FP5 - External Advisory Groups

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RESEARCH

Fifth Framework Programme - External Advisory Groups

Entrepreneurship: Networking of biovalleys in Europe

Report of a Workshop organised under the aegis of the External Advisory Group (EAG) of the Cell Factory Key Action

Rapporteur: Prof. Dianna Bowles

This report was produced by the External Advisory Group (EAG) for the Key Action "The Cell Factory" for the Research Directorate-General and represents the External Advisory Group's views on this matter. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission's or the Research-DG's views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this report, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.

This report is also available as PDF-file: entrepreneur.pdf (203 Kb)

Executive Summary

The biovalleys in Europe and the Cell Factory key action of the 5th EC Framework Programme share the objective of providing tools, enabling technologies and financial instruments, in short, to set up a nurturing environment for a new generation of European entrepreneurs to start up and flourish. These knowledge-based new biotech industries correspond to a reservoir of industrial competitiveness, scientific and technological innovation, opportunities for investors, and jobs creation, which is still underexploited in Europe.

Biotech start-ups rapidly develop needs of a human, scientific and financial nature requiring the European level. But at the same time, the creation and development of these start-ups is anchored in the local reality of a region, an enterprise incubator or a biovalley. Thus, these novel innovative firms have a double dimension, both local and global. The exchange of information and communication between the local and global levels appears therefore to be all the more important.

The Workshop discussions clearly identified a need for networking of biovalleys across Europe, if successful entrepreneurship in biotechnology is to be promoted rapidly and efficiently. Putative proposals for networking could be submitted to the existing Cell Factory key action, since biovalleys and their role in promoting entrepreneurship already form a major objective of the Key Action.

However, the Workshop was important in defining the ways in which networking would provide very considerable added-value to existing biovalleys as well as those that are in the process of current development. This added-value arises through exchange of information; complementarity; critical mass.

External Advisory groups | Fifth Framework Programme | 17.02.2000