Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ENRIITC (European Network of Research Infrastructures & IndusTry for Collaboration)
Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2022-12-31
Research Infrastructures (RIs) operate in complex innovation ecosystems where industry plays an increasingly important role. To establish and maintain efficient collaboration with industry as a user or a co-creator, RIs may have dedicated personnel, the so-called ‘Industrial Contact Officers’ (ICOs), who are in charge of these interactions. In addition, RI member countries may appoint Industry Liaison Officers (ILOs) to stimulate collaboration between their national industries and selected international RIs. In this case, industry acts as a supplier to the RI and can thus help to generate a better return on investment for their country. There are EU initiatives, such as the Innovation Union, that aim to revolutionise the way public and private sectors work together and remove obstacles to innovation. In 2013, a working group on Innovation was set up within the framework of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) to propose a strategic plan for an industry-oriented cooperation at RIs. While initiatives of this type support industry-RI partnerships in general, their mission goals do not fully utilise ICOs and ILOs. The ENRIITC proposal aims to address this gap: ENRIITC will build a permanent pan-European network of ILOs and ICOs. By supporting the establishment of strategic, cross-border partnerships between industry and RIs, and encouraging cocreation activities, the network will deliver win-win results for all involved sides.
With a timeline of 36 months, 11 partners from seven countries, and a strong support from 60 Associates from around Europe, ENRIITC will:
1. Establish a sustainable European network of ILOs and ICOs which enables mutual learning,
2. Map collaboration potential between RIs and industry,
3. Develop and refine strategies and best practices to foster these collaborations,
4. Raise awareness among industry for collaboration opportunities at RIs and demonstrate impact.
To achieve the above, the consortium and Associates have jointly balanced the need for expertise from diverse scientific areas, combined it with practical insights from establishing relations with various industries operating in different sectors and geographical contexts, and propagated it among their networks. ENRIITC has started to unlock underexploited innovation potential among industrial actors across Europe maximising societal and economic benefits across the whole innovation value chain.
With a timeline of 36 months, 11 partners from seven countries, and a strong support from 60 Associates from around Europe, ENRIITC will:
1. Establish a sustainable European network of ILOs and ICOs which enables mutual learning,
2. Map collaboration potential between RIs and industry,
3. Develop and refine strategies and best practices to foster these collaborations,
4. Raise awareness among industry for collaboration opportunities at RIs and demonstrate impact.
To achieve the above, the consortium and Associates have jointly balanced the need for expertise from diverse scientific areas, combined it with practical insights from establishing relations with various industries operating in different sectors and geographical contexts, and propagated it among their networks. ENRIITC has started to unlock underexploited innovation potential among industrial actors across Europe maximising societal and economic benefits across the whole innovation value chain.
ENRIITC made significant progress during its second reporting period. WP2 brought to light key insights on the current state of industry-research infrastructure (RI) relations, and the key takeaways can be summarised as:
-Knowledge exchange is an under-explored ground for both ILOS and ICOs, and is a possible convergence area for ILO and ICO activity. It is an ‘unknown’ territory where there should be potential;
-Terminology issue: difference between ILO and ICO hardly perceived by the reference community;
-The RI “ICO” does not exist (as one person);
-There is a large need for professionalisation of the sector, and creating a culture of industry relations with RIs;
-Performance indicators should be adapted to the individual characteristics (vision/mission/objectives) of each RI;
-CatRIs has been identified as one potential solution for a portal of RI-industry connection.
The mapping exercise conducted in 2020 revealed that European RIs vary greatly in size and maturity, and whether they are single-sited or distributed. The outcomes of WP2 supported the development of specific strategic recommendations within WP3, which produced a list of 17 key actions that every RI interested in industry collaboration should consider. WP3 and WP5 worked together to disseminate these recommendations through articles on the project website and social media.
The ENRIITC Hub, proposed in D3.1 is the central aspect of the network's sustainability. It will serve as a meeting point for industry liaison officers (ILOs) and industry contact officers (ICOs), offering training activities, organizing annual events on RI-industry engagement, and potentially representing RIs toward policy makers (e.g. ESFRI) via a board of experts. Other significant progress was made under WP4, which focused on demonstrating the quality, performance, and impact of engagement actions through training, case studies, and industry events.
An important milestone was the recognition of ENRIITC in the ESFRI Strategy Report on Research Infrastructures Roadmap 2021. This shows the impact of ENRIITC within the RI landscape.
As part of the networking activities tasks, ENRIITC increased its outreach activities to support project dissemination and positioning in the wider community. ENRIITC was invited as a keynote speaker to present RI-industry engagement in various fora, which gave high visibility to the network and strengthened its importance. Two major in-person networking events were also organized by the end of the project: BSBF 2022 and ICRI 2022, which served as advocacy platforms to encourage follow-up on activities and engage with different stakeholders, including the European Commission (EC).
