OBSERVATORY ON EUROPEAN RESEARCH FOR CRAFTS AND SMEs

Issued by Academy Avignon of Crafts and SMEs in Europe

The Observatory on the European Research for Crafts and SMEs was set up by the Academy Avignon of Crafts and SMEs in Europe, based in Brussels. Its mission is to monitor the results of research on Craft and SMEs carried out in Europe by several bodies e.g. research centres, universities, the EC agencies. The Observatory diffuses the results to Crafts and SME organizations and the other relevant stakeholders.

NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2012/N.35

MAIN CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE

1- A g r e e m e n t f o r q u a l i t y e m p l o y m e n t i n B a r c e l o n a 2 0 0 8 - 2 0 1 1 ; By the City Council of Barcelona, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the UGT and CCOO trade unions and the business organizations Pimec and Foment.
2 - D o S M E s c r e a t e m o r e a n d b e t t e r j o b s ? The European Commission.

3- Financing innovative small and medium-sized enterprises in

t i m e s o f c r i s i s ; By Dejan ERIC and Sonja DJURICIN.

4- Gestion stratgique des comptences en PME : les

enseignements d'une recherche-action; By Jean-Philippe Bootz, Eric Schenk

and Michel Sonntag.

AGREEMENT FOR QUALITY EMPLOYMENT IN BARCELONA 2008-2011

Author(s): the City Council of Barcelona, the Generalitat de Catalunya (Regional

Government), the UGT and CCOO trade unions and the business organizations Pimec and Foment.
SUMMARY

(EN/S) To promote a quality and inclusive labour market, with a high level of productivity and one that generates professional opportunities for everyone, committed to the economic growth of the city of Barcelona that incorporates more added value and innovation and that allows the reaching of high levels of competitiveness, welfare and social and territorial cohesion.

LINK

DO SMES CREATE MORE AND BETTER JOBS?

Author(s): The European Commission

SUMMARY

(EN) The European Commission published a study analyzing the important role small and medium sized enterprises play in creating more and better jobs. SMEs provide a vital contribution to the European economy, being responsible for more than two thirds of the total employment in the private sectors and 85% of the net job growth.

Negative effects of current crisis during 2008Q4 - 2010Q4, by size class, for the EU business economy.

LINK
FINANCING INNOVATIVE SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN TIMES OF CRISIS

Author(s): Dejan ERIC , Isidora BERAHA and Sonja DJURICIN (Institute of

Economic Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia) .
SUMMARY

(EN) Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) in general and particularly innovative ones are becoming an increasingly important factor on the road to achieving smart, sustainable and comprehensive development. Because of their propensity to innovative undertaking and risk, SMEs contribute significantly to economic growth but are generally less productive and pay the cost of high rates of death and lower rates of profitability. Institutional support and governmental programmes have an important role in closing financial gap that innovative SMEs are faced with. LINK
2

GESTION STRATGIQUE DES COMPTENCES EN PME : LES ENSEIGNEMENTS D'UNE RECHERCHE-ACTION

Author(s): Jean-Philippe Bootz (Humanis - EM-Strasbourg)Eric Schenk (LGeco - Laboratoire

de Gnie de la Conception - Institut National des Sciences Appliques de Strasbourg, BETA Bureau d'conomie thorique et applique)Michel Sonntag (LGeco - Laboratoire de Gnie de la Conception - Institut National des Sciences Appliques de Strasbourg)
SUMMARY

(FR) Le lien gestion des comptences - stratgie est largement voqu au sein de la littrature notamment travers les deux modes d'interactions classiques (top down et bottom up). Ces travaux se centrent sur les entreprises d'une certaine taille dans la mesure o ils posent comme pr-requis l'existence de processus RH formaliss et l'laboration d'actions stratgiques explicites. Au sein des PME, globalement caractrises par le rle cl de la vision stratgique du dirigeant et par un faible degr d'explication des processus RH, ce lien doit tre repens. Dans ce cadre, cette recherche vise clairer la relation entre stratgie et gestion des comptences dans le contexte particulier de la PME. Une attention particulire est porte la place de la vision stratgique et des processus de formalisation dans cette relation. Ce travail exploratoire est conduit par le biais d'une recherche-action mene dans le cadre du ple de comptitivit " Vhicule du Futur Alsace-Franche Comt " au sein d'une PME industrielle. LINK

Good Practices
Barcelona Activa is the local development agency of the City Council of Barcelona With its mission to transform entrepreneurship and business growth in Barcelona, the City Council established the Barcelona Entrepreneurship Centre in 2004 to serve as a reference point for entrepreneurs, as well as a hub that boosts entrepreneurship through its activities and resources. The project uses an innovative model that provides online and on-site services, allowing entrepreneurs to create their own itinerary from their business ideas to the creation of their companies. Training activities, conferences and workshops aid in acquiring key entrepreneurial skills and are tailored specifically to the needs and priorities of the entrepreneurs in the different economic sectors. The centre also provides a bridge of resource between business creation and business growth offering training, coaching, free access to pre-incubation spaces and a PAIT Point (service for the initiation of start-up procedures).

