European Research Policy
The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (2007-2013)
The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) aims to encourage the competitiveness of European enterprises. With small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as its main target, the programme will support innovation activities (including eco-innovation), provide better access to finance and deliver business support services in the regions. It will encourage a better take-up and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) and help to develop the information society. It will also promote the increased use of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
The programme will run from 2007 to 2013 and has a total budget of € 3.621 million.
| Activity |
Total 2007-2013 EUR million |
% of total CIP |
| COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION |
1. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP) |
2.166 |
60% |
 Eco-innovation |
430 |
|
Financial instruments |
1130 |
|
2. Information Communication Technologies Policy support Programme (ICT PSP) |
728 |
20% |
3. Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) |
727 |
20% |
 |
| Total |
3.621 |
100% |
The CIP is divided into three operational programmes:
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP)
With a budget of € 2.166 million the EIP aims to achieve its objectives through the following actions:
Access to finance for SMEs through "EU financial instruments"
A network of business and innovation service centres
Support for initiatives to foster entrepreneurship and innovation
Eco-innovation - making sustainable development become a business reality
Support for policy-making
Information Communication Technologies Policy support Programme (ICT PSP)
The ICT PSP has a budget of € 728 million aims at stimulating innovation and competitiveness through the wider uptake and best use of ICT by citizens, governments and businesses.
The programme will focus on three main themes in 2007:
Efficient and interoperable eGovernment services
ICT for accessibility, ageing and social integration
ICT for sustainable and interoperable health services
Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE)
The objective of the IEE Programme, which has a total budget of € 727 million, is to contribute to secure, sustainable and competitively priced energy for Europe, by providing for action:
To foster energy efficiency and the rational use of energy resources.
To promote new and renewable energy sources and to support energy diversification.
To promote energy efficiency and the use of new and renewable energy sources in transport.
European Institute of Technology (EIT)
Background
The proposal to establish a European Institute of Technology was first put forward by the Commission in its 2005 Spring Report as an integral part of the revised Lisbon Strategy which has placed innovation, research and education activities at the top of the Growth and Jobs Agenda. Building on extensive consultations with European stakeholders, Member States and the general public during 2005 and 2006 the Commission adopted two Communications on the EIT (22 February and 8 June 2006 respectively) outlining the ambition, scope and organisational elements of this institute. The March and June 2006 European Councils recognised that the EIT will be an important step to fill the existing gap between higher education, research and innovation. In fact, the June European Council went further and called on the Commission to come forward with a formal proposal, to be presented in autumn 2006.
In response to this invitation the Commission has put forward on 18 October 2006 a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Institute of Technology. The proposal is accompanied by an impact assessment report.
Objectives
The EIT will contribute to bridge the innovation gap between the EU and its major competitors by promoting further the integration of the three sides of the knowledge triangle in a mutually-supportive manner and providing a world-class innovation-oriented critical mass at the EU level. The EIT will encourage and promote innovation through trans- and inter-disciplinary strategic research and education in areas of key economic or societal interest and by exploiting its knowledge outcomes to the benefit of the EU.
To achieve its mission the EIT will set up excellence-driven strategic long-term partnerships in critical areas between all actors involved in the knowledge triangle. Such an initiative would offer European companies a new relationship with education and research.
Furthermore, the EIT will seek to become a symbol of the integrated European Innovation, Research and Education Area, as well as a reference model that will inspire and drive change in existing education and research institutions in the EU.
The EIT Structure
The Commission is proposing an integrated, two-level structure of the EIT that combines both a bottom-up and a top-down approach:
The EIT itself, overseen by a Governing Board (GB): the legal entity that will be the EIT will consist of the GB and a very limited number of around 60 scientific and support staff. The GB will be composed of a balanced, representative group of 15 high-profile people from business and the scientific community, plus 4 further Members representing staff and students from the EIT and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities. It will be responsible for setting the overall strategic priorities of the EIT and for selecting Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) to address them. It will evaluate their progress towards agreed objectives and coordinate their work in the strategic areas concerned.
Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs): The KICs are the defining characteristic of the EIT; based on, but going beyond a network approach, they are joint-ventures of partner organisations representing universities, research organisations and businesses who come together to form an integrated partnership in response to calls for proposals from the EIT. Their objectives will be laid down on a contractual basis with the EIT, but they will have a high level of autonomy in terms of how they organise themselves and how they achieve the agreed objectives. They will fully integrate the innovation, research and education dimensions.
Next Steps
The proposed regulation on the EIT will be discussed both in the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers in accordance with the co-decision procedure. The target is adoption by the end of 2007 or early 2008. In this case, the EIT would become operational in 2008, with the first two Knowledge and Innovation Communities in place by 2010-2011.
For further information:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/educ/eit/index_en.html
i2010 - A European Information Society for growth and employment
i2010 is the European Commission's strategic policy framework laying out broad policy guidelines for the information society and the media in the years up to 2010. It promotes an open and competitive digital economy, research into information and communication technologies, as well as their application to improve social inclusion, public services and quality of life.
i2010 has three priorities:
- To create a Single European Information Space, which promotes an open and competitive internal market for information society and media services.
- To strengthen investment in innovation and research in ICT.
- To foster inclusion, better public services and quality of life through the use of ICT.
Further information on i2010 can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/index_en.htm
