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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(82)251 final
Brussels,15June1982
COMMUNICATION FROMTHECOMMISSION TOTHECOUNCIL
ANDPROPOSAL FORACOUNCILDECISION
concerning aplanforthetransnational development ofthesupporting
infrastructure forinnovation andtechnologytransfer(1983-1985)
(submitted bytheCommission totheCouncil)
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C0M(82)251final

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TABLE OPCONTENTS
Pages
SUKMARY 1
A.INTRODUCTION 2
1.Stimulation oftechnological ana 2
industrial innovation
2.The Community dimension 4
B.DETAILED PROPOSALS FOR ACTION 6
1.European cohesion between existing
innovation promotion organisations 9
2.Strengthening the foundations : 15
people ,know-how ,communication
3. Concertation ofMember States and
Community action 22
C.REQUIRED RESOURCES 24
D.PROVISIONAL FINANCIAL SHEET 25
Inannex sDRAFT COUNCIL DECISION 1
Plan for the transnational development
*
ofthe supporting infrastructure for
innovation and technology transfer 4
Duties and method ofprocedure ofthe
Consultative Committee provided for in
Article 6 8

SUMMARY
AtitsLuxemburg meeting of1-2 December 1980 ,theEuropean Council
has called "toimprove the competitiveness ofEuropean products
through better use ofthe possibilities ofthe common market "
ano ,towards this end ,"toexamine how toremedy the fragmentation
ofmarkets and improve support for innovation and the dissem­
ination ofinformation ".Ithas repeated itsconcern about the
importance ofinnovation atitsBrussels meeting of29-30 March
1982 .
The proposed plan for the transnational development ofthe support­
ing infrastructure for innovation and technology transfer isa
first ,significant element intheCommunity response tothis
request .Itfollows the strategic lines already laid down in
theCommission reports prepared under themandate ofthe 30th
ofMay .
This plan will contribute totheCommunity-wide opening ofthe
market
-byincreasing theEuropean cohesion between the institutions ,
organisations and services that have been developed inthe
Member States toprovide interfaces between industry ,research ,
financial institutions and other parties ;
-bydeveloping the resources tointroduce aCommunity market
perspective intheir operations ;
-byproviding avehicle forconcertation and optimisation of
national policies and measures inthis field .
The Commission asks that theCouncil adopt the enclosed decision
forundertaking this three-year plan for the transnational develop­
ment ofthe supporting infrastructure for innovation and technology
transfer .

A.INTRODUCTION
1.Stimulation ottechnological and industrial innovation
1.1 .Initscommunication totheEuropean Council of26No­
vember 1980(1 )"Innovation and Industrial Development ",
the Commission stressed the need toreinforce industrial
innovation intheCommunity .
AtitsLuxemburg meeting of1-2 December 1980 ,theEuropean
Council welcomed theCommission 'sreflections and sought
better coordination ofthe actions ofMember States "in
order toimprove the competitiveness ofEuropean products
through better use ofthepossibilities oftheCommon
Market ".Itasked the competent authorities oftheCommunity
"toexamine how toremedy the fragmentation ofmarkets ana
improve suppott for innovation and thedissemination of
information ".
1.2 .For itspart ,theCommission responded tothis request of
theEuropean Council inits report (2)under themandate of
30th May 1980 ,proposing tobase its strategy for inno­
vation onfurther integration ofthe internal market .More­
over ,informulating itsstrategies inrelated fields ,it
has taken into account their relationship with and impact
onindustrial and technological innovation ,particularly
initscommunications of23October 1981 "ACommunity
strategy todevelop Europe 'sindustry "(3)and of12Octo­
ber 1981 "Scientific and Technical Research and the European
Community "(4).
(1)COM (80)755 final
(2)COM (81)300 final
(3)COM (81)639 final
(4)COM (81)574 final

-3-
Finally ,initscommunication of20October 1961 ,"Apolicy
for industrial innovation -strategic lines ofaCommunity
approach "(5),itsummarised its views and formulated acer­
tain number ofproposals ,making clear the need for parallel
and coherent progress onseveral fronts ,while recognizing
that measures topromote innovation depend for their effect­
iveness onanimprovement inthegeneral economic climate
and ontheir acceptance bysociety .Conversely ,innovation
isanessential key toeconomic recovery and social pro­
gress .
1.3 .Itiswidely acknowledged that industrial and technologi­
cal innovation requires ,first and foremost ,entrepreneurs
capable ormanaging people ,technology ,money ,markets ana
the interplay between them inthe framework set amongst
others bygeneral investment conditions ,information and
social acceptance .
Combining these factors carries arisk for inventors ,in­
vestors ,buyers ,management and workers alike .This risk
cannot and should not beeliminated :itisinherent inthe
market economy .But itisuptothepublic authorities to
create conditions reducing unnecessary risks that may
hamper innovation while atthe same time setting upthe
environment for justly rewarding theunavoidable risks .
1.4 .Accumulated studies and experience clearly demonstrate that
theMember States oftheCommunity possess the essential
ingredients for innovation .Their global financial and
human resources inresearch are comparable with those
ofJapan ortheUnited States ;their industrial capacity
5 COM (81)620 final