The Barcelona Entrepreneurship Centre is a reference point for entrepreneurs in the city of Barcelona, as well as a hub that boosts entrepreneurship through activities and resources provided by Barcelona Activa.
http://www.barcelonactiva.cat/barcelonactiva/cat/ E-mail of contact person Website of organisation Elena.delrey@barcelonactiva.cat http://www.barcelonactiva.cat/barcelonactiva/cat/

Newspapers: UE : 85% des emplois crs par les PME

16/01/2012, Le Figaro L'emploi dans l'Union europenne est tir par les petites et moyennes entreprises, qui y ont assur 85% de la cration nette d'emplois entre 2002 et 2010, mais qui sont plus vulnrables la crise que les grandes, selon des chiffres publis aujourd'hui par la Commission europenne. ..

Small business essential to an economic jumpstart

25/01/2012, The Financial Times By Jim Hagemann Snabe Jump-starting the world economy will be a central topic of discussion among world leaders meeting for the next few days at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Many of the business leaders in Davos lead large global companies. However, you cannot talk about growth, jobs, and innovation without talking about small and medium-sized enterprises and how they can contribute to getting the world economy back on track

THE LIST OF SOURCES IN THIS ISSUE.

Banque de France: The Banque de France is the central bank of France; it is linked to the
European Central Bank (ECB). Its main charge is to implement the interest rate policy of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is headquartered in Paris.

Le Figaro: is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It has been generally well respected in post-World War II France. Its editorial line is conservative. Le Figaro is the second-largest national newspaper in France after Aujourd'hui en France and before Le Monde. It is one of the three French newspapers of record, along with social-liberal papers Le Monde and Libration, and is the oldest still-existing newspaper in France. The Financial Times: is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. The Financial Times in print format has an average daily circulation of 333,771 copies worldwide, as of December 2011.

Humanis - EM-Strasbourg Au sein de ce laboratoire d'accueil de l'EM Strasbourg dirig par le Professeur Thierry Nobre, les chercheurs ont souhait tre en synergie avec le projet de former des managers autrement, c'est--dire aller au-del de la simple transmission de connaissances et de comptences en ingnierie du management LGeco :The laboratorys work aims to facilitate the design process from the initial development
of a product through to its production. The aim of the laboratorys research is to study and produce solutions for resolving design issues encountered at any stage in the product life cycle and in the systems producing them. The laboratory's approach factors in the related technical, economic, human and organisational aspects and the latest findings in engineering sciences. The laboratory is particularly interested in design issues where the usual design procedures cannot be applied, in other words design issues that require creativity through the development of new techniques and/or the innovative use of existing techniques.

The Unin General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers): is a major Spanish trade
union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse (b.Ferrol 1850- d.Madrid 1925) in Matar (Barcelona), with Marxist socialism as its ideological basis, despite its statutory apolitical status. Until its nineteenth Congress in 1920, it did not consider class struggle as a basic principle of trade union action. Being a member of the UGT implies an affiliation to the PSOE and vice versa.

Direction des Entreprises Observatoire des Entreprises: Cres en 2010, les Direccte regroupent des services administratifs issus de divers horizons : commerce extrieur, tourisme, commerce et artisanat, intelligence conomique, industrie, travail et emploi, concurrence et consommation. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)):is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region. With a membership of 62 Governments, 58 of which are in the region, and a geographical scope that stretches from Turkey in the west to the Pacific island nation of Kiribati in the east, and from the Russian Federation in the north to New Zealand in the south, ESCAP is the most comprehensive of the United Nations five regional commissions. It is also the largest United Nations body serving the Asia-Pacific region with over 600 staff. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is making a difference by supporting sustained growth and higher skills across the economy. BIS: working together for growth.

The present edition of the Newsletter for the Academy Avignon was edited by Maura Albanesi.

If you have any question or comment, please, dont hesitate to contact us at: Academy Avignon for Craft and SMEs in Europe Rue Jacques de Lalaing, 4 B-1040 Bruxelles Phone: +3222850709 E-mail: b.palmieri@ueapme.com o maura.albanesi@gmail.com

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