Innovation Acceleration (Europe INNOVA)
Europe INNOVA is an initiative which aspires to become the laboratory for the development and testing of new tools and instruments in support of innovation with the view to help innovative enterprises innovate faster and better.
It brings together public and private innovation support providers such as innovation agencies, technology transfer offices, business incubators, financing intermediaries, cluster organisations and others.
Launched in 2006, Europe INNOVA was designed to identify and analyse the drivers and barriers to innovation within specific sectors, to lead to sound and targeted support policy measures. Its sector-based approach reinforced cooperation between business clusters, finance and standardisation practitioners in Europe through the establishment of networks, i.e. learning platforms for exchanging experiences, good practice and knowledge to better serve SMEs.
In 2009, a new set of Europe INNOVA actions is being launched, based on European Innovation Platforms in three high priority policy areas: transnational cluster cooperation, knowledge-intensive services and eco-innovation.
The actions are oriented towards the development and testing of new innovation support services for SMEs, notably start-ups, delivered in the field by public-private partnerships made up of European professionals in innovation. The support services will be tested in view of their wider application, e.g. by the Enterprise Europe Network.
The initiative also supports the Lead Market Initiative by injecting dynamism into entrepreneurial innovation via catalysis between supply and improved demand factors, which unleashes the innovation dynamics in lead market areas covered by the European Innovation Platforms.
