Dr. Anita Grozdanov,

Faculty of Technology and metallurgy

NCP-SME, NCP NMP R. Macedonia

Opportunities for Macedonian SME’s in FP7

“Triangle of Knowledge”

Research

Growth

and Jobs

Education Innovation

Knowledge is at the core of the Lisbon agenda, and underpins all its elements.

Research and technology are, together with education and innovation, the

components of the “Triangle of knowledge”.

What is the Seventh Framework Programme?

•The Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2013) of the European

Community for Research, Technological Development and

Demonstration Activities

€50.5 billionΞ £35 billion = £35,000,000,000

•Building the Europe of Knowledge

•The biggest Research Programme in the World

The Structure of FP7

4 specific programmes

Cooperation – 9 Thematic Areas/ Priorities

Ideas – Scientific Excellence – Think SFI!!

People – Marie Curie

Capacities - SMEs, regional potential, Science in

Society and international cooperation.

Overview of the European SMEs

Source: Eurostat (2005)

European SMEs:

• 23 Million enterprises• 75 Million jobs• 2/3 privet jobs in

Europe are in SMEs• 99% of all European

enterprises

“Small firms are in fact the real giants of the European economy”

Micro-businesses dominate employmentin countries such as Italy (48%) and Greece (57%), whilst the share of large enterprises in total employment in the United Kingdom is over 45%.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Basic

SMEs

70%

Technology

adopting

enterprises

20%

Leading

Technology

users

<10%Technology

pioneers

<3%

%

None of few R&D

activities

Adapting existing

technologies – low

innovative SMes

Developing or

combining

existing

technologies on

an innovative

level

High Level

research activities

Categories of SME

Source: EURAB’s report on “SMEs and ERA”

The Importance of SMEs in the European

Economy

• SMEs represent 99% of all

enterprises throughout Europe

• SMEs account for 67% of

European GDP

• Provide 55% of total jobs in the

private sector

€ million

Ideas; 7 510

People; 4 750

Capacities; 4 097 JRC (EC); 1 751

Cooperation,

32 413

Cooperation

Ideas

People

Capacities

JRC (EC)

FP7 budget: € 54 bn

SME specific actions

Indicative budget breakdown 2007-2013

Budget allocation to SMEs

in FP6 and FP7

€ million FP6 FP7 FP6

annual

average

FP7

annual

average

Increase

annual

average

SME specific

measures

473 1.336 118 191 61%

SME participation

(15% target)

1.865 4.862 466 695 49%

Total 2.338 6.198 585 885 51%

CAPACITIES - International

Cooperation

CAPACITIES – the vehicle for this coordination

Coordination of the international cooperation actions

under the different programmes and across Themes

Aim :

To strengthen overall coordination to ensure a coherent

approach and develop synergies with

other Community policies

Thematic Breakdown Within the Cooperation

Programme

Thematic Area Budget (€m) %

Health 6,050 19

Food, Agriculture, Fisheries, and

Biotechnology 1,935 6

Information and Communication

Technologies 9,110 28

Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials

and new Production Technologies 3,500 11

Energy 2,300 7

Environment (including Climate Change) 1,900 6

Transport (including Aeronautics) 4,180 13

Socio-economic Sciences and the Humanities 610 2

Space & Security 2,780 9

Total Cooperation Budget 32,365

What does FP7 fund?

• Not your short term new product project

• Not to enable your organisation to survive

• Knowledge generation that looks a bit too much

in the future for you to fund fully

• Things you can’t do alone

• To establish and bind expanded networks

NEW call

Administrative procedures

• Following on from proposal preparation and submission, participation in an EU project brings with it the necessity to complete contract forms, to record the amount of time and resource spent on a project and regular reports and audits

Need for disciplined partnership

• It is important, especially for short projects, to ensure that all partners understand the need for setting and maintaining a rigorous timetable for reporting and delivery of results.

• key issue for project coordinators, especially if they are an SME, is the obligation to respond to the frequent reporting requirements set by the European Commission.