-4-
remains one c£the best inthe world ,although its tech­
nological dependence onthese twocountries isgrowing ;
ofcapital there isenough ,but too rarely applied to
productive risk-investment ;theCommon Market exists ,but
isnot fully achieved ;astrong entrepreneurial potential
exists ,especially insmall andmedium-sized enterprises ,
which could beanessential element inthe relaunch of
theCommunity 'seconomies ,ifitwere offered optimal
economic and market conditions .
2.The Community dimension
2.1 .Many measures ,national and regional ,private andpublic ,
have been taken topromote innovation ,and especially
toset uporimprove mechanisms ofcommunication ,co-opera­
tion and information which bring together the producers
ofuseful science and technology ,investors ,entrepre­
neurs and the commercial market .Over the last few years ,
this has brought about aremarkable expansion inorganisa­
tions for theexploitation ofthe results ofresearch ,
university-incustry links ,and information and advisory
services ofall kinds especially infavour ofsmall ana
medium-sized enterprises .But these attempts have byno
means always achieved thedegree ofsuccess anticipated ,
particularly when limited means ,particularly inthe
smaller Member States ,have prevented them from increas­
ing their efforts toconquer Community orworld markets
(6).
(6)Itisestimated that ,frequently ,nosingle national market
inEurope constitutes more than 5-10% ofthemarket required
tojustify theinvestment decision necessary for amajor
technological innovation .

-5-
2.2 .Toimprove the chances ofsuccess ofthose varied initia­
tives ,the Commission proposes totheCouncil actions
which will complement and optimise existing public and
private etrorts intheMember States bycreating the
necessary relationships and interactions across borders
between those who conduct ana support the process of
innovation :
-the resource base for these operations would beconsiae
rably strengthened asregards know-how ,competence ana
communication ;
-new patterns ofco-operation ,mutual support and ex­
change ofexperience would beestablished ;
-there would beasubstantial increase intheCommunity -
wide flow ofthe technical ,financial ,commercial and
legal knowledge necessary for the proper management of
innovation ,with astrong multiplier effect ;
-the intra-Community traae intechnology would betruly
facilitated .
The proposed actions would reduce unnecessary risks ,
enable Community innovators toprofit fully from the
dimension ofthe common market and the solidarity of
theCommunity ,and ,finally ,raise theawareness ofthe
potential ofinnovation .

B.DETAILED PROPOSALS FOR ACTION
Having inmind these objectives ,theCommission recommended in
its communication tothe Council of20October 1981 (7)adeter­
mined effort "tocreate abetter interface betv /een research and
inaustry "attheEuropean level and its intention "towork ror
aEuropean orientation ofnational information ,research exploit­
ation and consultancy services ana thus tostrengthen the trans­
national innovation infrastructure which isessential for an
efricient European market ininnovation ".Small and medium-sized
enterprises ,which ,play aprime role inthe process ofinnovation ,
would bemajor beneficiaries ofsuch animprovement .
Aprevious communication ofthe Commission of31December 1980 ,
dealing with theexploitation and evaluation ofthe results of
research (8)emphasizes the need toimprove the interaction between
research and the potential users ofits results .
TheCommission fully recognizes that the existing diversity of
measures topromote innovation must berespected ,tothe extent
that they comply with the limitations laid down intheTreaty .
Itisnot proposed toharmonise these measures ortosubstitute
Community measures but tocomplement them byadding theCommunity
dimension andmutual support .Thus Community intervention will
belimited toactivities either carried out inassociation by
partners from several Member States orhaving anincidence upon
Community-wide operations orservice activities .
(7)
U)COM (81)
COM (60)620
889£xnal
final

-7-
This plan isoneelement intheCommunity strategy forindustry ,
technology and innovation aimed atthecreation ofsecure employ­
ment based oncompetitiveness andgrowth ,having regard especially
tosmall and nieuium-si zedenterprises .Ifitisproposed tocarry -
itout now ,without waiting for other elements ,itisbecause now
isthe time tostart ,unless one wants tosee the gap between
Europe and itsmain competitors widen beyond repair .
The plan isbased onextensive investigations and wide consul­
tations and contains proposals for action along three lines :
(1)torentier existing and developing organisations and services
inthis field more effective byfacilitating their opera­
tions on,and their access to,the Community market ;this
transnational extension ofstructures inthe Member States
will bebased upon flexible ana dynamic mechanisms ofliai­
son and co-operation ;
(2)tothe degree necessary for the objective ,tohelp meet the
corresponding requirements inthe training ofpeople ,in
know-how ana intechnical and communication means ;
(3)tocontribute tothegeneral advance ofmethods used in
this field bypromoting ,where beneficial ,concer tation ,
theexchange ofexperience ana theaeveio ^ii.ent ofpilor .
programmes inthe Member States .
The actions tobeundertaken will build upon what already exists
intheMember States ,sothat theCommunity 'ssupport will ce
partial andcomplementary .Whenever anew initiative istaken ,
theCommunity 'ssupport will address thestart-up phase ,i.e.
the establishment ano the initial operation .

-8-
Certain ofthese actions will also complement the activities
assisted through the quota and non-quota sections oftheEuro­
pean Regional Development Fund and will provide atesting ground
for new ideas which may later beincluded for assistance from
the Fund inthe less favoured regions ofthe Community .Toensure
the necessary complementarity ,the same actions will not befinan­
cially supported both bygrant aid from theFund and under this
plan .

