 
INNOVATION COACH TENDERS ALERT
EU launches ambitious new 10-point innovation plan
The plan was produced following a request from the European heads of
governments' Spring Summit for a 'broad based innovation strategy for
Europe that translates investments in knowledge into produces and
services.' The content of the plan is based on the guiding work of
Finland's former Prime Minster Esko Aho, and is a slimmed-down version
of the expert group's report 'Creating an Innovative Europe' chaired by
Mr Aho and published in January 2006 but with a few added extras.
The resulting document, entitled 'Putting knowledge into practice: A
broad-based innovation strategy for the EU,' will be discussed by the
heads of government at their informal meeting in Finland on 20 October.
In the plan, the Commission calls for 'political leadership and
decisive action' from the EU Member States and acceding countries, and
calls on them to tweak their economic policies and make the other
structural reforms necessary to make the 10-point plan more easily
implemented.
'Structural change must not be seen as a threat, but as an opportunity
to become more competitive,' said Günter Verheugen, European
Commissioner for enterprise and industry policy. 'Europe needs to
become a truly knowledge-based and innovation-friendly society, where
innovation is not feared but welcomed, is not hindered but encouraged;
where it is part of our society's core values and seen to work for the
benefit of all citizens.'
A high priority for the Commission is the creation of
innovation-friendly 'lead-markets'. This will involve using
combinations of innovation and related policy instruments to remove
obstacles to the creation and marketing of new innovative products, and
stimulating market demand for them. Markets identified by the expert
Aho-group as of particular attention include e-health, pharmaceuticals,
energy, environment, transport and logistics, security, and digital
content.
In line with this objective, the Commission, with the help of the
European Technology Platforms, will carry out a detailed analysis of
the barriers which are currently holding back the take-up of new
technologies, especially in areas of public interest such as the
environment, health and security.
This analysis will form the basis for a comprehensive strategy on lead
markets, and the concept will be tested in a few pilot areas in 2007.
However, the Commission cannot do this on its own; 'The decisive step
that will make a real difference is the full political commitment from
all relevant actors to help identify and remove potential barriers to
the emergence of innovation-friendly markets,' the plan notes. 'The
Commission will steer this process and foster cooperation towards a
common agenda.' The Commission also hopes to stimulate demand for
innovative products through procurement policies.
Another sector targeted by the plan is education. 'First and foremost,
without education as a core policy, innovation will remain
unsupported,' the Commission writes. 'It must promote talent and
creativity from an early stage.' According to the plan, 'key
competencies necessary for living and working in a modern
innovation-oriented society' include entrepreneurial skills, literacy,
scientific and mathematical competence, languages, learning-to-learn
skills, social and cultural competences and digital literacy.
In the research world, the plan calls for greater mobility of
researchers, both between countries and between sectors and the
establishment of better research-industry links. It makes the proposed
European Institute of Technology (EIT) one of the 10 recommendations.
The European Commission believes that the EIT forms an essential part
of the overall EU drive for innovation by linking centres of excellence
around Europe, and so push for ever more innovation. The Commission
will put forward a proposal on this in October.
The Commission also promises to reform R&D and innovation state aid
rules and provide better guidance for R&D tax incentives. It is
hoped that this will significantly boost European companies' R&D
investments, which currently lag far behind those of their American and
Japanese counterparts.
On Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), in 2006 the Commission promises
to launch a new patent strategy establishing affordable patent
procedures. This will be followed in 2007 by a comprehensive IPR
strategy.
Other issues highlighted for action in the plan include copyright
levies on digital products and services and the role of EU cohesion
funds in promoting regional innovation.
'We can do much more to foster innovation as a driver for growth of the
European economy. The latest figures show once again the value added
that a coherent Community wide approach to innovation would bring,'
commented European Commission President Jos
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