FP7 proposal: SMEs

Research for the benefit of SMEs (2)

• Target population: all SME that need to outsource research activities

– Mainly low to medium tech SMEs with little or no research capability

– Research intensive SMEs who need to outsource research to complement their core research capability

• More than doubling of average annual budget

– FP6: about 120 M€/yr

– FP7: 270 M€/yr

• Actions in the entire field of science and technology (bottom-up)

• Improvements and simplification of modalities (e.g. evaluation, financial regime, IPR)

Industry-academia partnerships and pathways

• support cooperation between academia and industry

• encourage SME participation through

Staff secondments between academia and industry

Temporary hosting of experienced researchers from outside

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/industry-academia_en.html

SME support in FP7

“People” programme

SME are encouraged to participate in collaborative research projects within this specific programme

In order to form a favourable environment, a target of 15% SME participation has been set 40,7 million euro per year!

This representing an amount of about 5 bn € until 2013

Simplified financial and administrative procedures (e.g. 75% funding rate for SME, reduced requirements for audit certificates,no bank guarantees)

Identification of areas and specific measures of particular interest to SME in the individual work programmes

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html

SME support in FP7

“Cooperation” programme

HOW

1. Presentation of the FP7 programme

2. Presentation of the guides & documents for FP7

3. Presentation of the project preparation process

4. Team consultation

5. Following of the success story of MK-FP7 SME

projects

6. Consultation with EC-FP7 Office

Tips to optimise participation

- Start your experience as partners in projects co-ordinated by others

- You’ll be seen as far away partners. You must have a + to be preferred to others

- Seek advice from those who have experience

- Search for already funded projects within your areas of

interest (be complementary, avoid overlapping)

How to get into a partnership

• If new to Europe look at ways to get in..

• Get active early… watch out for NCP info

• Network with potential partners - Travel

• Have a sales pitch on what you and your instit offer

• Pick up the phone

• There are a range of examples of what works

Partner searching

• Go to the training

• Keep in contact with the NCP

• Watch partner searches…Our method..

• Cordis is an option

• NCP search

• KEEP TRYING…

Finding Partners

– CORDIS Partner Finding Service

– Do it Yourself

– http://partners-service.cordis.lu/

– NCP Industial engagement

IDEAL*IST Partner Finding Service

– Free assisted service

– http://www.ideal-ist.net/

– Use Local support if available

– Hang around in foreign bars

Delivering of Partner Search List

PREPARING THE PRPOSAL

A proposal has two parts:

1. Part A – contain the administrative information about the proposal and the participants (the work, contact persons, participants, funding info)

(annex 3 of the Guide)

(on-line form)

2. Part B – template or list of heading, you should follow the structure to present the scientific and technical content of the proposal.

(annex 4 of the Guide)

(keep the proposal limits)

3. Use EPSS to upload the parts A & B, submitte

PART B1. Scientific and/or technical quality

1.1. Concept and objectives

1.2. Contribution to the co-ordination of high quality research

1.3. Quality and effectiveness of the co-ordination mechanisms, and

associated plan

2. Implementation

2.1. Management structure and procedures

2.2. Individual participants

2.3. Consortium as a whole (only if relevant)

2.4. Resources to be committed

3. Impact

3.1. Expected impacts listed in the work programme

3.2. Spreading excellence, exploiting results, disseminating knowledge

4. Ethical Issues

PIC (Partner Identification Code)Organisation Data

=================

Legal name :

Business Name :

Official Language :

Name in 2nd Language :

2nd Language :

Legal form :

VAT Number :

Registration Number :

Registration Date :

Registration authority :

NACE Code :

Registration Country :

EVALUATION procedure

• The evaluation will follow a single stage

procedure; proposals will not be evaluated

anonymously.

• The evaluation criteria and scoring scheme are

set out in annex 2 of the work programme.