-9-
Chapter 1:European cohesion between existing innovation promo ¬
tion organisations
Inrecent years ,theMember States have promoted the creation
ofextensive infrastructures for innovation which are ,however ,
mainly oriented towards national markets .
Since the fit between supply and demand improves asthe basis
onwhich matching ismade broadens and since only perceived mark­
ets can justify theallocation ofresources toinnovation ,there
isaclear advantage inco-operation attheEuropean level .
The Community 'sobjective istocreate the environment and promote
themechanisms for this co-operative broadening .Based onalarge
number ofcontacts ,seminars and investigations ,the following
actions areproposed toset the stage for transnational co-opera­
tion between thedifferent partners ,towit theentrepreneur in
industry ,the research institutions ,the advisory services and
intermediaries ,the financial institutions and thepublic users
ofnew technologies .
1.1 .The inûustry /research interface
Research isperformed inuniversity ,private and government
laboratories and innational and regional institutions .No
enterprise can aspire tointeract efficiently with allof
them ,asnoresearch institution can dowith all firms .Thus ,
intermediary organisations forresearch exploitation have
been set upinMember States toestablish proper liaison
between industrial and research partners and toprospect
markets forapplications ofnew technologies .
Tofacilitate theprospection ofthewider Community and
world ,instead ofmere national markets ,the following actions
are proposed :

-10-
-start-up support for the establishment ofliaison mechan ¬
isms asabasis for mutual help inareas ofcommon interest
and asaplatform for exchange ofexperience and
information ,transfer oftechnology and establishment of
wider contacts .Support will beprovided inparticular for
the basic structures ofco-operation ,such asnecessary
secretariats ,organisation ofconferences ,seminars or
symposia ,newsletters ,etc .
~support for promotional actions for exploitation ofnew
technology ormarket prospection inside and outside the
Community ,ifundertaken incommon byorganisations from
several Member States ,inparticular forparticipation
and demonstration attrade exhibitions ,innovation fairs ,
etc .
1.2 .Technology and management advisory services
With growing awareness ofthe key role ofinnovative small
and medium-sized enterprises for their economies ,Member
States have promoted theestablishment ofservices ,both
public andprivate ,specialised inproviding management ,
technology andmarket know-how tonew technology exploiting
firms .
Community action isintended tohelp these services and their
customers ,now toooften oriented towards national markets
which are too limited formany segments ofnew technologies ,
togain wider perspective ,asregards theCommunity market ,
and eventually ,world markets .
The following Community action isenvisaged :

-11-
start-up support for associations and "platforms ofpersonal
contact " (seminars ,conferences )inorder toestablish
"human 11networks ofrelations between the services
concerned .The development and promotion ofprofession­
alassociations ataEuropean level should inparticular
help tofully establish the rules and reputation ofthe new
professions ofinnovation brokers and advisers who in­
creasingly play akey "role inactivating the technolo­
gy/industry /market interfaces ,together with the necessary
establishment ofEuropean-wide information material of
these associations ,inparticular newsletters ,surveys
ofexisting services ,operating manuals ,and specialised
journals for such services including evaluation ofmarket
forpublicly sponsored technology .
Incase ofnecessity ,theCommunity must beprepared to
support :
exchange ofpersonnel ofsuch services asthe most efficient
way togain experience onother markets aswell astoestab­
lish networks ofmutual assistance ;
-joint technological market exploration outside the Com¬
munity with appropriate reporting andcirculation of
information onthe results ofsuch missions .
1.3 .Venture finance operations
Preliminary experience gained from amultinational pilot
scheme for theco-operation ofventure capital companies
still under way ,reinforced byinformation gathered at

-12 ~
recently-held banking symposia (9),confirms that innovation
fim.ncinc ,still represents agap inthe financial services
toenterprises inmany regions intheCommunity .Atthe
same time ithas become clear that there exists agenuine
interest among the parties concerned toco-operate ona
European scale topromote the development ofthis type of
finance ,aswell astoensure more effective support ofthe
transnational diffusion ofinnovations within theCommunity .
Itistherefore proposed that theCommunity support
-the start-up ofaCommunity-based association offinancial
organisations specialised inthe financing ofinnovation .
Such anassociation might act asacentre for exchange
ofexperience and information inthis specialised field ,
for the development ofthe methods ofrisk-assessment
and financing used and also for the establishment of
standards ofconduct .Itcould ,inparticular ,build
onthe experience gained during the pilot scheme just
mentioned .
Specifically ,astheoccasion arose ,theCommunity would also
support
(9) "The role ofthe banker inindustrial innovation ",Proceed­
ings ofthesymposium held inLuxemburg ,30September and
1October 1980 ;"Financing more innovation atless risk ";
Proceedings ofthesymposium held inLuxemburg ,15-17 December
1981 .Both published for theCommission oftheEuropean
Communities byINFOBRIEF Luxembourg .

-13-
the professional publications of :such anassociation or
permanent cooperation ,inparticular acurrent awareness
service ontechnology and investment opportunities ,and
review reports onventure capital operations inEurope
and the United States ;
-the build-up ofreference networks ofexperts and consult ¬
ants able toadvise onfinancial ,technology andmarket
assessment and tohelp with management problems .Such trans­
national networks established byassociation orco-opera­
tion could consist not only oftraditional consultants ,but
also ofventure managers ,university and research personnel ,
and experienced but retired managers .
1.4 .Interface between public users and innovative industries
Amajor objective ofany innovation policy isthepenetration
bynew technologies ofpublic markets and *theestablishment
ofaneffective interface between industry and public users .
Although effective arrangements doexist insome high tech­
nology sectors ,pilot initiatives anddiscussions have revealed
the existence ofsome serious barriers toinnovation as
well asopportunities forovercoming them onaCommunity
basis .Aparticular pilot initiative ,viz .the setting up
oftheStanding Technological Conference ofEuropean Local
Authorities (STCELA ),has shown that these barriers fall
into twomain categories :
theCommunity local authority market ishighly fragmented
and ,bybeing made less so,itsconsiderable demand pull
could contribute significantly toindustrial innovation ;
there ismuch scope for improving theexchange ofnew
technical solutions tocommon problems ,rather than rein­
venting them atgreat public cost .

