FP6 - an opportunity for SMEs

At least 15% of the budget of the seven Priority Thematic Areas (approximately EUR 1,700 million) is to be dedicated to SMEs. A further EUR 430 million will be allocated to Horizontal Research Activities involving SMEs. This means a total of almost EUR 2,200 million over the next four years, representing the largest financial instrument supporting research and innovation for SMEs in the world.

FP6 Budget allocated for SMEs

• 1690 mio Euro (7 Priority Thematic Areas via Integrated Projects, Networks of Excellence, Stairway of Excellence)
• 295 mio Euro (Co-operative Research - CRAFT)
• 100 mio Euro (Collective Research)
• 40 mio Euro (Economic & Technological Intelligence)
• Mobility Grants
• Total: over 2.1 billion Euro

SME Definition
According to the definition of the EC an SME is an enterprise which:

• has fewer than 250 employees
• has either, an annual turnover nor exeeding 40 Mio Euro or an balance-sheet total not exeeding 27 Mio Euro
• is not owned for 25% or more of the capital or voting rights by one or more enterprises falling outside the SME definition (exeptions possible in 2 specific cases, see SME working document linked below)

Intellectual Property Rights
FP6 provides more flexibility and safety regarding IPR.

• The basic principle is that intellectual property must belong to the partner who generated the knowledge.
• Rules are identical for all participants.
• Rules concentrate on the principles and provisions necesssary for efficient co-operation and the appropriate use and dissemination of the results
• Participants may define among themselves the arrangements that best suit them within the framework provided in the model contract.

Project Type
The main route for SMEs to participate in the seven Priority Thematic Areas will be through Networks of Excellence (NoE), Integrated Projects(IP) and Specific Targeted Research Projects.

NoEs and IPs
Participation of SMEs in NoEs and IPs will be actively encouraged:

• Evaluation Criteria
  Proposers will be asked to indicate to what extent SMEs can best be involved to achieve the objectives of the project and this will be one of the criteria for evaluating the quality of the consortium.

• Targeting of Calls
  Areas of particular relevance to SMEs will be given special attention and may also be the subject of targeted calls at a later stage.

• SME Groupings
  The formation of SME associations or groupings will also be encouraged as an alternative route for SMEs that might not be able to participate on their own in the new instruments.

• Pe-allocated Budget for Take-up Measures
  As technology take-up measures should be included, in IPs in particular, wherever appropriate in order to promote the early or broad application of state-of-the-art technologies, this will offer ideal platforms for presenting SMEs with the results of the research undertaken and encouraging the transfer of these results. In many cases, due to the nature of the project results, SMEs to be involved in these activities may only be identified in the latter stages of a project. In these cases the consortium would be permitted to provide for these activities when calculating the project budget and the relevant part of the Community contribution agreed during contract negotiations would be set aside.

• Extension of running projects
  The increased flexibility of FP6 also means that additional SME partners can join running projects via competitive calls.

Specific Targeted Research Projects
Specific Targeted Research Projects will aim at improving European competitiveness and will be sharply focused. They will be similar to the Fifth Framework Programme RTD and Demonstration Projects, where SME involvement was very significant.

Horizontal Research Activities involving SMEs
In addition, FP6 contains two specific schemes for SMEs: Co-operative Research ('CRAFT') and Collective Research. These will address primarily the large community of SMEs with the capacity to innovate but with limited research capability. Any research topic or field in the whole area of science and technology, covered by Article 163 of the Treaty, in which the SMEs concerned have specific identifiable needs can be addressed by these schemes.

Co-operative Research (CRAFT) is a scheme whereby a number of SMEs from different countries assign a significant part of the required scientific and technological research to RTD performers. Projects are relatively short-term: their duration must be at least one year, with a maximum of two years. Other enterprises and end-users will be able to participate in Co-operative Research Projects, under conditions ensuring they do not assume a dominant role.

The intellectual property rights of the results belong exclusively to the SME participants. The other participating enterprises and end-users will also benefit from the exploitation of the results.

The first call for proposals will have two deadlines for submission of proposals: 25 March 2003 and 27 November 2003 with indicative budgets of EUR 95 million and EUR 60 million, respectively.

