RTD and innovation support for SMEs
A new CORDIS Focus Supplement entitled "RTD and innovation support for SMEs" has recently been published. The Supplement (No 11) gives an overview of European Commission actions designed to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in participating in and benefiting from EU research and innovation activities. With a foreword by Pat Rabbitte, the current President of the Research Council, and contributions from all of the Commission's Directorates General involved in RTD and innovation, the Supplement reflects the ever-increasing importance of SMEs in European Union policies. In RTD and innovation, the participation of SMEs is of major importance both for European competitiveness and for employment. As the development of the Fifth RTD Framework Programme gets under way, it is already clear that SME participation is going to be even more important than in the Fourth Framework Programme. The Supplement provides detailed information for SMEs about participation in Community-funded programmes relating to both the RTD and the innovation processes. As regards RTD, the main instruments are the "Technology Stimulation Measures for SMEs", which allow SMEs to participate in ten of the specific RTD programmes of the Fourth Framework Programme. In the innovation sphere, the specific programme for the dissemination and exploitation of results of research (INNOVATION) includes several actions designed to foster technology transfer and innovation amongst SMEs. In addition to outlining the support measures in place to assist SMEs, the Supplement also contains details of information sources for SMEs. These include CORDIS, the Community's R&D Information Service and ARCADE, an RTD information service run by DG XII of the European Commission which includes information about several of the specific RTD programmes. The CRAFT Network of Focal Points, with members in each of the Member States of the EU plus Iceland and Norway, assist SMEs to find partners and write proposals for Community RTD projects. Other information networks, including the Innovation Relay Centres and the Euro Info Centres, are also detailed in the Supplement.