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Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support

 

Specific Challenge: The challenge is to improve the framework conditions of the European ICT innovation ecosystem so that it offers the best conditions for innovators to capture the full potential of innovation to transform ideas to the market for sustaining growth and jobs.

Scope:

a.      ICT business idea contests in Universities and High schools

Organise and promote ICT business idea contests addressed to University and high-school students. ICT business ideas contests should be organised at national and subsequently European level. A participation of at least 10 Member States or Associated Countries in the first year (up to all Member States and Associated Countries) should be sought. The first selection takes place at Campus level and will continue gradually up to the European level with a final event Support will go to a well-focused consortium which members should have demonstrated capacity in mobilising students and having experience with similar large scale events.

b.      ICT Entrepreneurship Summer Academy

The creation of a European wide system of Summer Academies for university and last year high school students entirely focused on ICT entrepreneurship. The summer academies will be action oriented and include activities such as ICT and entrepreneurial skills development; experimenting, mentoring; support for business planning and setting up your company; matchmaking; generation and development of ICT-related business ideas. The project will complement, extend and enrich similar existing actions while focusing on the ICT sector and excellence.

c.       ICT Entrepreneurship Labs

Bring entrepreneurs, students, researchers and companies together in experimental spaces to foster innovation driven entrepreneurship. The aim is to foster team-based entrepreneurial activities and deepen interaction between students, entrepreneurs, designers, universities and professors. Activities should combine exploring entrepreneurship as career through classes, workshops, learning by doing, co-working spaces, experimental activities like testing and prototyping, access to resources, coaching and sharing experience with other entrepreneurs, including serial entrepreneurs and successful founders. Particular focus should be on new initiatives that widen participation, including twining to share experience and best practices, on sustainability and support for scaling up.

d.      Campaign on Entrepreneurship culture in innovative ICT sector

Develop a public campaign focused on promoting entrepreneurship and the culture of risk-taking attitude in Europe with a focus on ICT sector. The campaign will address messages like ""I've tried and I've failed"", ""I've tried and I succeeded"" and role models that Europeans can relate and feel encouraged to become entrepreneurs. The objective is to boost the entrepreneurship by changing the perception towards risk aversion in Europe. The accent will be put on lessons learned. The campaign should be promoted through channels at national and European level. In order to make the testimonials relevant enough for all potential entrepreneurs across Europe, the campaign should be promoted in minimum 2/3 of Member States and Associated Countries. This campaign should be part of a long term plan to change the culture of entrepreneurship in Europe.

e.       Support for definition and implementation of Inducement Prizes (or Challenges)

The objective is to define 8 to 12 inducement prize competitions. This includes a validated analysis for multiple ICT thematic areas of technological or societal challenges that potential competitions will solve; development of a list of prize concepts and size of associated prize fund appropriate for addressing the challenges; identification of underlying market failures that each prize seeks to address; definition of success criteria; and, drafting prize competition rules, developing plans for evaluations and operations.

f.       European networks of procurers (European Procurers Platforms)

The objective is to support the creation of European wide networks of procurers that define together an innovation procurement roadmap, identifying shared procurement needs in the near term (relevant for PPI) as well as mid-to-long term (relevant for PCP) in areas of common European interest.

EPPs actions must engage into an open dialogue with all potential stakeholders, including other procurers and end-users. EPPs must publish their perceived procurement needs online, in a way that enables the research and innovation community to comment and submit ideas to make suggestions for future PCPs or PPIs relevant to the focus domain of the EPP. EPPs must also undertake activities that investigate the feasibility and facilitate the concrete preparation of a cross-border PCP or PPI for at least one shared common procurement need.

EPPs must contain a critical mass of public procurers responsible for the acquisition and/or regulatory strategy for innovative solutions in areas of public interest that are large potential customers for ICT LEIT technologies. EPPs must undertake dissemination activities to share results and raise awareness about PCP and PPI across Europe.

Expected impact:

For all activities focus should be on actions with real impact rather than theoretical models and studies. Reuse and pooling of resources, including existing (web) platforms are highly desired. Equal access of women and men to all the activities should also be fostered.

a.       Increased awareness and perception of ICT entrepreneurship among young people in Europe; Development of entrepreneurship skills and exploitation of e-skills.

b.      Increased practical entrepreneurial skills amongst students that will allow them to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations, to start and grow your business or use them in their career.

c.       Increased entrepreneurship, increased number of offered opportunities for entrepreneurs, new initiatives that would have not been started without EC intervention, increased collaboration in respective communities between different actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

d.      Modify the perception of the barriers faced by ICT entrepreneurs and decrease the fear of starting a business. Changing the attitude towards risk-taking will spur innovative ICT-based ventures and should produce a positive effect on the number of new entrepreneurs.

e.       Comprehensive prize design delivered by a consortium with experience in designing inducement prizes. Identification of inducement prize with highest impact and chance of mobilising the stakeholders to engage and participate. Awareness of potential of inducement prises raised beyond the community typically active in the competition area.

f.       More forward-looking, concerted approach to develop common answers to challenges faced by the public sector in a number of countries. Increased opportunities for the supply side to present the demand side the potential of innovative solutions to address concrete public sector challenges. Reduced fragmentation of public sector demand through definition of common specifications and preparation of cross-border procurements.

Types of action:

a. b. c. Innovation Actions – Proposals requesting a Small contribution are expected

d.      Coordination and Support Actions

e.       Coordination and Support Actions

f.       Coordination and Support Actions