, and all are accustomed to navigating the intricacies of FP6.
The next step was to use these existing networks to introduce women
to the funding opportunities available through FP6. Clear, jargon-free
explanations are essential, Dr Püchner believes – the jungle of schemes
and programmes is confusing enough for newcomers, but non-English-
speakers in particular can be baffled by English-based acronyms.
There are three particular areas in which the WomEn2FP6 partners
hope to create clusters of excellence. The first is in life sciences and
healthcare, an area in which there are many self-employed women.
The second is the Information Society Technologies (IST) Work
Programme of FP6. The third, known as ‘social economics’, is
designed to attract the many women with skills in areas such as train-
ing and transnational project management. Such ‘soft skills’ can be
very useful in running Integrated Projects (IPs) under FP6.
These clusters will give IP coordinators a wide choice of internation-
al partners in particular subject areas. They will also encourage con-
tact among the women themselves – with luck, to the extent that they
will want to set up their own research projects.
Training the trainers
The organisations responsible for WomEn2FP6 meet three or four
times a year to share experiences. The partners can learn a lot from
each other, even when they also decide to bring in outside experts.
One of the two Swedish partners, for instance, is the National
Federation of Resource Centres for Women – an excellent source
of information on working with women. Most of the organisations
have worked together before, in two FP5 projects – ProWomEn and
WomenCraft – providing a strong foundation for WomEn2FP6.
The two-year project
did not get its for-
mal go-ahead
until May
2004, so
match-

This is followed by training sessions with regionally-based consultants.

As well as helping the women decide which FP6 programmes and
projects might be of use to them, the consultants collect information
about the women’s expertise. The plan is to publish this as a web data-
base that will make it easier to match potential project partners.

Women scientists and managers often prefer to network with other women.
© Hydrotox GmbH
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ETI–1

ing the FP6 timescale has meant that many activities have had to be “Our target is to get 55 women
done in parallel, rather than in the orderly sequence originally entrepreneurs into FP6 project
planned. Nevertheless, the partners are confident that the project will
proposals.”
be able to meet its goals – more than 1 750 women entrepreneurs
contacted, 450 women trained, 175 co-operation profiles drawn up,
125 profiles matched as likely project candidates, and 55 women
entrepreneurs enrolled in FP6 project proposals.

In the end, says Püchner, what is important is to approach women

in the right way. Women entrepreneurs are already an essential part
of Europe’s economy, but many of them lack the self-confidence to
grow their businesses through international collaboration. Once they
realise the potential of FP6, experience shows that they are just as
likely as men to succeed.

WomEn2FP6’s bright idea is to tap into existing women’s networks

and to emphasise the benefits while avoiding the jargon.

Project title Contact person

Promotion of Women Entrepreneur Participation to FP6 Projects Dr Petra Püchner
(WomEn2FP6) Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum der Steinbeis Stiftung für
Wirtschaftsförderung
Contract number Haus der Wirtschaft, Willi-Bleicher-Str. 19
CT-2004-508590 70174 Stuttgart
Germany
Global project cost Tel: +497 111 234012
€ 1 221 057 Fax: +497 111 234011
women2fp6@steinbeis-europa.de
EC contribution www.steinbeis-europa.de
€ 931 892
Project website
Duration www.women2fp6.net
24 months
Participants
1 Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum der Steinbeis Stiftung für
Wirtschaftsförderung (DE)
2 Wirtschaftsministerium Baden-Württemberg (Ministry of Economic
Affairs for the state of Baden-Württemberg) (DE)
3 THATI GmbH – IRC (DE)
4 Dundalk Institute of Technology (IE)
5 IVF Industrial Research and Development Corporation (SE)
6 Swedish National Federation of Resource Centres for Women (SE)
7 Beta Technology Ltd (UK)
8 Bretagne Innovation (FR)
9 Instituto tecnológico de Aragón (ES)
10 INNOVA SpA (IT)
11 Regione dell’Umbria (IT)
12 Information Processing Centre/Osrodek Przetwarzania Informacji (PL)
13 The Brussels Enterprise Agency/Agence Bruxellois pour
l’Entreprise asbl (BE)
14 Coordination, Etudes et Recherche Action (BE)
15 TMB Hungary Technology Transfer and Software Development
Engineering Ltd (HU)

Many women entrepreneurs and scientists could benefit from collaborative

research if they knew what was available. © Ökotox GmbH
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 48

Stronger links for better business

WOODISM

“The Woodism project will help Employing more than 3 million workers across
thousands of SMEs – right across Europe Europe, industries based on forest products make up
– to link up with the best possible one of the region’s key manufacturing sectors. But, with its
partners.”
large number of highly diverse SMEs and its broad geographical
range, the sector’s success has sometimes been hindered by limited
information on new technologies and services which can improve the competitive edge
in a global market. The Woodism project – a consortium of 17 consultancies, research institutes
and technology transfer specialists from 12 EU countries – aims to benefit thousands of European
SMEs by linking them with relevant R&D projects funded under the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme.

