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Benchmarking National - PRO INNO Europe

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230<br />

BENCHMARKING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SMES IN THE FIELD OF INTELLECTUAL AND INDUSTRIAL <strong>PRO</strong>PERTY<br />

Characteristics of the user group<br />

In the course of the user survey, 12 private inventors and 37 users from SMEs were<br />

interviewed. The inclusion of private inventors was done in order to analyse<br />

whether it is feasible to include SMEs and private inventors in one target group and<br />

treat them both alike or, alternatively, whether both groups have different needs<br />

and perceptions of the services which should be accounted for. One hypothesis<br />

regarding private inventors in this context could be that they might be future<br />

founders of successful start-ups and therefore worthwhile to foster. On the other<br />

hand, private inventors are often associated with people working on commercially<br />

useless inventions just for the fun of inventing – in such a case extending support<br />

would be hard to argue for.<br />

Within the group of the interviewed SMEs around 98 % employ less than 9<br />

employees and are thus micro-enterprises; the remaining companies have at most<br />

10 to 49 employees. A focus of the Foundation on very small organisational sizes<br />

(even in the group of SMEs) is thus apparent.<br />

Between 2003 and 2005, 60 % of the SME users introduced product innovations<br />

(new or significantly improved products) onto the market; and around 35 % came<br />

up with process innovations. As can bee seen from Graph 126, a high number of<br />

enterprises were engaged in innovation activities across a number of mentioned<br />

categories. Around 65 % of the service users from SMEs conducted intramural<br />

R&D. On average, about 84 % of the staff works in R&D. The private inventors<br />

Graph 126 Foundation for Finnish Inventions–Innovation activities in interview<br />

sample, 2005, percentage of respondents*), SME users<br />

%<br />

100<br />

80<br />

60<br />

40<br />

20<br />

0<br />

65<br />

Intramural research<br />

& experimental<br />

development (R&D)<br />

59<br />

Acquisition of R&D<br />

(extramural R&D)<br />

54 54<br />

Acquisition of<br />

machinery and<br />

equipment<br />

*) multiple answers allowed. Source: User Survey, n = 37<br />

Training<br />

68<br />

Market introduction<br />

of innovations<br />

Graph 127 Foundation for Finnish Inventions–Usage of different service<br />

providers by SMEs, percentage of respondents*), SME users<br />

100<br />

%<br />

80<br />

60<br />

40<br />

20<br />

0<br />

46<br />

46<br />

<strong>National</strong><br />

agency<br />

51<br />

8<br />

Regional<br />

agency<br />

3 6<br />

Chamber of<br />

commerce<br />

41<br />

38<br />

Patent<br />

office<br />

*) multiple answers allowed. Source: User Survey, n = 37<br />

22<br />

14<br />

Patent<br />

attorney<br />

frequently occasionally<br />

30<br />

16<br />

External<br />

consultants<br />

51<br />

Design<br />

8<br />

3<br />

EU<br />

46<br />

Other preparations<br />

for<br />

production/deliveries<br />

23<br />

Other

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