Collective Research is a form of research undertaken by RTD performers on behalf of Industrial Associations/Groupings in order to expand the knowledge base of large communities of SMEs and thus improve their general standard of competitiveness. They will be substantial projects of two to three years duration, conducted on a European basis. An 'SME core group' should contribute to the project, from its definition phase to the dissemination of the results obtained.

The intellectual property rights belong exclusively to the Industrial Associations/Groupings, whilst the SME core group will benefit from the exploitation of the results.

Selection of Collective Research proposals will be done in two steps: step 1 for outline proposals and step 2 for full proposals. The first call for proposals will have one deadline for submission of the outline proposals on 25 March 2003 and of full proposals (step 2) on 10 September 2003 with an indicative budget of EUR 40 million.

Economic and Technological Intelligence
Economic and Technological Intelligence activities should address a specific research theme or industrial sector and, in the first call for proposals, projects should concentrate on:

• the participation of SMEs/SME Groupings in FP6, particularly in IPs and NoEs;
• facilitating the creation of groupings or clusters of SMEs that have similar innovation needs;
• the promotion of trans-regional co-operation between SMEs and
• the stimulation of networks of industrial incubators.

The projects will be carried out mainly by intermediaries (e.g. SME National Contact Points, industrial federations, networks and associations of research performers, professional associations, chambers of commerce) working with/for the innovation players as well as organisations with expertise in Economic and Technological Intelligence.

Specific Support Actions
Specific support actions will also be funded under each of the seven Priority Thematic Areas of FP6 with the aim of stimulating and facilitating the participation of SMEs and SME Groupings/Associations in the new instruments. They will involve for example conferences, seminars, studies and analyses, working groups and expert groups, operational support and dissemination, information and communication activities, or a combination of these, as appropriate in each case.

Source: mainly CORDIS SME website and EC SME Working Document

Information and Assistance

NCPs - National Contact Points
Get a list of NCPs in your country. The NCP network was set up under FP5 ans is a main provider of advice and individual assistance in all Member States and Associated States.
http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/ncp.htm

IRCs - Innovation Relay Centers
The mission of IRCs is to support Innovation and transnational co-operation in Europe with a range of business support services, with a special focus on SMEs.
http://irc.cordis.lu/whoswho/

SME Support
Working Document outlining special support measures for SMEs in FP6
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/pdf/sme-support_en.pdf

SME Helpdesk
Directorate General for Research, European Commission, 1049 Brussels, Belgium.
Tel: +32-2-295 71 75; Fax: +32-2-295 71 10
E-mail: research-sme@cec.eu.int
Website: http://www.cordis.lu/sme

Intellectual Property Rights Helpdesk
Basic principles, model contracts etc.
http://www.ipr-helpdesk.org

CORDIS
A free service provided by the European Commission's Innovation/SMEs programme. CORDIS offers access to a wide range of information on EU research and innovation development activities and searchable databases.
http://www.cordis.lu/en/home.html

FP6 information can be found at:
http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/

CORDIS project partner database
to search FP6 partners and to publish an own profile:
http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/partners.htm

Europabio SME Project
This EC funded project provides assistance especially for SMEs to find matching project partners in FP6.
http://www.bba-bio.be/smes/index2.asp
Interested SMEs are very welcome to submit a profile to the project database:
http://www.bba-bio.be/smes/Internet/profile_details.asp

    General Information
    A brief overview of the 6th Framework Programm.

    List of important FP6 Links
    * More about the Thematic Priorities
    * More about new and traditional instruments
    * Where to find the Call for Proposals and the Work Programmes
    * Opportunities for project partner search
    * EC call for experts for evaluating proposals
    * Diverse documents

    European Research 2002
    Impressions of the FP6 Launch Event; 11-13 Nov. 2002, Brussels, Belgium

    Expressions of Interest
    Prior to the official launch of FP6 the European Commission has consulted
    the European research community and invited Expressions of Interest EoIs.
    Get access to the published EoIs and their analysis - it may also serve as
    one of the possibilities for project partner search.

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