-14-
Itistherefore envisaged tosupport :
-further development ofthe basic structure otCommunity
local authority co-operation innew technologies ;
initiatives aiming atorienting local authority purchasing
towards innovation and onthe analysis oftheir requirements
for new orimproved goods and services ,particularly
when the existence ofalarge market iscrucial for success ;
-technology exchange projects when techniques used by
agroup oflocal authorities can beadapted inother
Member States ,particularly when there isanindustrial
partner tomeet the expanded need .
1.5 .Aaditional exploration and promotion offurther initiatives
Besides the scrutiny and screening ofproposals forthcoming
under the actions described inthis plan ,theconsultative
committee created inArticle 6should advise onsupport for
further proposals and initiatives ,whether suggested by
the partners mentioned inthe preceding sections ,the buyers
and users ofnew technologies ordirectly bytheconsultative
committee itself .Inother words ,theCommunity must beready
for aflexible and quick reaction tonew developments .

-15
Chapter 2;Strengthening the foundations ;people ,know-how ,
communication .
While Chapter 1covered the development ofthe transnation dimen­
sion ofthe interfaces between the partners inthe process of
innovation ,the present chapter covers certain fundamental re­
sources ,which can bemore effectively and economically built up
incommon .
2.1 .Training inmanagement ofinnovation and technology transfer
Atpresent ,education and training inthe specialised pro­
fession oftechnology transfer and inmanagement ofinnova­
tion ,where itexists ,islimited initsEuropean perspective .
The objective ofthe following Community actions isthe train­
ing ofkey personnel inCommunity market aspects :
toencourage suitable European higher educational institu ¬
tions and organisations tooffer special courses inthis
field .TheCommunity will undertake and ,conditional
upon positive intermediate evaluation ,continue the
provision oflimited support tostudents and teachers ,
covering course fees and living expenses curing such
training ;
-tosupport the development ofteaching tools onaEuropean
basis ,where such development isthecommon effort of
institutions inseveral Member States .Inparticular
such material includes innovation case studies ,model
instruction modules ,etc .

-lb
2.2 .Joint support functions for the awareness and assessment
ofnew technologies and potential markets
Avital function ofthe Community inthe development ofinno­
vation interfaces and their transnational extensions should
betheactivation ana pooling ofthecispersed European
potential foracquisition ,analysis and evaluation ofthe
lull relevant information base where this istoocostly and
wasteful toacquire onanational basis ,particularly in
smaller Member States ,orwhere the development ofresour­
ces incommon can substantially contribute toefficiency .
For this purpose ,the following Community actions are envis­
aged :
-support for joint technology and market assessment stuaies ,
ifundertaken incommon byorganisations from different
Member States ;
~encouragement ofthe opening oftechnology conferences
normally organised onanational orregional basis ,to
European subjects and audiences ("Europeanisation "of
conferences ).Community support may cover theadditional
cost incurred byopening such conferences toaEuropean
technology ,market orsocial perspective or,inparticular ,
dissemination ofnational ana Community research results ,
whether technology with short-term applications orkey
technologies with heavy impact inthemedium and long
term ;
the extension ofand co-operation between "technology
awareness agencies ".TheCommunity should act tostimulate
thecreation ofaEuropean "network "ofspecialised tech­
nology awareiness services which would share thetask of
selecting anddistilling technological information from

available research publications and ensure its avaiiaSTXi -
tytoindustry and especially tosmall and meciium-sizec
enterprises throughout the Community ,byall suitable
means ana notably via existing trade journals ;
the acquisition ,analysis ana dissemination ofinformation
towhich access isdifficult .Firstly ,much ofthe knowledge
base ,beittechnical ,economic orcommercial ,necessary to
promote and guide European innovation exists :itisonly
that some ofthe information isDifficult toacquire and
analyse .For example ,the information accumulated inpa­
tents requires for its access acertain analytical tech­
nique andpractical experience ;other information exists
inlanguages such asJapanese orRussian ,not widely under­
stood intheCommunity .Secondly ,the assembly and process­
ing ofthe proper body ofexisting information tosolve a
particular problem often requires acollective effort on
the part ofdispersed and highly specialised experts ,
which isaburden onand abarrier toinnovation ,in
particular inthe smaller Member States whose universities
cannot cover all the fields ofscience and technology .
Finally ,access tosimilar relevant information ,even
within theCommunity ,isoften limited bylinguistic
barriers ,thus Lragmenting the potential market for tech­
nologies .The preparation anddissemination oftrans­
lations will therefore beencouraged ;
the establishment ofaninformation exchange onaswl' --- ■-
scale aspossible onavailable expertise regarding technoao
gy,markets ,finance andpublic aids for innovation througn
out theCommunity .Thesystem will bedeveloped instep
with thetransnational cohesion promoted under Chapter 1.

