On November 10th, two relevant projects working under the Framework Programme 7 of the European Commission and, specifically, in the Capacities programme supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) involvement in the research programmes, have met in Porto, Portugal, with the aim to share the outcome of the studies and debates held during last two years.
The projects funded by the European Commission: MAPEER SME (Making Progress and Economic enhancement a Reality for SMEs), coordinated by the Spanish company ROSE Vision and GPRIX (Good Practices in innovation support Measures for SMEs), coordinated by the Portuguese company INNOVAMAIS, held an important meeting in the Portuguese Business Association headquarters in Porto, in order to discuss progresses, share information and elaborate towards improving the Cooperative European and National Programmes which supports Research and Development and Innovation (R+D+I) in Europe.
The meeting discussed the barriers and opportunities for SMEs, derived from the research cooperative programmes. Mr. P Soutinho focused its intervention on the barriers and good practices identified for the participation of SMEs of the traditional sectors (ceramics, textiles, automotive, etc.) in the research programmes. Dr J Seseña introduced the results of the MAPEER studies on analysis of national programmes for Portugal and Spain, as well as the interviews and questionnaires made to SMEs in both countries, together with the overall set of recommendations produced by the European Experts Panel on Research by SMEs.
It is well known that to carry out an activity or to implement a task in cooperation results in higher efficiency, wider problem solving approach and the development of the knowledge base for each involved organisation. Driven by this approach, the two European initiatives met to discuss recent developments and results of their activities and to agree on future collaboration cases in order to coordinate activities, avoid duplications of efforts and to maximise impact.
The MAPEER SME project has selected and analysed about 185 national or regional level R+D+I programmes that count as the most important R+D+I funding sources in the 27 European member states plus Bosnia Herzegovina. The database of the analysed programmes is a useful information source for SMEs searching for R+D+I funding programmes in Europe.
Invitations were also made to all those SMEs interested to raise their views to fill in questionnaires and express their interest to become members of the EEP-SME. In addition, information about the back office service put in practice by MAPEER SME project was provided. For further information on the three initiatives and on the already available results please visit: www.research4smes.eu or contact
- Julián Seseña, MAPEER SME Coordinator, jsesena@rose.es
- Pedro Soutinho, GPRIX Coordinator, pedro.soutinho@inovamais.pt
