The Sectoral Innovation Watch analyses innovation performance in 10 industrial sectors (biotechnology, ICT, energy, automotive, food/drink, space, textile, chemicals, machinery/equipment). Companies in different industrial sectors follow different innovation patterns, for instance, non-technological innovation is more important in services sectors than in manufacturing. The Sectoral Innovation Watch will seek to understand this kind of sector specificity in innovation behaviour with the aim of providing an analytical arm towards shaping future innovation policy.
8 Innovation Panels
Sector Innovation Panels aim to provide important feedback from innovating businesses on innovation drivers and barriers inhibiting innovation. These panels shall be composed of industry experts on innovation and will serve to complement the analytical findings of the Sectoral Innovation Watch. To this extent, they will engage in the formulation of policy recommendations. Two of the panels will provide recommendations on global gazelles (high growth SMEs) and on eco-innovation.
Innovation Finance Networks aim to strengthen the currently poor access to finance for innovative companies as this problem serves as a common obstacle to innovation in most sectors. The Networks will bring together entrepreneurs, incubators and the financial community in different sectors to analyse innovation finance needs, develop new tools for innovation finance and draw policy recommendations.
Cluster Networks is a pilot action devised to provide better innovation management tools in the face of growing international competition. These Clusters, often regarded as hotspots for innovation, will aim to use their strategic location to build platforms for sharing analyses and the transfer of good practice in cluster management.
Innovation Management
The Innovation Management project will attempt to provide new tools for SMEs aimed at getting innovative start-ups off the ground. This project attempts to make the growing incubation business more professional through employing new tools for innovation management that include self-assessment for SMEs as well as the certification of innovation capabilities.
Innovation Standards
Standards are to be considered a catalyst for innovation. They play a crucial role in the definition of market conditions throughout many industrial sectors and effectively they serve to accelerate technological and organisational change. To improve innovation performance through the use of standards a series of Coordinated Actions will be launched. These will aim to: facilitate the integration of open standards into the design of new products and services; facilitate the integration of open standards into business practices; stimulate innovation through reference to standards in procurement. A Specific Support Action will also be launched to ensure a proper coordination amongst the three networks and to disseminate the results to a broader audience.
Innovation Mapping
In preparation of policy initiatives designed to foster competitiveness and innovation, the Innovation Mapping scheme provides a specific study set to map and analyse the evolution of existing and emerging clusters in Europe. The proposed study will create a consistent set of data and apply the same methodology throughout the EU-25. The study will enhance our understanding of the role that clusters play in strengthening innovation performance.
Europe INNOVA Communications Service
This is a central service designed to coordinate and disseminate information through producing information brochures, news letter etc.
Europe INNOVA Forum
The Europe INNOVA Forum is a web-based forum that will be launched to support and contribute towards the Europe INNOVA as well as other initiatives related to innovation. The ambition of this initiative is to develop Europe INNOVA into the focal point for sector specific innovation initiatives and projects in Europe.
