CORDIS Archive

The beginning: the first Community Innovation Survey (CIS)

In 1991, the first Community Innovation Survey (CIS) had been jointly initiated and implemented by Eurostat and DG Enterprise under the aegis of the European Innovation Monitoring System (EIMS), part of the Innovation Programme. The methodology was developed in co-operation with Statistical Offices in the Member States, independent experts and the OECD.

The objective was to collect comparable firm-level data on inputs to, and outputs of, the innovation process across a wide range of industries and across Member States and regions. This should contribute to high-quality analyses for policies to strengthen innovation and the diffusion of new technologies at Community, Member State and regional level.

The First Community Innovation Survey (CIS I) provided a major new source of information on innovation at enterprise level, gathered from around 40,000 firms in all EU Member States, Norway and Iceland

• Studies using the CIS data have led to the publication of reports on a wide range of innovation related topics. See EIMS Studies.
• To facilitate access for researchers and policy makers to thedata resource, a CD-ROM has been constructed, commercially available from the EUROSTAT Data Shop.
• See also: Community Innovation Survey: Newsletter 1

Under the 5th Framework Programme, the activities of the Community Innovation Survey were continued and reinforced as part of the Innovation and SMEs Programme.