52005SC1253

[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 12.10.2005

SEC(2005) 1253

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

Annex to the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS “More Research and Innovation- Investing for Growth and Employment: A Common Approach” [2005 – 2007] Steps for the implementation {COM (2005) 488 final}

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

Steps for the implementation of the Communication “More Research and Innovation - Investing for Growth and Employment: A Common Approach” [2005 – 2007][1]

Overview of actions at Community level to be launched in 2005/ 2007

ACTION | THE COMMISSION WILL | KEY MILESTONES AND DELIVERABLES | TIMELINE |

1. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION AT THE HEART OF EU POLICIES |

1.1. | Step up dialogue with stakeholders to identify regulatory barriers to research and innovation | Support, where appropriate, to the European Technology Platforms [http://www.cordis.lu/technology-platforms/home.html], including where relevant to the identification of regulatory barriers to implementation of Strategic Research Agendas Support to the establishment of Sectoral Innovation Panels on biotechnology, ICT, energy, automotives, space and aeronautics, textile and eco-innovation with a view to delivering policy recommendations; planned to be continued under CIP Publication of reports from the Sectoral Innovation Watch on sectoral innovation performance, including identification of regulatory barriers to innovation ; planned to be continued under CIP | Ongoing Early 2006 End 2006 |

1.2. | Adopt a more research and innovation-friendly state aid regime | Adoption of a Consultation document on state aid for innovation Review of the Community framework for state aid for R&D (including innovation aspects) Review of the Communication on state aid and risk capital (including innovation aspects) | September 2005 Early 2006 Early 2006 |

1.3. | Support actions on improving the IPR system and its effective use | Study on technology transfer and intellectual property regimes and their use Study on benchmarking regional and national IPR support services in Member States Support to the IPR Helpdesk [http://www.ipr-helpdesk.org] Development of enhanced collaboration with the European Patent Office in specific areas, in particular intellectual property training and patent information, including databases | 2006 End 2005 – Ongoing – Ongoing |

1.4. | Support, monitor and further develop actions under the R&D human resources strategy | Support and monitoring of implementation of the Commission Recommendation on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment Support to the annual planning, implementation and monitoring cycle through the Steering Group on Human Resources (SGHRM) Publication of annual Commission Staff Working Documents on the “Mobility Strategy for the ERA” and “Researchers in the ERA: one profession, multiple careers” Consolidation of the ERA-MORE network and European Researchers Mobility Portal Support to follow-up actions relating to the 2005 Researchers in Europe Initiative under FP6 Implementation of Marie Curie scheme aimed at support for researchers’ training and career development under FP6; planned to be continued under FP7 Follow-up of the Commission’s proposals on a Directive and Recommendation on long-term admission of third country researchers | Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing 2006 Ongoing Ongoing |

1.5 | Promote the use of public procurement to stimulate research and innovation | Support to an expert group on measures to encourage procurement practices promoting private investment in R&D and innovation Study on innovation and public procurement, providing a review of practical implementation schemes and identifying good practice Adoption of a handbook on stimulating private investment in R&D and innovation through public procurement and other actions to follow up the specific recommendations of the expert group and study Establishment of a network of experts investigating the role of standards in public procurement for fostering innovation | End 2005 End 2005 2006 2006 |

1.6 | Provide guidance to promote an optimal use of R&D tax incentives | Support to the OMC-3% Expert group on fiscal measures and to other expert groups working on specific tax incentives Adoption of a Communication to promote the optimal use of R&D tax incentives providing guidance Publication of a report of the expert group on “Best practices of public support for early-stage equity finance” | 2006 2006 End 2005 |

2. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION AT THE HEART OF EU FUNDING |

2.1. | Support the development of new technologies and foster their market uptake | Implementation of a new risk-sharing finance facility to facilitate access to EIB loans for large European R&D actions under FP7 Implementation of the “i2010” initiative on the information society to promote the use of ICT and e-business by SMEs; planned to be continued also under CIP Support to the enhancement of the eBusiness Support Network and eBusiness Watch under the Multiannual Programme for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise (MAP); planned to be continued under CIP Implementation of the “Intelligent Energy-Europe” Programme (2003-2006); planned to be continued under CIP Establishment of networks to foster the use of standards in support of innovation under the Europe INNOVA initiative; planned to be continued under CIP Commission proposals for the setting up of Joint European Technology Initiatives; planned to be implemented under FP7 Support to specific research activities for SMEs; planned to be continued at larger scale under FP7 Support of specific actions to assist SME participation in FP6; participation of SMEs in FP7 will be further facilitated | 2007 Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Early 2006 2006 Ongoing Ongoing |