-1«-
Itwill aim atproviding information atEuropean ,national
anc regional level oncontact points ,inparticular as
regarus research exploitation services ,advisory and
consultancy services ,specialised financial services ,
collective research associations ,producers and buyers of
technologies ,and onrelevant automated information banks ,
otwhich EUKOIMET-DIANK contains anumber .Animportant
function will also betoprovide information onavailable
aids within national and Community research and innovation
programmes .
2.3 .Access topatents and licensing markets
The protection ofindustrial property isanessential instru­
ment tor the creation ofanappropriate environment for
innovators and thus for stimulating innovation .If,however ,
this istoremain so,itmust continually adapt tothe ever-
changing needs oftechnology ,industry and society .Infact ,
wicse consultations confirm that inspite ofvarious attempts
atmodernising patent legislation ,difficulties persist in
the use ofand access topatent protection ,especially tor
small andmedium-sized enterprises .These problems include
questions ofcost ,intricacy ofprocedures ,scope ,public
acceptance and use ofthe information contained inpatents .
Some ofthese difficulties will begreatly reduced when all
theMember States have ratified the Luxemburg Convention
for aCommunity patent .TheCommission therefore hopes that
this procedure becompleted atavery eeiirly date .
Informal iongathered from informal contacts shows that the
objective cftheCommunity efforts must betorender thepro­
tection otindustrial property rights inOi.«effective ,as
regards both research results and themultitude ofproduct
anaprocess improvement arising from know-how many ofwhich
originate insmall andmedium-sized enterprises .

erefore the following actions are proposed :
tointensity theconsultation and contacts with theparties
concerned ,inparticular asregards the patent cost ,the
use ofpatent information ana the criteria ofindustrial
property protection .This will bedone byorganising expert
discussions and bysupporting surveys and studies ;
tocomplement what isalready done insome Member States
topromote the use ofindustrial property rights byinven ¬
tors ,particularly bydeveloping methods for acquainting
young engineers and scientists with this subject alreaay
during their education and training ,and byspreading
these met'noGS throughout theCommunity ;
topromote the creation ofanefficient common market
for the licensing oftechnology .Uptonow ,the best fit
between supply and demand inthe licensing oftechnology
has not been achieved intheCommunity ,mainly because
the small andmedium-sized enterprises involved are either
not very active orstill consider their own country arc
not theCommunity asthenatural market for this tr^ae .
However ,there are some initiatives lor creating the -
cessary intermediary structures which could and shouic ua
expanceo tocover thewhole ofthv .-Community .Therefor o
theCommunity will promote thecreation ofconcerted ana
transnational strategies for theexploitation oflicences
andknow-how with theobjective otactivating and ber.ter
match inyotter anademand ataCor.mun itylevel .Toth
e-no ,theCommunity will promote theconcertat ionofinter­
mediary services and itwill providt start-up support lor
transnational forms ofco-operation .

-2υ-
2.4 .Opening new channels ofcommunication toaccelerate market
introduction o£new products
Inanumber ofareas ,bottlenecks incommunication anc diss­
emination ofinformation jeopardise the advantage ofthe
larger Community market ,Ontheone hand ,-this may happen
because enterprises ,and especially those -ofsmall andmedium
size ,are not sufficiently aware ofcalls forproposals and
public tenders inother Member States than their own ,and
even less ofthose inthe United States orJapan .Onthe
other hand ,afirm aware ofsuch opportunities may see its
penetration effort hindered bythe existence ofdiverging
regulations ,norms and standards ,which persist inspite
ofCommunity efforts .
Inboth areas technical innovation infrastructure islacking .
Therefore ,and inaddition tothe continued identification
ofthese bottlenecks under theconcertation procedures proposed
inChapter 3,itisproposed :
-topromote the timely and Community-wide diffusion of
calls forproposals for newproducts ,and inparticular
ofpublic tenders .Developing new efficient media ,or
promoting amore intensive use ofexisting communication
channels ,such asChambers ofCommerce ,isakey element
forgiving theCommunity andworld markets their full
weight inafirm 'sstrategy for newproduct development .
This isinparticular true' for themainly small and
medium-sized enterprises that have hitherto not attacked
these wider markets ;

-21-
-toestablish anup-to-date awareness system onestablished
regulations ,norms and standards ,particularly where
divergences between these orignorance ofthem may create
unnecessary obstacles .
Clearly both actions will bemost useful ifcarried out in
conjunction with the actions proposed inSection 2.2 .Toge­
ther they will enhance the capacity ofour enterprises ,in
particular from small Member States ,toestablish more new
products inworld-wide markets .

-22-
Chapter 3:Concertation ofMember States and Community action
Individual Member States' governments have established alarge
number ofprogrammes and measures topromote the interaction
between research ,the entrepreneur ,finance and markets soas
tostimulate industrial innovation .
While ,onthe one hand ,theCommunity and the Commission have
responsibilities ,unaer Articles 92toy4oftheEEC Treaty ,
for controlling state aids ,inthis area asinothers ,and while
theCommission isworking with experts ofthe Member States on
aframework for such aids inthe innovation field ,theCommunity
can ,onthe other hand ,provide theplatform topromote exchange
ofexperience ana information between Member States with the
improvement intheactivities ana theeventual convergence of
theprogrammes and measures asleitmotiv .
3.1 .Exchange ofinformation and experience
Asconcerns concertation ,the establishment ofthe consultat ¬
ive committee defined inArticle 6ofthe decision will create
apermanent forum for the exchange ofinformation between
Member States onnational and regional measures which they
have adopted orintend toadopt .The exchanges will allow
acontinuous comparison ofmethods andprogrammes and their
evaluation aswell asthedevelopment ofconcertation and
cooperation between Member States where appropriate .These
exchanges will also ensure thecoherence ofnational actions
with those proposed inthis plan .
3.2 .Inventories ofprogrammes andmeasures
Inthis context ,theCommission will undertake acontinuous
inventory ofprogrammes and measures and undertake comparisons ,
tofacilitate thediscussion and exchange ofinformation