Evaluation criteria S/T QUALITY

“Scientific and/or technological

excellence (relevant to the

topics / activities addressed by

the call)”

IMPLEMENTATION

“Quality and efficiency of the

implementation and the

management”

IMPACT

“Potential impact through the

development, dissemination

and use of project results”

Sound concept, and quality of

objectives

Innovative character in relation to

the state-of-the art

Contribution to advancement of

knowledge / technological

progress

Quality and effectiveness of S/T

methodology and associated work

plan

Quality of the consortium

as a whole (including

complementarity and balance)

Appropriate allocation and

justification of the resources to be

committed (budget, staff,

equipment)

Contribution, at the European

[and/or international] level, to the

expected impacts listed in the

work programme under the

relevant topic/activity

Appropriateness of measures

envisaged for the dissemination

and/or exploitation of project

results, and management of

intellectual property

Positive Pass

• For the evaluation of ERA-NET or ERA-NET Plus

proposals (coordinating), thresholds for the individual

criteria will be:

• 1. S&T quality: threshold [4] out of [5]

• 2. Implementation: threshold [3] out of [5]

• 3. Impact: Threshold [3] out of [5]

• The overall threshold, applying to the sum of the

three individual scores, will be [10.]

Funding schemes• To support actions implemented on the basis of the

call for proposals:

1. Collaborative projects• Projects can range from small or medium-scale (≤ € 3 Million) to large

scale integrating projects (between € 3 and € 6 Million)

2. Networks of Excellence3. Activities run by a number of research organisations integrating their

activities in a given field

3. Coordination and Support Actions• Activities aimed at coordinating or supporting research activities and

policies (~ € 1Million)

4. Others: Individual projects (ERC); Fellowships; Research projects for third parties (i.a. SMEs)

FP7 Funding schemes overviewFunding

scheme

Nature Max EU

Contrib.

Duration of

project

Targeted at N° of

partners

Small-

medium CP

(STREP)

Single issue

project

2-3 M€ 18-36 m

Research

institutes,

universities

and

industry,

including

SMEs

6 – 15

Large CP (IP) Multidisciplina

ry integrated

projects

4 – 20

M€

36-60 m 10 – 20

CSA

Supporting

Preparing

future actions

0.5 M€ 9-30 m 1 – 15

CSA

Coordinating

Coordinating

& networking

participants

1 M€ 18-36 m 12 – 36

NoE Integrating

research

activities

7 M€ 48-60 m 6 – 50+

FP7 Funding rates

Type of

organisation

Public bodies, universities, research

centres, SMEs75%

Type of

projectAccompanying measures (CSA) 100%

Type of

activity

Project management

but NOT exceeding 7% of total

funding

100%

Funding rates also depend on:

Why shall SMEs participate?

Economic benefits can be achieved & innovative performance increased

• Consider FP7 funding as additional money• Commercial risks are reduced• Increased turnover and profitability• Enhanced productivity and market share• Establishing new international contacts and partnerships (research business

with foreign institutions and firms) – future economical benefits• Access to new markets• Contribution to a marketable technology – benefiting from it, exploitation

of the results• Long term perspectives (innovative approach of the SME will be stronger)• More patents

Successful FP participation can lead to stronger competitiveness of the enterprise

Does my organisation qualify as an

SME ?

SME Definition

The new SME definition takes into account

the size

MICRO < 10 employees < €2 million turnover

SMALL < 50 employees < €10 million turnover

MEDIUM < 250 employees < €50 million turnover

and ownership

AUTONOMOUS: < 25% owned by non-SME

PARTNER: 25 to 50% owned by Universities, Venture

Capitalists etc

LINKED: special case for groups and subsidiaries

THE SME DEFINITION DOES NOT TAKE ACCOUNT OF SME TYPES

AND ACTIVITIES i.e. HIGH-TECH, LOW-TECH

SME PROFILES FOR FP7

Which sort of SME are you ?