2.2. | Stimulate the use of Structural Funds for driving research and innovation | Adoption of the national strategic reference frameworks and operational programmes of the Structural Funds as well as of the national strategy plans and rural development plans of the Rural Development Fund presented by the Member States putting emphasis on research and innovation Adoption of the final version of a Communication on Community Strategic Guidelines for Cohesion, 2007-2013 | – Ongoing - 2006 |

2.3 | Promote a better access to finance for innovative SMEs | Adoption of a Communication on financing growth, developing long-term public policies and public-private partnerships for reducing the market gaps in funding innovative companies Implementation of the ETF Start-up Scheme under the Multi-Annual Programme for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise (MAP); planned to be continued at larger scale under CIP Possible initiatives, as appropriate, to contribute to bridge the financing gap between research and early stage investment, taking account of the recommendations of the July 2005 study on a "technology transfer accelerator" investment vehicle | Mid 2006 Ongoing Ongoing |

2.4. | Mobilise national and regional research and innovation programmes and other sources of funding | Implementation of the ERA-Net and Article 169 schemes under FP6; planned to be complemented by ERA-NET PLUS scheme and possibly new Art 169 initiatives under FP7 Implementation of the Business Innovation Support Scheme (BISS) under CIP Study on the design of national research programmes with the objective to identify good practices for transnational co-operation Support to an expert group on the role of foundations and the non-profit sector in boosting R&D investment and to the follow-up actions | Ongoing 2007 End 2005 End 2005 |

3. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION AT THE HEART OF BUSINESS |

3.1. | Define EU guidelines to improve research collaboration and knowledge transfer between public research organisations and industry | Adoption of a Communication defining guidelines for research collaboration and knowledge transfer between public research organisations and industry Support to the OMC-3% expert groups on “intellectual property and technology transfer” and “promoting the reform of public research centres and universities” Establishment of a joint database between the ProTon network and the IRCs to facilitate technology transfer to SMEs Support to the “Responsible Partnering” initiative, based on work by ProTon, EIRMA, EUA and EARTO Adoption of a Communication (or publication of a Commission Staff Working Document) on university-based research | 2006 2006 Mid 2006 Ongoing End 2005 |

3.2. | Promote innovation poles and knowledge-driven and industrial clusters | Publication of a Commission Staff Working Document on the concept of clusters and innovation poles and their support through Community instruments Study on cluster mapping in the new Member States Study on cluster mapping in EU15 and FP6 Associated Countries resulting in a European cluster database and case studies on successful regional clusters Establishment of 11 sectoral cluster networks under the Europe INNOVA initiative; planned to be continued under CIP Establishment of a “Europe INNOVA Forum”, including relevant European, national and sub-national innovation projects and networks and the organisation of a bi-annual European Innovation Conference; planned to be continued under CIP Publication of annual Europe INNOVA reports on lessons to be learnt from national and European innovation projects and networking initiatives; planned to be continued under CIP Support to transnational mutual learning and to co-operation between research-driven clusters in the framework of the “Regions of Knowledge” pilot action; planned to be continued at larger scale under FP7 Support to an expert group on “Constructing regional advantage” in terms of putting the knowledge economy in the service of regional development Launch of an expert group on research-intensive clusters and science parks at regional level | Mid 2006 End 2005 – Mid 2006 End 2005 Early 2006 End 2006 Ongoing Ongoing 2006 |

3.3. | Provide specific business support services to enterprises, in particular SMEs, stimulating research and innovation | Support to the Innovation Relay Centres Network services for technology transfer and further consolidation with related business support networks; planned to be continued under CIP, with the view to establishing a “one-stop-shop” with other business support networks, such as the EuroInfoCenters Pilot projects identifying new methods of promoting and encouraging trans-national technology transfer; planned to be further implemented through the Innovation Relay Centres Network under CIP Support to the OMC-3% expert group on “design measures to promote growth of young research intensive SMEs” and to the follow-up Provision of regularly up-dated information on innovation through the European Innovation Portal [http://www.cordis.lu/innovation/en/home.html] Development of an on-line information service for organisations looking to invest in European R&D activities | Ongoing Early 2006 Ongoing – Ongoing End 2006 |

3.4. | Promote good innovation management practices | Development and testing of a European Innovation Self Assessment Tool, based on benchmarking of existing training schemes and interviews with enterprises; planned to be further implemented on a voluntary basis by regional and national innovation agencies and European business support networks Support to the establishment of European innovation prizes under the PRO INNO initiative; planned to be continued under CIP Study on patterns of organisational innovation in European industry; to be followed-up by the European Innovation Scoreboard | End 2005 Mid 2006 Ongoing |

