1 . The EBN Network a community sharing values, goals & brands

1. Smart & Interactive NetworksforSmart & Innovative EntrepreneursPhilippe VANRIE, EBNUniversity Industry Interaction Conference 2013UIINAMSTERDAM, 28TH May 2013

2. 1. The EBN Networka community sharing values, goals & brands • The European Network of BICs(Business & Innovation Centres), Innovation-based incubators, innovation centre, entrepreneurship & start-up Centres • An organized Network of 200+ Business & Innovation Support Centres covering most regions of EU 27 + neighbouring as well as partnering countries • An initiative taken 30 years ago by the EC, public authorities, industry leaders, and Universities, a pioneer in PPP, a connector between knowledge and business • A dynamic cluster of clusters with 25.000+ entrepreneurs within the active portfolio • A community of qualified & committed intermediariesinside !

3. 2. Networking, a seriousgame

5. o Networking, a core-competence! • A key-skillfor innovators and knowledge-based entrepreneurs, and for entrepreneurial universities • A pre-requisitefor anything smart ! • A true new profession to beinserted in academic (pragmatic) education, a communitywithitsownlanguage and C (C for Community) RM software ! • A strange business objectdeveloping a series of functions

6. o A network, a platform for services & progress! • collective reputationbuilder • a frame for roadmapping • individual services provider • internalqualityinsurance & externalbranding • total benchmarking & resources centre • capacity building & ad-hoc training • intra-communitythematicnetworking • idea-lab and a collaborative projectsfactory • hub & spokeconnectingplatform • bizdev & opportunityspotting • a precursor of scaling-up new schemes • an international partnershipsfacilitator

7. Networking! a major collaborationbehaviour Équipe

8. 3. WhyNetworking,Clustering • Learning • FindingModels • Beinginspired • Beingproud • Sharing efforts • Help takingdecisions • Sharing values: ethics, integrity, reputation • BV social-club: trust, affectivity, emotion, • Exploring the world • For opportunityspotting • Teaming-up talents • Making business & money: of course ! • Cluster or not cluster ?

9. networking/clusteringNot like this ! • Not for creating ghettos • Not for enhancingsectorialcorporatism • Not for researchplayersonly • Not for bigbrothersonly • Not for strategicstudiesonly • Not by « ministerial top-down decision » only • Not to createcentralized « big fat platform » • Not to isolate the cluster management from the otheractors

10. networking/clusteringYes! • Yes for a focus on downstream applications • Yes for entrepreneurial clusters • Yes for « small business/SMEsfriendly » clusters/networks • Yes for networked clusters/ clustered networks • Yes for « open innovation » communities • Yes for clusters whodelivers value services! • Yes for clusters who road-maps the ecosystem • Yes for a professionnal « business object »

11. 4. innovation

12. Let’s talk about innovation, a pillar of entrepreneurship • Connect & develop • Sense & simplicity • Ecomagination • Thinkdifferent • Invent • Think • Connecting people • Sponsors of tomorrow • Research in motion • Efficient dynamics • Shift the wayyou move • Motion & emotion • Find more • Collaborate.Create.Succeed • A passion for progress • Materials for a better life • Sense & power

13. Innovation is about connectingideas, markets & people Market & customers Ideas & networking Thinking Inventing Connecting Collaborating Imagination Passion … People ! Intrapreneurs! • Develop I Succeed • Move I Motion I Dynamics • Simplicity • Sense • Tomorrow • Progress I Power • … • People ! Entrepreneurs!

14. Whatis innovation ?An ocean of bothtechnology & entrepreneurial vocabulary • Upstream R&D, yes of course (new IP above all) • Technology & Engineering (a passion for optimizingprocesses) • Blue ocean(inventing new market, ex: i-pad) • Redocean (intensifying frontal competition) • Radical (Re-inventingyourcompany!, ex: Keytradebank) • Disruptive (« innovation perturbatrice », ex: RyanAir) • Incremental (Optimizing the processes) • Micro-innovations (constituents of a corp. system for innovation) • Quality management & continuousimprovement • Strategic innovation (ex: Dacia) • Unintentionnal innovation • Survival innovation (La Redoute « on-line » shop) • Downstream applications (end users-oriented)

15. How does innovation works ?It’s about modern management ! • First of all, integrate innovation at the core of the strategy, as a pivotal & visible corporate value • Movingfrom/balancingoptimizing business to/and creating business • Develop innovation teams (with R&D of course but not only) • Stimulateparticipative management, a highdegree of delegation & responsibility, collaborative & team works, and employee engagement (an innovative HRM style) • It’s an « inside-out » open processinteractingwithcustomers, prospects, suppliers, partners, competitors, staff • Balance supply-pushed (new technologies) withdemand-led (based on marketrequirements) • Design systems for ideasassesment and prioritization of detected/selectedopportunities

16. Invest in interactionconnectyourselfwithyourenvironment • Stimulate creativity at the periphery (on emerging or niches aspects of the business) of the core business units • Take an active part in your ecosystem’s life (ex: poles of competitiveness, clusters, corporate incubators, corporate venturing fund, technoparks, FP7 joint research projects,...) • Develop an acute sense of advanced services amongst your innovation team (Oracle selling associated services & consultancy) • Capture capabilities held by small firms (M&A or others), such as in Biotech (GSK ‘s Centres for excellence in drug discovery) • Open your non core-business IP, and deploy a licensing + a spin-off strategy (ex: Technicolor) • Let others develop your non strategic initiatives (Lucent, H-P) • Sponsor communities of young talents (engineering schools, business schools) and of application developers (Ex: Intel, Oracle)