SMEs in FP7

Main initiatives

Optimized

participation of SMEs

Dedicated scheme

with special emphasis

on SMEs

Budget increase for

the SME specific

measures

"Cooperation" "People" "Capacities"

Research performing

SMEs

Research performing

SMEs

SMEs

outsourcing research

Thematic areasIndustry-academia

pathwaysBottom-up approach

Complementary pillars of SME support in FP7

“Capacities”- Research for the benefit of SMEs

Objective:

Strengthen the innovation capacities of SMEs

to develop new products and markets by

outsourcing of research:

Increase their research effort

Acquire technological know-how

Extend their networks

Improve the exploitation of research results

SMEs in FP7

specific initiatives

FP7 proposal: SMEs

Research for the benefit of SMEs (1)

Two specific schemes to support SMEs or SME associations in need of outsourcing research

– Research for SMEs: to support small groups of innovative SMEs to solve common or complementary technological problems

– Research for SME associations: to support SME associations and SME groupings to develop technical solutions to problems common to larger number of SMEs in specific industrials sectors or segments of the value chain

Research for the benefit of SMEs

Work programme

1. Supporting SMEs outsourcing research activities- Research for SMEs

- Research for SME associations

2. Developing and coordinating support

to SMEs at national level- Eurostars Article 169 Initiative

- ERA-NET

- Support to national and/or regional “exploratory awards”

- NCP-network

3. Support measures- Coordination and Support Actions

- Studies

Total budget within FP7: Million € 1.336

SMEs in the

knowledge economy - KBBE• SMEs are at the core of the European industry and are

a key component in the chain of transformation of knowledge into exploitable products, processes and services

• SMEs are faced with increasing competition in the internal market and globally and need to increase their research intensity and networks and expand their business on larger markets

• A growing number of SMEs are directly concerned by research activities

SME support in FP7

JTI Example

The Innovative Medicines Initiative will supportthe development of new knowledge, tools andmethods so that better and safer medicines can bemade available more quickly.

The programme will have €2 billion to invest overseven years. The Community contribution of €1billion will go entirely to SME and universities forresearch that can be used by the pharmaceuticalsector

Major companies will match this amount and willinvolve these SME and universities.

Funding Scheme

Key Indications

Research for SMEs Research for SME

associations

Duration 1-2 years 2-3 years

Number of

partners

5-10 10-15

Total budget € 0.5 – 1.5 Million € 1.5 – 4 Million

Activities R&D, demonstration,

management, other

activities

R&D, demonstration,

management, other

activities

Number of partners

Minimum requirements, coordination

Research for SMEs At least three independent SME participants, established

in three different Member States or Associated countries.

At least two RTD performers.

Other enterprises and end-users optional.

Research for SME associations At least three independent SME association/groupings,

established in three different Member States or Associated countries, or one European SME association/grouping.

At least two RTD performers.

Other enterprises and end-users with at least two SMEs.

SMEs or SME associations may entrust coordination to a partner in the consortium specialised in professional project management.

Complementarities between FP7 and CIP

FP7-RTD CIP

• Funding of

projects

• Research,

technological

development and

demonstration

• Take-up of proven

technologies:

environmental, ICT and

Energy-efficiency

• SMEs

participation in

Research

• Simplification

• Definition of thematic

content

• Specific schemes for

SMEs

• Actions and services

encouraging SMEs

participation in FP7

• Access to finance • « Risk Sharing Finance

Facility » for large

European RTD projects and

infrastructures (with EIB)

• Risk capital (start-up and

expansion)

• SMEs Guarantee facility

• SMEs loan securitisation

• Capacity building

• Dissemination of

knowledge

• Within projects

• In thematic areas

• Networks providing

innovation support services

• Promotion projects to remove

non-technical barriers (Article

43)

• Regions • Research driven clusters • Innovation clusters

Dr. Anita Grozdanov

NCP SME

NCP NMP

How can local networks like the

NCP contribute to positive results

for RM

MKD SME in FP7

More information

Research for the benefit of SMEs:http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/capacities/research-sme_en.html

CORDIS/SME TechWeb:sme.cordis.lu/research/fp6_support.cfm

National Contact Points http://cordis.europa.eu/fp6/ncp.htm