Enterprising Times Jan/Feb 2013 Print Version - Staffordshire ...

Enterprising Times
Faculty of Business, Education and Law, Staffordshire University
www.staffs.ac.uk
+44 (0)1782 294060
Page 20
Launch of ‘Entrepreneurship 2020’ Action Plan
The EC has published a strategy called ‘Entrepreneurship 2020’ which aims to support entrepreneurs
better as a way to return to growth and higher levels of employment in Europe. Key elements of the
action plan include education and training measures to nurture new generations of entrepreneurs, and
tackling obstacles to entrepreneurship in Europe by means of simpler procedures for new businesses
and improving access to finance.
The action plan also states that: ‘many new ideas for successful businesses come from science and
research but more can be done to make business use research results. Therefore, more information on
the insights from projects financed by the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Development
should be shared with businesses’. The document sets out the planned measures to be taken by the
EC and by national administrations, one of which states: ‘adopt the necessary measures to support the
commercialisation of innovation, research and development projects taking into account the special
challenges of newly established firms’.
The full text and summary document on the action plan can be seen at: http://bit.ly/TUwniM.
Innovation in European enterprises
A recent Eurostat survey provides figures on the innovation activity of enterprises in different European
countries. The Community Innovation Survey 2010 includes data from 2008-2010 on aspects such as
innovation activity and also on co-operation of innovative enterprises with partners from other sectors
and countries.
According to the data collected, the highest proportions of enterprises with innovation activity were
found in Germany, with 70% of enterprises, followed by Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden and
Ireland with between 60-70%. In comparison, just over 44% of UK enterprises demonstrated innovation
activity. Countries such as Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Romania and Hungary were at the bottom of the
table with only around 30% of enterprises showing innovation activity. Other results included that,
overall, 27% of enterprises with innovation activities co-operated with other enterprises or partners such
as universities. In terms of co-operation activity, Cyprus tops the tables, and also when looking at cooperation
with other European partners.
Further information
Eurostat news release STAT/13/5 of 11 January 2013 is available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/