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Germany: SME innovation grants trigger additional R&D investments by companies

Submitted by Hannes Selhofer on 22 May, 2012 - 15:29
in
Country: 
Germany

An evaluation of the grant scheme „KMU-innovativ“ („Innovation in SMEs“), an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, found that the scheme has effectively addressed the needs of SMEs and triggered additional private investments in R&D. Since 2007, about 700 innovation projects involving 1200 SMEs have been funded with a total budget of about € 480 million.

Correspondent: 
empirica GmbH

Norway invests EUR 100 million to strengthen research-bonds with Central Europe

Submitted by Hannes Selhofer on 21 May, 2012 - 13:38
in
Country: 
Norway

Through the EEA Grants scheme, Norway has allocated nearly EUR 100 million to strengthen the research cooperation and exchanges with Central Europe. The grants are supposed to stimulate research activities, innovation and economic growth, and help minimize social and economic differences in the receiving countries.

Correspondent: 
Infosector as

Social Innovation Europe sets focus on finance

Submitted by Hannes Selhofer on 21 May, 2012 - 12:24
in
Country: 
EU Member States

Adequate funding plays an important role for creating a social innovation ecosystem in Europe. This is why Social Innovation Europe (SIE) created the report “financing social impact: funding social innovation in Europe – mapping the way forward”. The report considers the current funding environment for European social innovations and asks: where do we want to be in ten years? What kind of impact can we create with the right kind of funding? What could that funding look like? SIE released the report in line with the Social Capital Markets event “SOCAP: Designing the Future”.

Correspondent: 
empirica GmbH

New strategic goals for Norway’s governmental innovation agencies

Submitted by Hannes Selhofer on 16 May, 2012 - 17:01
in
Country: 
Norway

A recently released governmental White Paper defines new goals and strategic priorities for Innovation Norway and SIVA, the two main innovation agencies of the government. The agencies shall focus their activities on supporting the following strategic objectives: (1) more Norwegian entrepreneurs and start-ups, (2) more companies going international and (3) more user friendly governmental services for the private sector.

Correspondent: 
Infosector as

Germany: Federal Report on Research and Innovation 2012

Submitted by Hannes Selhofer on 16 May, 2012 - 14:06
in
Country: 
Germany

The German government has published its “Federal Report on Research and Innovation 2012”. The comprehensive document (650 pages) provides a detailed account of Germany’s research and innovation system and the government’s policy objectives and measures in this field.

File Attachment: 
application/pdf iconBundesbericht Forschung und Innovation 2012 (report in PDF format, in German language, 14 MB)
Correspondent: 
empirica GmbH

USA: New SBA Online Portal to Connect Small Businesses with Corporate Supply Chains

Submitted by Robert Koch on 26 April, 2012 - 13:29
in
Country: 
USA

The SBA announced Supplier Connection, a private-public collaboration intended to help small businesses strengthen their revenue streams by gaining access to more than $300 billion (€227 billion) in combined supply chain spending by a consortium of 15 of America's largest corporations. Supplier Connection, a free online portal created by the IBM Foundation, allows small businesses to send information about their products and services to 15 large private sector companies.

Correspondent: 
Allan Martel Consulting

USA: Technology Incubators Post Impressive Gains

Submitted by Robert Koch on 26 April, 2012 - 12:22
in
Country: 
USA

Technology-focused incubators long have been praised by economic development professionals for their essential role in helping entrepreneurs succeed and populating regional economies with high-tech jobs. A number of incubators recently have unveiled data to support that view, including the first impact report from Detroit's TechTown and an annual progress report from the Birmingham Innovation Depot, which posted impressive results in 2011.

Correspondent: 
Allan Martel Consulting

Finland: Tekes report on impact of funding schemes

Submitted by Robert Koch on 26 April, 2012 - 11:24
in
Country: 
Finland

Tekes, the Finnish governmental agency for innovation, released a report which summarises evaluation studies about the effects of Tekes’ activities. The report shows that Finnish companies receive little public funding in comparison to other European countries; nonetheless, the funding schemes are effective and have a significant impact on economic growth and innovation, as they encourage R&D activity and collaboration with research institutes. The focus in recent years on young growth companies and energy technology are accentuated as success stories.

Correspondent: 
Infosector as

Denmark publishes manual for econometric impact analysis of innovation policy

Submitted by Robert Koch on 26 April, 2012 - 11:11
in
Country: 
Denmark

Denmark recently released an English version of the CIM manual which describes requirements for conducting an econometric impact analysis of innovation policy. The purpose of the manual is to ensure quality of studies and enable comparative analyses between different policies. The manual offers insights and guidelines to anyone interested in econometric impact analysis.

Correspondent: 
Infosector as

Austria: "Market Bonus" - a new support scheme for innovative SMEs

Submitted by Hannes Selhofer on 10 April, 2012 - 14:36
in
Country: 
Austria

The Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology has launched the “Market Bonus” initiative which supports small and medium-sized enterprises in entering new markets with an innovative product or service. Companies receive a grant of € 10,000 for marketing their innovation.