-23-
between Member States .Inparticular ,the Commission will
establish apool ofstudies relevant toindustrial innova­
tion and accessible toall .This pool may include studies
unaer taken bytheCommission ormade available byother
parties onsuch subjects asinnovation indicators (for Comm­
unity ,national orregional economies ,sectors ofincustry ,
types offirms ,individual enterprises ),techniques ofpublic
intervention ,new techno logy-baseo firms ,innovation trend
analysis ,etc .
3.3 .The introduction ofnew methods
Inview ofthe urgency ofimproving programmes and techniques
topromote innovation ,theCommunity will encourage the use
ofnew methods innational programmes ,where they prove effi­
cient ,ana provide for rapid dissemination ofnew programmes
and methods and their evaluation tothe Member States .
For this purpose ,the following procedure isenvisaged :
the Community may participate inthe cost ofprogrammes for
developing innovation infrastructures undertaken byaMember
State ,orjointly byseveral Member States ,ifasuch programme
isaccepted asapilot programme bytheconsultative committee
defined inArticle 6ofthe decision .The Community participa­
tion should inparticular address the costs ofmonitoring and
evaluating theeffectiveness ofthepilot programme .The Comm­
ission will provide forrapid dissemination ofthe results .
This approach will ,inter alia ,both complement andprepare the
establishment ofefficient programmes forinnovation promotion
inregions qualifying under theEuropean Regional Development
Fund regulations orunder theEuropean Social Fund .Toensure
thenecessary complementarity ,thesame actions will not be
financially supported both bygrant aidfrom thementioned
funds andunder thepresent plan .This measure isintended
actively topromote theapplication ,extension andspreading
of"best-practice "programmes andtechniques inboth national
anaCommunity settings .

-24
C.REQUIRED RESOURCES
The Community and the Member States spend substantial resources
onresearch and development and ondirect aids toinnovation
ana industrial investment .Compared tothese expenditures
the budgetary requirements forcarrying out the actions proposed
inthis plan are very modest .However ,one can expect them
tohave animportant multiplier effect ,bypromoting the inter­
action between the factors influencing the progress ofinno­
vation :manpower ,technology ,finance and markets .
Ingeneral ,asstated before ,the financial support bythe
Community will belimited and ,more specifically ,cover at
most b0% ofthe cost ofthe actions and project .Whenever
actions orprojects can generate income without jeopardising
their success ,the financial support will berepayable in
proportion tothis income .This will bethe case inmost
actions proposed inthe field ofinformation and knowledge
dissemination ,such asconferences ,publications ,etc .
Nevertheless ,for some ofthemechanisms proposed the full
operating andmanagement cost will have tobeborne bythe
Community .This will bethe case inparticular for theconcert -
ation ofMember States' action,' for thepreparation ,management
and evaluation otpromotion actions aswell asfor thedissemi­
nation ofresults .Full funding may also beconsidered for the
experimental initial phase ofcertain actions ,when necessary
tostimulate inadequate initiatives .

L).PROVISIONAL FINANCIAL SHELT
19b3-19uL
Chapter 1:European cohesion between existing
innovation promotion organisations 6.6 Mloiicu
1.1 .The încustry /research interface l.b MioEcu
1.2 .Technology and management advisory
services 2.4 toioEcu
1.3 .Venture finance operations 0.9 MioEcu
1.4 .Interface between public users ana
innovative industries 0.9 MioEcu
1.5 Additional exploration and promotion
offurther initiatives 0.6 MioEcu
Chapter 2:Strengthening the foundations :
people ,know-how ,communication 5.7 KioEcu
2.1 .Training inmanagement ofinnovation and 1.2MioEcu
technology transfer
2.2 .Joint support functions for the awareness
and assessment ofnew technologies and
potential markets 2.4MioEcu
2.3 .Access topatents and licensing markets 0.9MioEcu

-26 -
2.4 .Opening new channels ofcommunication
toaccelerate market introduction of
new prooucts 1.2 MioEcu
Chapter 3:concertation ofMember States and
Community action2.7 MioEcu
3.1 .Exchange ofinformation and experience ^
3.2 .Inventories ofprogrammes and measures J1.2 MioEcu
3.3 .The introduction ofnew methods 1.5 MioEcu
TOTAL , (non-obligatory expenditure ) 15.0 MioEcu
Inorder topermit partners toengage themselves seriously with
theCommission ,the allocated budget should beclassified under
"differentiated appropriations ".
In .addition ,arequest for anincrease inpersonnel will beintro­
duced inthe framework ofthebudgetary procedure .This request
will take the form ofseven temporary posts (4AfIB,2C)for the
duration oftheprogramme .
I

