Guide to Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation

Barriers and Challenges
Europe is facing an investment challenge in the financing of high speed internet infrastructure
because the benefits for society as a whole appear to be much greater than the private
incentives to invest in faster internet network infrastructures The high amount of investments
required to achieve ubiquitous coverage 80 requires a combined effort from a large number of
investors from the private and public domains, the adoption of open and long terms
investment models 81 and the use of a range of financial tools including grants and financial
engineering.
Similar barriers exist for wide deployment and more effective use of digital applications and
services spurring innovation increased competitiveness and economic growth. For instance,
copyright rules are nationally based and therefore prevent the full harnessing of the digital
single market. In addition there are weaknesses in the European research and innovation
system, which considerably complicate the discovery or exploitation of knowledge and, in
many cases, ultimately prevent the entry of innovations into the market place. This requires
improving the framework conditions for uptake of innovation, leveraging financing and
investments in innovation and improved coordination and coherence between funding for
research and innovation at European, national and regional level in Europe.
The Digital Agenda for Europe 82 is committed to overcome this challenge and to make every
European digital irrespective of geographic location or social and economic condition. The
EU's Cohesion and Rural Development Policies can contribute to this EU pledge by joining
up efforts with Horizon 2020 83 - the future Framework Programme for Research and
Innovation - as well as the Connecting Europe Facility 84 in supporting open, affordable and
good quality high speed networks in areas of market failure, as well as ensuring investments
in digital service infrastructures (trans-European high speed backbone connections for public
administrations, cross-border delivery of eGovernment services, enabling access to public
sector information and multilingual services, online safety and security, intelligent energy
networks and smart energy services). To best harness EU funding from these various financial
instruments, one of the key challenges for management authorities is therefore to select
investment models and strategic priorities that will foster the above efforts.
Summarising, for the period 2014-20200 and according to the Commission legislative
proposals, EU financial support for digital growth measures may come from:
• Cohesion policy: measures aiming at enhancing access to, use and quality of ICT 85 . ICT
measures can also be financed as support measures within any of the other 10 objectives
and particularly research and innovation, enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs and in
support of the shift to a low carbon economy.
80
Estimated by the EC between 180 and 270 billion euro.
81
See EU Broadband good practice site: http://www.broadband-europe.eu/Pages/Home.aspx
82
DAE: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm
83
Horizon 2020: http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm?pg=home
84
CEF: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/item-detail-dae.cfm?item_id=7430&language=default .
85
Ref: Article 9 of General Regulation:
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/official/regulation/pdf/2014/proposals/regulation/general/ge
neral_proposal_en.pdf
82