Managing Regional SMEs within the ICT Sector in EU Research

The EASIER project will increase the ICT research activity and strengthen the competitiveness of ICT SMEs in Europe. Working in sixteen European regions in Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, UK and Norway the project will catalyse EU RTD projects by drawing on the strengths of existing regional networks and building a new trans-national partnership to boost ICT SME participation in European research programmes. The project will take the expertise and experience within the project and elsewhere on engaging SMEs and produce an integrated approach having tested all of the current methods.

The main target of the project is to deliver new RTD collaborations for both FP6 and FP7, and other European-wide opportunities. The project's most important sub-objectives are: To engage SMEs within ICT through regional networks. To produce a database of potential ICT SME candidates for involvement in European research projects. To assess, develop and describe methods (tools) for engaging the SMEs through these regional networks. To provide new tools that is tested in two pilot regions. To identify opportunities for involvement of ICT SMEs in within FP6 and FP7, as well as the National RTD funding programmes of the partners' countries and other non-FP RTD funding opportunities such as EUREKA/Celtic. To exploit the identified opportunities by coupling them with the SMEs in the project database, and by assisting the SMEs through the process from idea to engagement in European RTD activities. Further objectives are to organise or participate at least 50 regional information and motivation events, to audit at least 345 ICT SME and at least 80 other organisations (of importance for SME engagement), to submit at least 24 proposals based on research needs of at least 75 SMEs to the first call for EoIs in FP7 and to submit at least 30 project proposals with at least 85 SMEs (in total) to the two first calls of FP7.

Project type
  • FP6
Country of the coordinating institution
Norway
Contact details
E-Mail: not@available.com
Phone:+47-90786244
Address:Project coordinator Sorlandets Teknologisenter AS Contact Person: Trond Friiso Televeien 3 Grimstad
Country:Norway
Acronym
EASIER
Geographical focus
  • Croatia
  • International; Other
Scientifc field / Thematic focus
  • Social Sciences
Runtime
October 2005 - March 2008

Entry created by Elke Dall on July 21, 2009
Modified on March 30, 2012