Exploratory workshop: New directions for supporting High-Tech Research Intensive SMEs

This workshop explored new directions for public support at European level to strengthen the case for high-tech research intensive SMEs to participate in collaborative research on future and emerging technologies (FET) in the broadly conceived area of ICT. The agenda featured thought stimulating presentations from a variety of stakeholders, as well as working sessions around key issues, such as:

• Support programme issues: what are the features that make a public funding for these SMEs a useful and attractive proposition to develop and maintain a strategic in-house research capacity?
• Life-cycle issues: how can support measures cover different problems that apply for companies in different development (growth) stages?
• Framework conditions: how to improve the framework conditions for and in innovative SMEs (public procurement of innovation, worker’s mobility, general risk aversion etc.).

Invited participants constituted a mix of high-tech SMEs, other stakeholders closely acquainted with research in such SMEs, and administrators and policy makers in research and innovation support. the workshop took place in the context of an ongoing study on high-tech research intensive SMEs in research on Future and Emerging Technologies conducted by the Austrian Institute for SME Research and eutema Technology Management.

Agenda

09.15 – 09.30	Welcome and introduction	Ales Fiala, Head of Unit , DG INFSO FET-Open
09.30 – 10.30	Views on and from High-Tech Research Intensive SMEs:
	Research intensive High-tech SMEs in high-risk multidisciplinary ICT research	Sascha Ruhland, Austrian Institute for SME Research Erich Prem, Eutema Technology Management
	PIN SME	George Brashnarov, Pan European ICT & eBusiness Network for SMEs
10.30 – 11.00	Coffee break
11.00 – 12.00	Views on and from High-Tech Research Intensive SMEs:
	Europe’s missing YOLLIES	Reinhilde Veugelers, Brueghel
	The value of risk	Giulio Ruffini, STARLAB
	Serving the needs of high-tech research intensive SMEs	EC
12.00 – 13.00	Discussion and key questions to be addressed
13.00 - 14.00	Lunch
14.00 – 14.15	Introduction to working groups	Sascha Ruhland and Walter Van de Velde
14.15 – 15.45	Working groups
15.45 – 16.00	Coffee break
16.00 – 17.00	Presentation of the developed recommendations and options, and discussion
17.00 - 17.15	Urgency, feasibility and impact: prioritisation and options
17.15 - 17.30	Wrap-up and next steps	Ales Fiala

List of participants