New CORDIS focus supplement to help European SMEs 'ride the wave'
CORDIS, the Community Research and Development Information Service, has published a new edition of its supplement aimed specifically at European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Entitled 'e-Business: Riding the waves of innovation', it covers technology from research projects offered for the marketplace, EU support services for SMEs, and opportunities for SME participation in EU research projects and programmes. This second SME special issue of the CORDIS focus 'Technology Opportunities Today' supplement spotlights e-business tools and applications for SMEs. The 'e-Business Market W@tch' survey in 2003 found that more than a quarter of European companies had broadband connections and over half bought supplies online. On the sales side too, the share of firms conducting more than five per cent of their transactions online was surprisingly strong among SMEs in the retail and tourism sectors. The supplement presents a wide selection of technologies and potential partners with particular interest for the e-business applications of European SMEs. For example, the EU-funded Merci project, profiled in the magazine's section on 'Efficient Business Solutions', has developed a supply-chain management database compatible with a wide range of standards for interoperability, and available for licensing. A central pullout section profiles EU services that provide support for European SMEs. Readers can keep this as an introductory guide, including contact details, to innovation support providers such as Gate2Growth (links to venture capital), IPR Helpdesk (intellectual property issues) and the CORDIS service on incubators. The supplement also introduces opportunities for SMEs to participate in EU-funded research projects and programmes. The outgoing EU Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin, is quoted in the publication as saying: 'we need very practical [...] measures to help SMEs overcome the difficulties in setting up and participating in European research actions'. At least fifteen per cent of the budget of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for research and development is to be assigned to SMEs, with a total budget of 1700 million euro available in its various thematic priority areas. The supplement's hands-on guide to FP6 and profile of the Detect-IT project indicate just how smaller firms can become directly involved. The offers of usable technology and opportunities for commercial collaboration are taken from the CORDIS Technology Marketplace.