PROPOSAL FORA
COUNCIL DECISION
concerning aplan forthetransnational development ofthesupporting infra­
structure for innovation andtechnology transfer
(1983-85 )
THE COUNCIL OFTHE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic
Community ,and inparticular Article 235 thereof ,
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ,
1Having regard tothe Opinion oftheEuropean Parliament /
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEconomic and Social Committee /
Whereas ,inaccordance with Article 2oftheTreaty ,the
ofeconomic activities and continuous and balanced expansion
throughout theCommunity ;
Whereas the Heads ofState orGovernment ,meeting inLuxembourg
on1and 2December 1980 ,expressed thehope that efforts bytheMember Stat
inthe field ofindustrial innovation would bebetter coordinatea
inorder toimprove the competitiveness ofEuropean products by
making thebest use ofthedimension afforded bythecommon market ;
whereas they requested the competent authorities oftheCommunity
toexamine ways ofeliminating the fragmentation ofmarkets and
improving incentives toinnovation and thedissemination ofknow-
leage ;
Whereas it is primarily upto undertakings todevelop trace
in technologies and topromote their exploitation ;
Whereas ,nevertheless ,aresolute effort isrequired topromote
interaction between technology ,industry and themarket atEuropean
level ,soastoensure that further economically viable innova­
tions accrue from discoveries and inventions through .utilisa­
tion oftheadvantages ofscale afforded bytheEuropean dimension ;
OJNoC
20JNoC

-2-
Whereas the Member States have developed specialised services in
the field ofresearch exploitation ,technology transfer ,inform­
ation ,consultancy and financing ;
Whereas these infrastructures are importantfor facilitating inno­
vation ,particularly insmall anc metiium-sizeci uncer takings ;
Whereas the introduction oftransnational mechanisms "forLiaison ,
co-operation ,training and information would becrucial inopti­
mising these national efforts ;
Whereas the said mechanisms would provide wider access tosuch
essential elements ofindustrial innovation asresearch ,tech­
nology ,capital arid the market ;
Whereas theTreaty does not provide the powers necessary tothis
end ,
HAS DECIDED ASFOLLOWS :
Article 1
With aview tofacilitating innovation intheCommunity ,aninitial
package ofmeasures designed topromote the transnational develop­
ment ofliaison and co-operation infrastructures and toprovide
incentives totrade and the exploitation oftechnologies ishereby
drawn up,and isdefined inAnnex I.
Article 2
Onthe basis ofcontinuous exchange and comparative assessment of
experiences ,Member States and the .Commission shall ensure compatibility
ofthemeasures referred toinArticle 1with national and regional measures
topromote innovation ,inthemanner provided for inAnnex I,Chapter 3.
Article 3
Vhe activities orprojects described inAnnex Ishall oeunder­
taken 'ontheresponsibility oftheCommission orshall quality
forpartial Community financing under theappropz iationa prov ;Jenfc
inArticle 5.
?neXollowing activities orprojects may beeligible for con­
sideration :
activities *orprojects involving partners established invarious
Member Starrs ;
activities ocprojects involving operations onaCommunity
scale orservices open toall Member sta*.# *.

Article 4
TheCommissionshalldisseminate intheCornmunity,bythemost
appropriate means,theresultsoftheactionsundertaken pur­
suanttothisLecision .
Article 5
Theappropriations requiredforimplementing thisDecisionareestimated at15million ECUoveraperiod
orthreeyearscommencing 1JanuarylS/fc3andareindependent or
additional manpowerrequirements .Thisamount constitutes
anindication ofthefinancial appropriations whichwillDeenierea
inthegeneralbudgetoftheEuropeanCommunities .
Asregarostheactivities describedinAnnexI,theCommission
shallendeavour ,especially incaseswhereitisinvolvedwith
groupsclpartnerswithaninterest,tosharethecostsoftheoper­
ations,torecoverapartofitsoutlayfromanysuchrevenue
asmayaccrueandtoliir.ititscontributions toaninitiallauncl
ingperiod.
Article b
responsibility iorimplementing thisDecisionshallrestwith
theCommission ,assistedbyanAdvisoryCommitteewhosecompo­sition,dutiesanoprocedures aresetoutinAnnexII.
TheCommissionshallkeepi"hesaidCommitteeregularlyinformedof
progressinthework.
TheCommissionshallpresentadetailedreporteachyeartotheCounciland
toParliament .
DoneatBrussels,...
FortheCouncil

-4-
ANNEXI
PLANFORTHETRANSNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFTHESUPPORTING
INFRASTRUCTURE FORINNOVATION ANJjTECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Scopeanddefinition ofactions
Scope
Theprincipalobjectiveistopromotetherapidpenetration of
theCommunity'seconomies bynewtechnologies astheybecome
available,havingregardespecially tosmallanamedium-sized
enterprises.
Theproposeaactionswillreinforcenationalstructures working
towardsthisend,inparticular byaddingtheEuropeandimension
toList-operations ofexistingnationalresearchexploitation ,
technologytransfer,advisoryandspecialised financialservices.
Theairaisthustostrengthen thetransnational innovationinfra­
structurewhichisessentialforanefficientEuropeanmarketin
inncvation.
Threeprincipallinesoractionsareenvisaged :
(1)torer.aerexistinganddevelopingorganisations anaservices
inthisfieldmoreeffective byfacilitating theiropera-cicns
or.,anatheiraccessto,theCommunitymarket;thistrans­nationalextension ofstructures intheMemberStateswill
bebaseauponflexibleanadynamicmechanismsofliaison
andcooperation ;
(2)totheucyreenecessaryfortheobjective ,tohelpmeet
thecorrespondingbasicrequirements inthetrainingof
people,inM.-jw-hov:anaintechnicalandcommunication means;
(J)tocontcibut.etothegeneraladvanceofmethodsusedinthisfieldbypromoting,wherebeneficial ,concertation,the
exchangeoi.experience anatheintroduction oLnewmethoda
intheKemberStates.

