Call for establishment of a European Service Innovation Centre
The European Commission has published a call for tenders for the establishment of a European Service Innovation Centre (ESIC). Service innovation is not only found in service sectors or service industries that are provided by service entrepreneurs and service firms, it also takes place in manufacturing industries. While enterprises are the main developers of new service concepts, there is a role for policymaking in facilitating industrial development and growth. This is an area where overall awareness among policymakers is still low. It is also difficult to obtain reliable data and analysis on the dynamics and impact of the transformative power of service innovation. Awareness need to be raised and examples highlighted of how to implement better policies and tools to unlock the potential of service innovation. The main task of the ESIC will be to improve the awareness among policymakers at European, national and regional level of the contribution of service innovation and service firms to economic development. This applies in particular to the transforming powers of service innovation in shaping emerging sectors, industries and markets. Specific aims to be met by ESIC are to capture and demonstrate the dynamics and large scale impact of service innovation, provide customised advice to selected model demonstrator regions, and promote and raise awareness of the role and impact of service innovation.To see the official call announcement, please consult: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:63839-2012:TEXT:EN:HTML&src=0(opens in new window)