The network experienced a constant growth of 465% between 2020 and 2022, and the project closed with 497 individuals at the end of December 2022. A significant development was the work done on the sustainability of the network, which was thoroughly implemented in close collaboration with consortium partners. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was proposed for RIs and ILOs to confirm their engagement with the ENRIITC network, and a marketing campaign was launched to inform the network about the MoU and invite RIs to contact ENRIITC. A booklet on case studies and an advocacy paper, as well as testimonial campaigns, were developed, which clearly demonstrate the positive impact of ENRIITC in enabling changes.
-Knowledge exchange is an under-explored ground for both ILOS and ICOs, and is a possible convergence area for ILO and ICO activity. It is an ‘unknown’ territory where there should be potential;
-Terminology issue: difference between ILO and ICO hardly perceived by the reference community;
-The RI “ICO” does not exist (as one person);
-There is a large need for professionalisation of the sector, and creating a culture of industry relations with RIs;
-Performance indicators should be adapted to the individual characteristics (vision/mission/objectives) of each RI;
-CatRIs has been identified as one potential solution for a portal of RI-industry connection.
The mapping exercise conducted in 2020 revealed that European RIs vary greatly in size and maturity, and whether they are single-sited or distributed. The outcomes of WP2 supported the development of specific strategic recommendations within WP3, which produced a list of 17 key actions that every RI interested in industry collaboration should consider. WP3 and WP5 worked together to disseminate these recommendations through articles on the project website and social media.
The ENRIITC Hub, proposed in D3.1 is the central aspect of the network's sustainability. It will serve as a meeting point for industry liaison officers (ILOs) and industry contact officers (ICOs), offering training activities, organizing annual events on RI-industry engagement, and potentially representing RIs toward policy makers (e.g. ESFRI) via a board of experts. Other significant progress was made under WP4, which focused on demonstrating the quality, performance, and impact of engagement actions through training, case studies, and industry events.
An important milestone was the recognition of ENRIITC in the ESFRI Strategy Report on Research Infrastructures Roadmap 2021. This shows the impact of ENRIITC within the RI landscape.
As part of the networking activities tasks, ENRIITC increased its outreach activities to support project dissemination and positioning in the wider community. ENRIITC was invited as a keynote speaker to present RI-industry engagement in various fora, which gave high visibility to the network and strengthened its importance. Two major in-person networking events were also organized by the end of the project: BSBF 2022 and ICRI 2022, which served as advocacy platforms to encourage follow-up on activities and engage with different stakeholders, including the European Commission (EC).
The network experienced a constant growth of 465% between 2020 and 2022, and the project closed with 497 individuals at the end of December 2022. A significant development was the work done on the sustainability of the network, which was thoroughly implemented in close collaboration with consortium partners. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was proposed for RIs and ILOs to confirm their engagement with the ENRIITC network, and a marketing campaign was launched to inform the network about the MoU and invite RIs to contact ENRIITC. A booklet on case studies and an advocacy paper, as well as testimonial campaigns, were developed, which clearly demonstrate the positive impact of ENRIITC in enabling changes.
This second half of the project saw an acceleration of the project activities and engagement in the innovation ecosystem. This allowed to position ENRIITC as a key platform representing all the ESFRI scientific domains in support to their engagement with industry. After the end of the project, ENRIITC aims to pursue its ambition, and the consortium partners are discussing ways to make it sustainable. During the transition phase they will continue to engage and work with the community pursuing the successful efforts made over the three years of the project.
The three years of the project has shown a clear for a platform like ENRIITC. As part of the sustainability, the consortium partners have the ambition to maintain the network and the community through a central Hub that will offer services to both ILOs and ICOs. The Hub will be governed by representatives of large-scale pan-EU RIs (ESFRI, ERICs) together with ILOs via the PERIIA Network. Through the Hub, they will propose a series of activities supporting the professionalisation of ILOs and ICOs, RI-industry engagement and community building, visibility of RIs in the innovation ecosystems, promoting the importance of research as an engine of innovation, market disruption, and societal impact. A board of appointed experts could act as an interface between the Hub and ESFRI representatives, providing recommendations based on the outcomes of the Hub activities and engagement with the stakeholders.
The three years of the project has shown a clear for a platform like ENRIITC. As part of the sustainability, the consortium partners have the ambition to maintain the network and the community through a central Hub that will offer services to both ILOs and ICOs. The Hub will be governed by representatives of large-scale pan-EU RIs (ESFRI, ERICs) together with ILOs via the PERIIA Network. Through the Hub, they will propose a series of activities supporting the professionalisation of ILOs and ICOs, RI-industry engagement and community building, visibility of RIs in the innovation ecosystems, promoting the importance of research as an engine of innovation, market disruption, and societal impact. A board of appointed experts could act as an interface between the Hub and ESFRI representatives, providing recommendations based on the outcomes of the Hub activities and engagement with the stakeholders.