The main objective of this project is to provide 16 RIS NAC regions with Western EU experts to help them implement their regional innovation strategy or action plan. The regions concerned include South Central Bulgaria, Cyprus, Warmia and Mazury, Wielkopolska, Slovenia, Tartu and Estonia, Central Transdanubia and Central Hungary, South Great Plain, South Transdanubia, Silesia, West Romania, Nove Zamky, Nitra and Bratislava, Opole, North West Bohemia, Prague and Pilsen, Latvia and West Pomerania. ~The European Commission requested the Innovation Coach team to put a special focus on Innovation Finance, with a view to developing funding mechanisms and schemes such as: investor networks (business angels, venture
capitalists), pre-seed facilities (vouchers/ grants), seed funds (equity and quasi-equity), start up funds, guarantee funds and micro-finance tools. Some 15 TII members have been selected as coaches and offered an assignment of 60 days in one of these regions. A common request from the regions to the experts was to design projects which can be financed through the regional structural funds.
A second way of helping the regions to implement their Regional Innovation Strategy is through awareness-raising and good practice exchange by organising trans-national workshops. For example, in September 2006 a workshop was organised in Szeged (Hungary) on “Implementing start-up and venture capital funds for technology based companies and Setting up a university-based entrepreneurship programme”; in March 2007 another workshop was held in Ljubljana on “The SME financial value chain” and one in Riga on “Innovation Culture and Pre-seed facility”. A third tool is the organisation of
regional study visits planned for July 2007 in Warsaw and in October 2007 in Budapest, inviting TII and EURADA members to meet and develop partnerships with CEEC counterparts. The purpose of these regional study visits is to create opportunities for long-term collaboration (business and research joint ventures) between innovation support players in the home regions and representatives of innovation support organizations from across the European Union. Presentations will be made by the key policy agencies, research establishments, innovation consultants as well as selected innovative firms, thus providing participants with a valuable address book of potential partners and business.
A fourth tool at the disposal of the RIS NAC is the on-line provision of Strategic, Operational and References Guides dedicated to best practice in: - Finance (pre-seed, seed-funds, venture capital, business angels,..), - Management of Intellectual Property Rights, - Implementation and management of a Technology Transfer Office in a University or Public Research Organisation - Promoting innovation within your region, - How to promote and create knowledge based companies,..
A fifth way of helping the regional stakeholders to derive benefit from the Regional Structural Funds and FP7 funding sources is by monitoring the EU calls for proposals and tenders. This is done firstly by an electronic tenders alert service which sends the details of recent calls dealing with innovation, finance, research and regional development. In addition, CEEC partners are invited to take part in the TII Brussels Group meetings which are organized three or four times a year, dedicated to a more in-depth analysis of these calls under the guidance of our European R & D expert. These meetings are also a good opportunity for identifying potential international partners to be involved in the consortium.
The 5th IRE Plenary Conference on “Fostering the knowledge economy in Europe: making regional innovation policies more innovative” which takes place in Ennis (IRL) on 23-25 May 2007 will bring testimonials and offer an exchange of experience of RIS-NAC innovation policies powered by the Structural Funds.
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