Valencia conference on regional schemes to support innovation in companies

Brussels, 11 Nov 2002

The conference 'Regional schemes to support innovation in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will take place in Valencia, Spain on 12 and 13 December.

The event will provide information on the broad range of existing schemes that regions use to support research, development and innovation (R&D&I) in local companies with a special focus on SMEs.

Regional and national governments have adopted very different approaches to enhance R&D&I activities in companies. They range from grants, subsidies and tax incentives for activities carried out by SMEs to those aiming to benefit from university research facilities and expertise, to access to knowledge through recruitment of graduates and improvement of support infrastructure. The design of such initiatives depends on both company needs and the regional and national situation.

Concrete examples to illustrate the above will focus on topics such as the use of research vouchers in Limburg, the use of new technologies in traditional sectors such as cultural heritage restoration in Tuscany and the support offered in Flanders for carrying out innovation projects.

Keynote speakers at the two-day conference include Michael Busch, from the European Commission's Enterprise DG and Marc Schublin from the European Investment Fund.

The outcomes of the EU-funded project PRICOVA to formulate a Regional Innovation Strategy in the region of Valencia will also be presented at this event.

For further information, please visit: http://www.innovating-regions.org Tel: +352 44 10 12 2093

CORDIS RTD-NEWS/© European Communities, 2001