17. Innovation= an apps cultureThe proximitywith the end-usersan acute understanding of the usages The Changing Technology landscape is not only affected by disruption, but more by the rise of downstream applications (for usable products & services) @ be hungry for applications, @ look at the emergence of niches, @ surf through the extreme diversity in applications, @ be serial “opportunity spotter”, fast movers and integrators of market intelligence, @ be inspired by customer-lead innovation routes, @ deploy pervasive solutions approaches

18. Innovation behaviors & skills • Creative intelligence, not only cognitive skills • Courage to take + ability to manage risks • Courage to start + stop • Emotion + realism • Collective leadership • Customer intelligence • Opportunityspotting • KM/EI integrators • Associatingskills (connecting disciplines) • Questionningskills (why, why not, what if,…) • Observingskills (observingothers, beinganthropologist/sociologist) • Experimentingskills (prototyping + overseasexp.) • Networking skills (going out, ideas festivals,…)

19. 5. Innovation Policies ! 1. The world was flat 2. The world has been spiky 3. The world is now smart ! …… smart growth, smart specialization, smart cities, smart hubs, smart networks, smart policies, smart entrepreneurs, smart specialization strategy……

20. l'avantage comparatifc’est quand même effrayant

21. la masse critiquela critique de la masse

22. prioritization

23. une diversité mieux focalisée

24. differentiation

25. Invest in evidence-basedpolicies

26. Unepour la « gazellisation » de l’économie

28. Never forget the priorities for an entrepreneur ? • Stabilizing and increasing business (sales, income, P&L) • Projectingthese trends in the mid-term (3-5 years) • Securingits USP, and differenciation • Scaling-up cash-cows + diversifying the range of products/services • Complyingwithprofessional standards and regulatoryconstraints • Strengtheningcore-competence(s), and paying attention to HRM and skillsdevelopment • Improvingitsfinancialrobustness (equities, cash-flow/working capital, capacity to invest and to borrow) • Optimizingmargins and stayingcompetitive

29. SME priorities, whatnext ? • Watchingcompetitors, assessing new market trends, identifying new technologies, … • Creating & maintainingreputationwith clients & partners • Aquiring new customers and exploringint’lmarkets • Modernizing the factory, purchasingcleverly, controlling • Inventing new sales channels • Keeping the social peace • Protecting IP • Managing (limiting) risks of all types • Moving to advanced services • Moving to licensing, trying acquisitions, daringnetworking and collaborative projects …

30. 5. Incubation & Acceleration: a serious mission

31. Invest in the ecosystem !clear focus & easyaccess ! • Efficient territorial innovation ecosystemsrequire a well-characterized road-map of support services providers • Vital for individual performances and for enablingcooperationbetweenplayers • Simply vital for the emergence of competences, efficency of support, and open innovation • Plug your BIC, your STP, your TTO adequatelyinto the ecosystem and collaborateopenlyaroundyourcoreknowledge/competence

32. Challengesandsolutions

33. Invest in territories!the place-basedtheory, the proximity factor • Serious Gaming at Coventry (entrepreneurial) University • Birmingham (real SMEs) Photonics Clusters • KIS Biotherapies clustering in Nantes • Knowledge Dock regeneration in the Docklands • Creative computer graphics in Darmstadt • Cleantech platform in Lahti • Software development centre for start-ups in Cork • SatNavGalilleo applications incubated in Liège • An IT community of 100+ start ups in Barcelona • An integrated TT-Incubation-VC-cluster ecosystem on micro/nano-electronics in Leuven • Creativity and design crash courses in Sunderland • Mechatronics in Haute-Savoie, Photovoltaics in Savoie, • Software apps in Coimbra • And so many other smart regions: Eindhoven, Oulu, Kazan, Lund/Mamoe, Grenoble, Emilia-Romagna, Basque Country, Brno, ...

34. Invest in Quality (compliance & benchmarking) Characterizeyourself and defineyourspecificmetrics Elaborate information agregates and performances indicators Collect data (quali- & quanti-) & accumulate data Invent a serious community-based process (auto-evaluation) and accessible auditing system Create your professional standards Accredit the community members, without conflict of interest Report on performances, individually and collectively Beside compliance, create a benchmarking culture Activate thematic benchmarking and peer reviews Use quality systems as a permanent improvement tool

35. Invest in corecompetences a standards for Innovation-basedIncubators • incubator of new business ideas/models • creator of new innovativestart-ups • generator of spin-offs • developer of innovative SME projects • accelerator of growth • animator of clusters • proximityconnector local/global • multiplierof public policy • networking hub to experts, agents, players, investors… • Opportunityspotter, « hands-on » business developper • Coach & mentor, strategicadvisor

36. Think « supplychain »and whereyou are in the chain ! • stimulate • detect • assess • select • Plan /Modelize • Pre-Incubate • Seed finance • Incubate • Mentor • Cluster • Accelerate/Post-incubate • Internationalize

37. Invest in Quantity ! Measure (seriously) & promote the impact 180.000 Business Plans developed 75.000 Start-up companies created 150.000 Existing SMEs supported 330.000 Jobs created

39. In search of IMPACT !

40. Thank you very much for your attention European BICs Network (EBN) Philippe VANRIE Chief Executive Officer Avenue de Tervuren, 168, B-1150 Brussels Tel. +32 (0)2 772 89 00 Fax +32 (0)2 772 95 74 pva@ebn.eu www.ebn.eu

41. Challengesandsolutions