Research and Innovation European Innovation Council: state of play Startup Europe, 3 February 2017 1
Research andInnovation
Policy context: New focus on importance of innovative
firms scaling up for growth and jobs
Commission Communication of November 2016 'Europe's next leaders: the Start-up and Scale-up Initiative' stated:
"To improve innovation support, the Commission intends to make changes for the remaining period of Horizon 2020 to provide bottom-up support for breakthrough innovation projects, and will consider reinforcing this approach in future through a possible European Innovation Council."
2
Research andInnovation
"Europe has excellent science, butwe lack disruptive market-creatinginnovation. This is what is neededto turn our best ideas into newjobs, businesses and opportunities."
Carlos MoedasEuropean Commissioner for
Research, Science and Innovation
3
Research andInnovation
EIC a political priority for Commissioner Moedas
"The European Innovation Council is my most ambitious project as European Commissioner for Science and Innovation. Europe spends over 10 billion euro a year on cutting edge science and innovation. Creating new vaccines, greener aircraft, renewable energy technologies and much more."
"But we are also missing something. We miss the ideas that do not fit into existing categories. The innovations that create entirely new product classes. What Clayton Christensen calls "market creating innovation". These are the highest risk innovations – most of them fail. But when they succeed, they can change the world."
Commissioner Moedas, Davos 20.01.20174
Research andInnovation
The EU is already making major efforts to boost innovation…
• Leveraging more private investment
(Investment Plan for Europe, Capital Markets Union, Pan-European Venture
Capital Fund(s) of Funds programme, …)
• Improving regulation
(Better Regulation, Innovation Principle…)
• Strengthening markets
(Digital Single Market, Energy Union…)
• Funding research and innovation
(Horizon 2020, EIT-KICs)
• Building regional capacities
(European Structural and Investment Funds)
5
Research andInnovation
‘Unicorns' are start-ups with market value > $1 billionSource: Fortune, 'The Unicorn list 2016’
On scaling up:
• US: 101 Unicorns
• China: 36 Unicorns
• EU: 19 Unicorns
…but the EU is behind on scaling up companies and market-creating innovation
6
On market-creating innovation:
• Innovations that create new markets – not just improving existing products,
not just tech but also the business model
• Major new markets are often led by non-EU companies
Research andInnovation
Towards a potential EIC
We consulted stakeholders on the issues and the possible
solutions:
• stakeholders (online consultation, workshop)
• national innovation agencies
• member States (H2020 strategic configuration programme
committee)
Responses: yes, Europe can do better on market-creating
innovation and fast growing companies; an EIC can help
Further details at http://ec.europa.eu/research/eic
7
Research andInnovation
8
• 15 personalities with a track-record in starting and scaling up innovative businesses and investing in innovative ventures
• Commissioner Moedas presented the members at a press conference in Davos on 20 January
• To give advice on:
a) the design and implementation of an EIC pilot for the years 2018-20
b) future design and delivery of EU funding and other support for market-creating innovation under FP9
• the group will have first meeting March 2017
EIC High Level Group of Innovators
Nicklas Bergman Martin Bruncko Paddy Cosgrave Gráinne Dwyer Hermann Hauser
Marjolein Helder Taavet Hinrikus Ingmar Hoerr Bindi Karia Jana Kolar
Carlos Oliveira Jim Hagemann Snabe
Kinga Stanisławska
Constantijnvan Oranje
Roxanne Varza
EIC High Level Group of Innovators
Research andInnovation
EIC preparatory measures 2017-2020
• Invite proposals targeting market-creating innovations (SME
instrument, FET-Open, Fast Track to Innovation (FTI),
flagship inducement prizes): EIC chapter in Work Programme
2018-2020
• Easier access for innovators (improved IT tools)
• Introduce interview stage in the evaluation of proposals . .
• . . by business-focused evaluators
• Expand coaching and mentoring offer
• Potentially blend grants with loans and venture capital
• Close monitoring of progress of projects
10
Research andInnovation
12
• Discussions within COM around design and scale of a full-fledged EIC
• Objective is to stimulate high-growth companies with market-creating innovations
• Early experience from the EIC pilot in 2018-2020
• Various models possible (COM Agency, advisory Council of experts, providing mix of grants and loans/equity etc)
• Stakeholder consultation on FP9, incl. EIC options, due this summer/autumn
• Connected to overall budget (MFF)
• COM proposal for FP9 due in March 2018
EIC in next Framework Programme (FP9)
Research andInnovation
13
• Horizon 2020 well underway with focus on innovation
• But more could be done to boost impact of EU support for breakthrough innovations that create and capture new markets
• Means reaching out to new class of entrepreneurs/innovators
• Step-by-step process: preparatory measures in 2018-20 potentially leading to a fully-fledged EIC in FP9
Conclusion