Documents and Studies

• 2005 BIC OBSERVATORY
  Report on the BIC Network's results in 2004 - Brussels, January 2006
  This report is based on a new way of collecting data from individual BICs. A comprehensive on-line questionnaire was used and this technologically advanced method has en- abled the creation of the on-line Observatory.

• The PAXIS Manual for Innovation Policy Makers and Practitioners
  Analysis and transfer of innovation tools, methodologies and policy - Brussels, 31 January 2006
  Prefaced by Gunther Verheugen, this manual describes the main good practices identified by PAXIS in the areas of policy design, pre-seed and early-stage financing; incubation; technology transfer and spin-offs; promotion of an entrepreneurial and innovation culture and political awareness.

• The Proceedings report of the Edinburgh conference
  On 5-7 October 2005, Edinburgh hosted this year's European Innovation Workshop with over 230 regional innovation experts from all over Europe who provided very positive feedback on the conference and rated it as an excellent networking opportunity. The proceedings report of the workshop is now available providing an overview of the presentations made on cutting-edge innovation policy and activities ranging from innovation financing and trans-national clustering to new incubation concepts and innovation culture.

• 2004 BIC Observatory
  An overview of the BIC approach in its 20th year - Brussels, 10 March 2005
  The 2004 edition of the BIC Observatory illustrates where the BIC instrument now stands in terms of results, practices and structure. The last BIC Observatory was published in 1997. The exercise has been revived to form an important element of the new BIC quality system being run by the BIC's own association, EBN.

• The activities of the European Union for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) SME Envoy Report - Brussels, 8 February 2005
  The objectives of this report are as follows:

  • to review the measures taken by the Commission during 2004 to implement the European Charter for Small Enterprises;
  • to serve as a coordination and follow-up tool for the SME Envoy;
  • to provide an overall picture of the policies, initiatives and programmes that have an impact on SMEs (see in annex the table summarising the main programmes);
  • to inform the various Community Institutions, in accordance with the multiannual programme for enterprise and entrepreneurship5, and all interested parties, of the progress achieved in taking into account the SME dimension in all Community policies and programmes.

• Situation and perspective of incubation in Europe Jorge Costa-David, European Commission - Enterprise and Industry Directorate General - "Innovation Good Practices exchange Day" - Conference Mataró, 17 octobre 2005

• The role of Business Incubators in post-2006 EU - What are the priorities? Jorge Costa-David, European Commission - Enterprise Directorate General - "Best Practices in Science Based Incubators" - Conference & award Oxford, 10 December 2004

• "All money is not the same!"Sme Access To Finance - Guidebook For Public Decision-Makers And Intermediaries 2004 (EURADA -Christian Saublens)

  1. The present document is aimed at:
  2. Public bodies in charge of developing or implementing programmes aiming to provide regional/local SMEs access to funding sources;
  3. Businesspersons looking for an insight into the funding source that is best suited to their needs based on their investment readiness, i.e. how ready they are to accommodate or meet with representatives of the SME finance industry.

• EBN contribution to the EC "Green Paper on Entrepreneurship in Europe"
  Strategic guidance & incubation services are focal areas for EBN network members Incubation and added-value services are tools used in real cases with the aim to create the climate, to generate the traffic, to install the confidence, to create networking and synergies between innovative entrepreneurs, to improve the content and quality of entrepreneurial projects, to limit the risk, to guide, to coach, to incubate, to accelerate, to network with finance, knowledge, expertise, competition …

• European Charter For Small Enterprises
  Small enterprises are the backbone of the European economy. They are a key source of jobs and a breeding ground for business ideas. Europe's efforts to usher in the new economy will succeed only if small business is brought to the top of the agenda.

• Entrepreneurial innovation in Europe: A review of 11 studies of innovation policy and practice in todays Europe
  Chapter 2 examines three aspects of the drive to create innovative firms and thereby employment. The first study reviewed here concludes that innovative enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, tend to add jobs at the expense of less innovative competitors. The second study highlights the crucial role of regional networks in supporting the creation of new technology-based firms (NTBFs). The last study proposes a typology of academic spin-outs, and argues that public as well as private sector resources be focused on those with clearly defined growth strategies.

• Analysis of the typical growth path of technology-based companies in life sciences and information technology, and the role of different sources of innovation financing
  (Innovation study 2003)
  Chapter two provides a comparative analysis of entrepreneurial financing and incubating initiatives in Europe and discusses the main characteristics of an entrepreneurial climate.

• PAXIS - Results and policy recommendations
  (Studies 2003)
• Informal investors and high-tech entrepreneurship
  (Innovation study 2003)
• Innovation tomorrow
  (Innovation study 2002)

• Business incubation - "Raising the next generation"
  (Euroabstracts- June 2002 Supportive parents and a secure home give a child the best possible foundation for a fulfilling and productive adult life. In the same way, business incubation - the process of nurturing new firms during their first few years - reduces their risk of early failure and accelerates their growth.

• Business Incubators features, policies and trends in EU Member States Jorge Costa-David, European Commission - Enterprise Directorate General - "Best Practices in Science Based Incubators" - Conference & award, The Hague, 5 December 2002

• Business Incubation - International Case Studies
  This publication reviews current experience in business incubation in Australia, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. With the exception of the Italian study, these papers were first presented at a Conference in Rome, in December 1997, entitled Local Development and Business Incubators: Experiences of Enterprise and Job Creation.

Articles

• Nurturing innovation with the Technology Business Incubator toolkit (Euroabstracts, May 2006)
• Knowledge in the service of innovation (Euroabstracts, May 2006)
• PAXIS: lessons in innovation excellence (Euroabstracts, May 2006)
• Where there's a will… there's a pact to forge an innovative Europe (Euroabstracts, March 2006)
• When is state aid for innovation justified? (Euroabstracts, March 2006)
• EU vs US innovation: strengths on both sides (European Innovation February 2006)
• Public acceptance of innovation (European Innovation January 2006)
• More research and innovation - Investing for growth and employment: a common approach Special (December 2005)
• Europe Innova initiative launched (European Innovation October 2005)
• On-line training for incubator managers (European Innovation October 2005)
• New action plan for research and innovation (European Innovation October 2005)
• Paxis succeeds in start-ups and spin-offs (European Innovation August 2005)
• Training entrepreneurs to find investment (European Innovation August 2005)
• New EU actions for innovation support (European Innovation July 2005)
• Sharing small business experiences (European Innovation May 2005)
• How to be an international start-up (ITT July 2004)
• Nurturing young companies (ITT June 2004)
• Financial stability for small firms (ITT March 2004)
• Measuring Europe's performance (ITT January 2004)
• Breeding business success (Euroabstracts, January 2003)
• European Trend Chart on Innovation: Reviewing Europe's progress in 2002 (ITT special edition February 2003)
• High number of start-ups in 2002 reveals strong Irish entrepreneurship culture, says minister
• A Directory of European Innovation : click here !(ITT July 2002)
• Commission actions in support of innovation(ITT special edition October 2002)

Other publications

• Consultation document on the next multi-annual programme, SPEC 2006-2010
• Action Plan on Entrepreneurship
• Access to finance of Small and Medium sized enterprises