Any competitive business needs to know what is going on in the
sector. Is there an easier or cheaper way to get hold of raw mate-
rials? What are the latest innovations in processing? And how can
waste be reduced, or markets expanded? Success depends on a
number of critical factors such as developing or accessing cutting-
edge developments which can improve efficiency and allow inno-
vative product design; taking advantage of logistical advances that
reduce distribution costs or facilitate bulk buying; and accessing the
latest market intelligence to prepare for changes and fluctuations
in demand. But for many businesses – particularly SMEs (small and
medium-sized enterprises) with limited resources – filling informa-
tion gaps can be tricky. This is where the new Woodism project plans
to help out.
The project’s basic aim is to help SMEs contribute to, and stay on top
of, new developments in their sector by helping them to access the
opportunities available to them under FP6. Offering an ‘easy way to
access co-operation’, the project hopes to link SMEs with each other,
and with the relevant research community. This, in turn, will stimulate
and facilitate SME participation in new and ongoing EU-funded
R&D projects that specifically address their existing research needs.
Building on the earlier success of the Inwood project, also funded
by the European Union Framework Programmes, the Woodism con-
sortium brings together industry and science to combine expertise
in business advice and innovation transfer, wood products research
and education. By offering a range of complex services which iden-
tify knowledge gaps and improve research collaboration and infor-
mation flows, the project is geared towards promoting innovation
within the sector, improving co-operation throughout Europe, and
strengthening links between the research and business communi-
ties. The overall goal is to use the opportunities on offer under FP6
to ensure effective research and information exchange which will
allow European SMEs to maintain and improve their competitive
edge.
Knowledge is power
Throughout Europe, many SMEs in forest-based industries face
similar problems – cutting costs, improving products, or meeting oblig-
atory environmental standards – but limited co-operation leaves them
searching for their own solutions. This is time-consuming and waste-
ful, and ultimately affects the overall competitiveness of the whole
sector.
However, the EU offers plenty of opportunities to help these SMEs
to improve their performance – including the new funds for Integrated
Projects and Networks of Excellence which are designed to gen-
erate new intelligence while overcoming the fragmented nature of
European research. Whether it is through funding R&D into a spe-
cific problem, or facilitating information flows on relevant solutions,
these opportunities are key to helping SMEs perform well in an
increasingly competitive global market.
By creating functional groupings of SMEs, the Woodism project
hopes to facilitate cheaper, more efficient production, development and
distribution of wood and fibre products. By linking SMEs directly
with researchers, it expects to improve knowledge transfer – on prod-
ucts, processes, services and markets – and by collecting and storing
feedback in a highly accessible form, its aim is to improve the EU’s
research programmes to better meet their users’ needs. The anticipat-
ed result is a dramatic improvement in the
development, exchange and
assimilation of process
and business innova-
tions which
improve business
success across
Europe.

Silver birch is the

most important hardwood
species in Fenno-Scandia and
is used for high-quality paper,
furniture and construction.
REC4 6100_ETI 2.2 20/07/05 15:26 Page 49

ETI–1

The project will offer a number of services to achieve these goals. “The project will help SMEs get the best
These include: carrying out technology audits which identify SME out of Europe – and Europe to get the
needs and solutions; developing an overview of FP6 projects rele-
best out of its SMEs.”
vant to forest-based industries; providing an interface for matching
SMEs with research projects; disseminating information across the
sector; and training SME personnel to participate in FP6 projects.

Stimulating change Contact person

In addition to the direct benefits of linking problems (faced by SMEs) Prof. Tarmo Luoma
with solutions (provided by R&D), the Woodism project team is hop- Työtehoseura ry
ing that improved innovation within the wood-based industries Melkonkatu 16 A
leads to increased wood use in the construction, energy and other Helsinki 28
key sectors. Such changes could have significant implications for 00211 Finland
Europe. Greater use of wood in the construction industry could be Tel: +358 9 2904 1200
important in terms of carbon storage while reducing the impacts gen- tarmo.luoma@tts.fi
erated by alternative construction materials. Meanwhile, innovations
in technologies using bio-fuels could help to address the urgent issue Participants
of Europe’s ever-increasing energy demand. Given their potential 1 Silicon Fibres (FI)
significance in relation to climate change, such developments 2 Bureau for International Research and Technology
could lead to enormous benefits for Europe in the long term. Cooperation (AT)
3 RDT Talos Ltd (CY)
Project title 4 Archimedes Foundation (ET)
Improving competitiveness of the forest-wood chain by support- 5 Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten
ing SME participation in FP6 projects (WOODISM) Forschung (DE)
6 Zentrum für Innovation und Technik in Nordrhein Westfalen
Contract number GmbH (DE)
CT-2004-508617 7 Elkede Technology and Design Centre (EL)
8 Hellenic Organization of SMEs and Handicraft (EL)
Duration 9 Innovawood (IE)
36 months 10 Agenzia per la promozione della ricerca europea (IT)
11 Innova SpA (IT)
Global project cost 12 Europarama UAB (LT)
€1 461 397 13 Cracow University of Technology (PL)
14 Wood Industry Cluster (SV)
EC contribution 15 Euroresearch / Réseau Suisse d’innovation (CH)
€1 046 691 16 Berner Fachhochschule – Hochschule für Architektur, Bau und
Holz (CH)