Innovation studies
Do European firms tend to be too inward looking? This was one of the questions addressed by a Commission supported innovation policy study entitled 'Innovation policy in a knowledge-based economy' that explored the competitiveness of European firms following the introduction of the internal market. The process of European integration has led many firms to focus on the single market, and the study, coordinated by Dutch university research institute MERIT, aimed to explore whether this had led companies to adopt too insular an approach. 'The new European challenge is two-fold,' says the study. 'One aspect is to open up the field of vision of European firms to view the entire world as their potential markets, as well as to take advantage of Europe address the global market. The second is to take advantage of Europe.' The objective of the study was to synthesise new approaches to innovation theory, establish the link between research and policy, and give advice on current perspectives and develop long-term perspectives. It was commissioned by the European Commission's Innovation directorate as part of 11 studies addressing Community innovation policy and the work programme of the Innovation and SMEs programme from which they were funded. The results of the studies will be disseminated to Member States and other interested bodies in order to improve the knowledge of innovation performance and policies in Europe. They will also serve as a recent authoritative assessment of the situation, to be taken into account by the Commission when formulating policy. The other ten studies addressed the following themes: - good practice in technology transfer from large public research institutions; - innovative European enterprises: the successful application of research results on dynamic markets; - Community action promoting innovation management - external evaluation; - financing of NTBFs (new technology-based firms) by commercial banks in the EU; - corporate venturing in Europe; - assessment of the action line for regional innovation and technology transfer strategies and infrastructures (RITTS) and regional innovation strategies (RIS); - external evaluation of the I-TEC pilot project - reviewing the performance of projects designed to encourage venture capitalists to invest in high-tech companies; - the need for professional and vocational education and training for investment analysts of venture capital firms and investment banks; - 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; - patent defence in Europe. A further nine studies were commissioned by DG Enterprise in January 2000. The results of these will be available in October 2001 when a further six studies will be launched. These nine studies will address the following areas: - corporation tax and innovation: issues at stake and review of experience in the 1990s in the European Union and the United States; - innovation policy issues in six applicant countries: the challenges; - innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and the creation of employment; - industrial relations and innovation; - patent protection of computer programs: impact assessment on small and medium-sized innovative entities of the future patent reform relating to computer program inventions; - free patent information on the Internet: impact assessment; - the Internet and technology transfer; - the cooperation between the research system and industry to promote innovative firms; - review and dissemination of results of innovation studies.
Kraje
Netherlands