-5-
Descriptions ofactions
Thefollowingactionsareenvisaged :
Chapter1:Europeancohesionbetweenexistinginnovation pro-
raotionorganisations
1.1.Theincustry/researchinterface /inparticular ;
a)start-upsupporttortheestablishment ofliaisonir.echan-
isms;
b)supportrorpromotional actionsforexploitation ofnew
technology ormarketprospection insideandoutsidethe
Community.
1.2.Technology anamanagement advisoryservices,inparticular :
a)start-upsupportforassociations inordertoestablish
"human"networksofrelations betweentheservices
concerned,anaalsoforthenecessaryback-upactivities ;
b)supporttorexchangeofpersonnelofsuchservicesasthe
mostefficient waytogainexperience onothermarkets
aswellastoestablishnetworksofmutualassistance ;
c)supportfortheirjointtechnological marketexploration
outsidetheCommunity .
1.3.Venturefinanceoperations ,inparticular :
a)start-upsupportforanassociation offinancialorganisa­
tionsspecialised inthefinancingofinnovation ;
b)supporttorprofessional publications ofsuchanassocia­
tion;
c)supportforthebuild-upofreferencenetworksofexp<-.rirs
andconsultants .
1.4.Interfacebetweenpublicusersanainnovativeindustries;,
mparticular :
a)support,aslongasnecessary ,lorU.ubasicstructure
ofCommunitylocalauthorityco-operation innew
tcciiUOiogieii;
b)supportfororientinglocalauthoritypurchasing towards
innovation ;
c)supporttortechnology exchangebetweenparticipants .
j.:j.Additional explorationanapromotionoffurtherinitiatives
invitationofproposalsforfurthersuitableinnovationinfrastructures anasupportfortheirimplementation .

-6-
9.G'4.L-§. .kS£G'it'}iiUIng..the found ations ;peopIei_know-hov:,comiaun ica tion - * --
2.1 .Training inli.anacierrient oi.innovation ano techr.ology transfer
inparticuiar : " "
a)encouraging suitable European higher educational institu­
tions andorganisations tooffer specia-1 courses inthis
fielc ;
b)support lor the ctvexoprnent ofteaching tools for this
purpose onaEuropean basis .
2.2 .Joint support functions for the awareness anc assessment
ofnew technologies and potential markets ,inparticular ;"
a)support tor joint assessment oftechnology anamarkets ;
b)support for increasing technology awareness ,bymeans
such asco-operation between "technology awareness agencies "
orgiving a .European scope totechnology conferences
normally organised onanational orregional basis ;
c)support tor the acquisition ,analysis ana dissemination
ofinformation ontechnologies and markets towhich access
isciiticuit ;
d)support tor the establishment ofaninformation exchange
onavailable expertise regarding technology ,markets ,
finance ana public aids for innovation throughout the
Community .
2.3 .Access topatents and licensing markets ,inparticular ;
a)support for the intensification ofconsultation and con­
tacts with theparties concerned ,inparticular asregards
the patent cost ,the use ofpatent information and the
criteria ofindustrial property protection ;
b)support forcomplementing what isalready done insome
Member States topromote the use ofindustrial property
rights byinventors ;
c)support thecreation ofanefficient common market for the
licensing oftechnology ,bypromoting theconcertation of
intermeoiary services and byproviding start-up support for
transnational forms ofco-operation .

-7-
^ •openin' .;;nev.cnai<r.eisotcornivi unicai.i on c;7;ro r v.
introuuc 'Li01\oi_ oi'c^iuc co yin i/rc1c'j.1civz
a)toproii.ote the tiraeiy ant .coir.jv.un ifcywiuo -uii^usic .;
cc..iiblor proposals lor now prooucts fan *.i par 11ci..
oipublic tenders ,bydeveloping new efficient madiac-^
byproiiio cinqair.ore intens iveuse o_c£xisLi..19oorv.iTiur .ic3 Lion
channe Is;
b)establishing anup-to-date awareness system enrcguiat ions ,
norms and standards .
Chapter J:Conce rtationcimember States ana Communit yactio n
a)intens ificat ion otthe concer taLion ana the exchange ofinform­
ation and experience within the framework oftheconsultative
coAva.it tee ;
b)compar isons anô évaluations oiprogrammes and ir.easures .;
c)Coiv.ff .unity support ior the sdvancenient ofprogramme methods .

-8-
ANNEX II
DUTIES AND METHOD OFPROCEDURE OFTHE
CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE PROVIDED FOR INARTICLE 6
A.Tiie Consultative Committee provided lor inArticle 6has the
following tasks :
-toaia theCommission inensuring the proper functioning ot
the exchanges provided for inArticle 2ofthis Decision
wnich must enable tovoluntary concer tation ofthe actions
ofthe Member States tobeachieved ,
-tocontribute ,through itsopinions ,tothe proper management
ofthe measures provided for inArticle 1ofthis Decision
and inparticular tothe cetailea definition ofthe activities
and projects and tothe selection ofproposals likely to
benefit from financial support .
B.The Committee shall becomposed ofrepresentatives nominated by
the Member States .Itcan call upon the assistance ofexperts
oradvisers according tothe nature ofthe action tobedealt
with .
C.The Committee shall bechaired byone ofitsmembers .
D.The Committee shall draw upits own rales ofprocedure .
E.The secretariat for the Committee will beprovided bythe
Commission .