Experts propose shake up of EUREKA
EUREKA could be re-launched to tackle a wide range of innovation policies, according to the Strategic Review Panel mandated by the EUREKA Ministerial Conference last summer to provide an in-depth analysis of EUREKA. A renewed EUREKA could fill a vital gap in the support that European governments offer their innovative firms, according to Professor Luke Georghiou, chairman of the Panel. The Panel spent six months consulting key figures from the 25 EUREKA member countries and the European Commission, including interviews with 30 industrialists from many of the EUREKA member countries. It also looked at the implementation of recommendations from previous evaluations of EUREKA and used a mass of statistical information to analyze the performance of EUREKA in detail. The final report describes four scenarios, named after the four seasons of the year: - AUTUMN - Business as usual - by which the Strategic Review would have as little impact upon the direction of EUREKA as past evaluations; - WINTER - Termination - by which there is an active decision to terminate EUREKA; - SPRING - Re-launch and re-vitalization -which would depend on three pre-conditions: - - A realization that EUREKA is a valuable property; - - A recognition that urgent action is needed if decline is to be reversed; - - The collective good intentions of the Member countries are translated into a clear programme of actions; - SUMMER - Re-orientation from R&D to innovation support & policy coordination - which would depend on the same pre-conditions as the SPRING scenario with the additional desire to expand the scope of EUREKA so that it can coordinate a wider range of innovation policies among its members. The Panel said that, whilst it was not their responsibility to select which scenarios to pursue, they offered the following observations in conclusion: - The EUREKA mechanism, with its flexibility and lack of bureaucracy, matches closely the requirements of industry in Europe. However the value of the Initiative has been undermined by declining political and financial commitment on the part of governments. The data lead us clearly to the conclusion that decline will be terminal if action is not taken now; - EUREKA is far too valuable a property to let go by neglect. Despite the problems identified, the value of the goodwill embodied in the networks and the associated tacit knowledge is enormous. It is extremely unlikely that a scheme on this scale could be started from scratch without incurring prohibitive costs and delays; - Far too much effort has been expanded on seeking to use the Framework Programme as a funding source for the present EUREKA activities. Synergy, by definition, is a two-way street and we believe that the best way for EUREKA to stimulate this is to produce initiatives which offer to the Community the most effective route to attaining its own objectives. In our innovation policy scenarios, a much broader interface with EUREKA activities is envisaged; - Rather than seeing the situation of EUREKA as a problem, it should in fact be regarded as presenting a unique opportunity for a new partnership between industry and governments in Europe to be launched. This will build upon the demonstrated successes of EUREKA by offering a coordinated approach to innovation policy wherever there is potential to create a more favourable environment for innovation; - If political decision-makers choose to rise to this challenge the prospect of a new Hanover Declaration restating in up-to-date terms the objectives of EUREKA will provide a clear signal to the collective commitment of European governments to innovation. This declaration will be all the stronger for including the much larger membership which now exists; - the Panel has presented an analysis and believes that a range of choices exists to assure a positive future for EUREKA and its constituency in European industry. However, the window of opportunity for taking these forward is short and the need for action urgent. The European Commission, Directorate-General XII, took the official position that the EUREKA Secretariat should wait for high representatives, or even Ministers, to discuss the experts' report before giving the conclusions to the public. At the next EUREKA Ministerial Conference in Istanbul on 29 June 1999, Ministers will decide on the direction EUREKA should follow, basing their decision on industry's comments and proposals in response to the Panel's report.