High Growth Innovative Enterprises in the EU

Submitted by Administrator on 9 February, 2010 - 10:35

Nov 17 2008

Event Date:

17 November, 2008 - 01:00 - 18 November, 2008 - 01:00

Venue:

Brussels

A number of recent studies highlight the significance of high-growth firms as an engine of economic growth, not least through their contribution to job creation and employment. They also show that the EU lags behind the US in the prevalence and impact of High Growth Innovative Enterprises (HGIEs). However, there is still debate on why there are these differences and on issues such as the need for specific support policies as opposed to generic support for SMEs and the effects of other elements of the innovation policy mix on the stimulation of high-growth innovative enterprises

In its first session the workshop seeks to summarise new knowledge on statistics and econometrics related with HGIEs and to discuss the rationale for specific (policy) support.

Framework conditions play a decisive role for the emergence and the success of HGIEs. Against the background of the current international crisis at the financial market, in particular financing needs and instruments specific to HGIEs will be addressed. Whether or not this crisis influences the financing situation specific for HGIEs will be discussed. Other relevant factors to be considered include the role of the internal market, the regulatory environment and the influence of location and clustering.

Existing and new approaches for policies and measures supporting or targeting HGIEs will be presented in the last session. Direct and indirect measures will be discussed in order to consider the implications for future policy development.

The participants should include academics and others (think tanks, business schools, statisticians) that have analysed the statistical and economic evidence on high growth innovative enterprises; policy makers and analysts that have, or in the process of, developing, implementing or evaluating policies to support to HGIEs. The workshop will be organised in cooperation with work under the OECD Innovation strategy.

The workshop will build on the conclusions of the INNO-Views workshop: “Supporting “gazelles” in Europe: How to design policies addressing fast growing SMEs in Europe” held in Tallinn in April 2007.