3.5. | Define and implement a strategy promoting innovative services | Adoption of a Commission Communication (or publication of a Commission Staff Working Document), defining a strategy promoting innovative services in Europe Definition and introduction of new indicators for the European Innovation Scoreboard to better measure innovative activities within services, in cooperation with the European Statistical System Study on benchmarking and identifying the areas where co-operation between service companies and academia, universities and other research centres has been successful, and could be expanded Study on the future of R&D in services: Implications for EU research and innovation policy, building on the expert report on research in the services sector of July 2005 [ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/foresight/docs/kte_services.pdf] | End 2006 Mid 2006 On-going End 2005 |

3.6. | Expand monitoring and analysis of private R&D investment and sectoral innovation performances | Monitoring of Industrial Research Investment, composed of the annual scoreboards and the forthcoming annual digests of industrial R&D investment trends and sectoral-based surveys of factors driving industrial R&D investment practices Establishment of a Sectoral Innovation Watch under the Europe INNOVA initiative, providing reports on sectoral innovation performance, identification of innovation drivers and challenges as well as of leading innovative companies; planned to be continued under CIP Establishment of a European Industrial Research and Innovation Monitoring System, using the different statistical and analytical instruments in a coordinated manner, in order to produce industry- and policy-relevant data, notably at sectoral level Support to an expert group on intellectual capital reporting, and exploration of follow-up initiatives | Ongoing End 2005 Mid 2006 Ongoing |

4. IMPROVING GOVERNANCE: POLICY CO-ORDINATION AND MONITORING |

4.1 | Monitor and support national research and innovation policy developments through the new Lisbon partnership for growth and jobs | Annual report of the Commission on the National Reform Programmes submitted by Member States, including their contributions to more and better investment in research and innovation | Ongoing |

4.2 | Further develop policy analysis instruments for research and innovation | Annual publication of TrendChart Innovation Progress Reports and relevant background documents, identifying innovation strengths and weaknesses in Europe, providing information on national innovation programmes and major innovation policy developments [www.trendchart.org]; planned to be continued under CIP (in liaison with the PRO INNO initiative) Annual publication of the European Innovation Scoreboard benchmarking national innovation performances based on the Community Innovation Survey; to be continued under CIP (in liaison with the PRO INNO initiative) Establishment of an inventory on innovation studies and policy analyses; planned to be continued under CIP Development of an on-line information service on Member State’s research policies, programmes and actors; publication of annual reviews of developments in national research policies; and publication of specific policy intelligence reports on emerging issues (ERAWATCH) Annual publication of ‘Key Figures’ (including regional data), providing statistical information and analyses of the Union’s position and performance in terms of science and technology Support of the OMC 3% expert group on improving the design and implementation of national policy mixes conducive to higher levels of R&D investment Study on the monitoring and analysis of public financing policies and instruments which are conducive to higher levels of R&D investment | Ongoing Ongoing Oct 2005 Mid 2006 Ongoing Ongoing 2006 |

4.3 | Support policy learning platforms and facilitate trans-national policy co-operation | Pilot scheme to enhance mutual learning and co-operation in research policy-making (RTD OMC-Net) via actions to support bottom-up initiatives undertaken by several countries and regions, involving where appropriate other stakeholders; planned to be continued at larger scale under FP7 Launch of the PRO INNO initiative, including (1) the establishment of a Learning Platform to identify and evaluate good practices in support of innovation, (2) support to INNO-Nets that bring together national and sub-national innovation programmes and (3) support to specific INNO-Actions of different innovation agencies jointly addressing specific innovation challenges; planned to be continued at larger scale under CIP Support to the Group of Senior Officials (GSO) on innovation, which provides the Commission services with feed-back on various innovation policy initiatives (e.g. European Innovation Scoreboard, European TrendChart on Innovation, PRO INNO initiatives) and liaise with national authorities on innovation policy matters, thus improving innovation governance at European level – Financial support to the 'Innovative Regions in Europe' platform, including supporting the Secretariat and contributing to the development and consolidation of learning platforms on regional Research and Innovation issues; planned to be continued under CIP (in liaison with the PRO INNO initiative and other relevant policy development initiatives) Support to the SINAPSE e-Network (Scientific INformAtion for Policy Support in Europe), which offers a set of essential tools to promote and encourage the effective exchange of information between all stakeholders in order to encourage the use of science in policy making Studies to develop a methodology for innovation impact assessment and to analyse the impact of public research programmes on innovation | End 2005 End 2005 Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing End 2005 |

[1] The specific actions described in this document are financed within the current financial framework. New actions to be funded under FP7 or CIP are subject to availability of funding and to a financing decision of the Commission, taken into account the opinion of the Member States. These proposed actions are therefore only of an indicative nature. This implementation plan will be continuously reviewed and updated, taking due account of new emerging priorities and the results of the evaluation of completed activities.