Assessment of progress towards Commission's innovation objectives

Brussels, 13 Feb 2003

In the run up to the publication of both a new communication on innovation policy and the 2003 trend chart on innovation, a special edition of 'Innovation and Technology Transfer' takes stock of progress towards the objectives set out in the Commission's 2000 communication on innovation in a knowledge-driven economy.

In 2000, the Commission set five objectives based on previous innovation assessments. The five objectives were:

- improved coordination of innovation policy and the development of monitoring and evaluation systems for national and regional innovation systems;

- simplification of administrative requirements and design regulations, particularly for the diffusion of research results and fiscal incentives for investment in research and innovation;

- encouragement of creation and growth of innovative enterprises:

- improved knowledge transfer between universities, research institutes and industry;

- making society more open to innovation.

The publication highlights how, since the communication was adopted, considerable progress has been made towards EU enlargement, making the involvement of the candidate countries in innovation policy crucial.

The publication also contains a summary and analysis of the 2002 innovation scoreboard, including key results for the Member States. Innovation and Technology Transfer will be available at the following web address: http://www.cordis.lu/itt/itt-en/home.htm l

CORDIS RTD-NEWS / © European Communities