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Innovation Emergency: Research to Deliver Europe's Promise

Europe's innovation system is underperforming, requiring policy interventions to improve research and development. This article highlights the need for better dissemination of research results and innovative outcomes that generate economic and societal impact.

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Innovation Emergency: Research to Deliver Europe's Promise

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  1. Research must reach out to deliver it’s promise Ronan Gormley UCD Institute of Food & Health, Dublin 4, Ireland ronan.gormley@ucd.ie

  2. Research & Innovation RESEARCHconverts Euros toKNOWLEDGE INNOVATIONconvertsKNOWLEDGEto Euros  

  3. Innovation in Europe • Europe is facing a situation of ‘innovation emergency’ and is spending 0.8% of GDP less than the US and 1.5% less than Japan every year on Research and Development* • Although the EU market is the largest in the world, it remains fragmented and, to an extent, ‘innovation unfriendly’, and other countries like China and South Korea are catching up fast *EU Commission 2012. Why do we need an Innovation Union? Innovation Union: a Europe 2020 Initiative.

  4. A rational for action - - - • No wonder the EU Commission Staff Working Document ‘A Rationale for Action’*states that the current performance of European research and innovation systems, at EU and Member State levels warrants policy interventions designed to improve their performance* • It continues that under-performance is a consequence of weaknesses in the constituent parts of research and the way these parts link together and are governed at EU, Member State and regional levels *EU Commission 2010. Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative: Innovation Union, COM(2010), 546.

  5. The innovation river---how to cross?

  6. Ability to use R&D results

  7. Factors for success in transferring technical information to food SMEs Meet & build trust; networking is the key to success in many cases Don't sell R&D; sell solutions or information relevant to the company Use suppliers (ingredients & equipment) to reach small/very small companies Work in-factory with small companies; show a profit motive Timing is important; you cannot communicate R&D when today's business is the current SME priority In small family businesses the best contact is often the 'son' or 'daughter’ Ready-to-use material in the 'right language' is critical Realise/recognise the 'limits' in technology transfer & R&D dissemination Concentrate on companies with capability of being successful in R&D uptake

  8. How can innovative SMEs realise their full potential? (Slide courtesy of Erik Vermeulen) 1. Governments should encourage partnering and collaborations 2. One-size-does-not-fit-all 3. SMEs/entrepreneurs should engage in due diligence when looking for investments – Connectivity is important (follow-on investments, value-added services) 4. SMEs/entrepreneurs should understand corporate venture capital

  9. 33% were unfriendly !!

  10. Delivering the European Research Area • Achieving a well-functioning European Research Area (ERA) in which researchers, scientific knowledge & technology circulate freely is of utmost importance; failures lead to significant underperformance in the European research system as a whole1 • The Innovation Union’s proposal a ‘Budget for Europe 2020’2 envisages substantial re-orientation of the future EU budget towards research & innovation, bringing together current research & innovation programmes into a single strategic framework - Horizon 2020 - to fund the whole innovation cycle3. Simplification measures for FP7 were introduced in 2011 & Horizon 2020 will show more far reaching simplification - - - ?? 1EU Commission 2012. Horizon 2020: Innovation Union commitments No. 4, 6 and 7 2EU Commission 2011. COM(2011) 500 and SEC(2011) 867 and 868 of 29/6/2011 3EU Commission 2010. Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative: Innovation Union, COM(2010), 546

  11. So how can we improve dissemination of research results & proceed to innovative outcomes that make money and/or give public good or policy outcomes?? Making money Policy/legislation Publicgood Frontier research IMPACT

  12. Irish Times 24 Nov 2014 Prof Jean-Pierre Bourguignon President ERC At least 20% of a country’s investment in science should be frontier research that does not necessarily have to link into commercial interests

  13. Specialised dissemination projects FLAIR-FLOW EUROPE FunctionalFoodNet CommNet TRADEIT/trafoon CONNECT4ACTION Youris.com (European Research Media Centre) An independent non-profit media agency promoting the leading-edge European innovation via TV media and the web. + many more !!

  14. WEBSITES: Keep them simple! Give strict instructions to the website designer Look for a good price Very easy to navigate An open website for everyone Keep up to date - - add the new - - delete out-of-date Update it yourself on a weekly basis Be very selective about content Easy to upload Avoid overload Shut down website when relevant information flow ceases

  15. YOU are your own best disseminator - - - remind yourself of this daily & plan your project outputs & publications with this in mind! PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS/PATENTS • Peer reviewed/patents • Conferences & workshops • Technical journals • Newsletters • Facts sheets

  16. Who are the likely end-users of your research outputs to be targeted? – make a marketing plan • Other researchers (your peers) • Companies (food, pharma, medical - -) • Agencies (marketing, enterprise, safety - - ) • Health professionals • Agri-industry & farmers/growers • Consumer groups & consumers • Policy makers • Media & social media • Students

  17. How good is your network ? - Don’t be afraid to think outside the box

  18. ONE PROJECT but 6 disseminators

  19. Each disseminator must ask - - - - - • Who are my national ‘missionaries’ ? • Who are my national ‘umbrellas’ ? • Which national trade journal to target ? • What message/s will I release ? • What workshops will I organise ? • Can I piggy-back on another event ?

  20. Sci-tech journals, trade journals, bulletins, facts sheets, newspapers/popular press Sci-tech Trade News P:- befriend a journalist

  21. We don’t want sleeping industry partners

  22. We badly need programme sweepers ! !

  23. Conclusions • European innovation systems must be simplified, freed from bureaucracy & become much more cost effective Thedocument ‘A Rationale for Action’ re improved innovation performance at EU & Member State levels is welcomed • Future R&D projects in the bioeconomy domain should have innovative output inbuilt from the start • Ideally funding institution/agency should fund both elements of a project (R&D & innovation) as a single contract • One-stop-shop R&D technical centres are central to furtheringinnovation in Europe

  24. The ‘Innovation Whirlpool’

  25. The RYANAIR innovation model • Decision-making by very small teams • Clear goals, milestones & deliverables • Maximise output/input ratio • Elimination of bureaucratic procedures • Embrace simplicity

  26. Dissemination is like a river, i.e. it flows continuously - - is fed by its tributaries - - - and reaches its final goal, i.e. the sea

  27. Thanks for listening

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