EraSME FP6

Basic Information

Description

EraSME will network national and regional programmes promoting co-operation between SMEs and research organisations from, initially, 14 European countries, with a commitment to extend the ERA-NET partnership particularly to the new EU member states. The benefits of EraSME will consist of exchanging best practice between and beyond participating programmes in key aspects of design and management, in order to raise programme efficiency, effectiveness and impact. It will be a ?demonstrator? for developing and implementing new strategies of transnational co-operation between programmes with the objective of adding value for both programme participants (SMEs, research organisations) and programme owners. It will create an operational platform for programme owners and managers, with the ultimate objective to establish sustained programme co-operation between member states according to Art. 185 of the EU Treaty. Innovation in European SMEs often suffers from a lack of in-house R&D activities due to high costs and only long-term and hardly predictable RoIs. This situation can be improved by facilitating access to external resources, by contracting R&D organisations, and by collaboration. Unfortunately cultural barriers and the divergent interests of SMEs and research institutes frequently inhibit co-operation between the two. To overcome these barriers and to ?exercise? co-operation, most European countries established programmes providing incentives for SME-research co-operation, some focused on SMEs, some on research organisations, but always aiming at improving co-operation between both. Up to now there is neither a systematic exchange of experience between these programmes in Europe nor any substantial attempt to co-operate at European scale. EraSME will facilitate transnational partnerships of SMEs and research organisations, reduce programme administration costs by joint actions and shared expenses, enhance complementarity at regional, national and European level.