WRITTEN QUESTION E-1114/96 by Jesús Cabezón Alonso (PSE) to the Commission (13 May 1996)

Subject: Research and training for SMEs

What measures has the Commission adopted or does it plan to adopt to incorporate SMEs into European research and training programmes?

Reply given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (7 June 1996)

Intensified efforts have made in the Fourth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (R& TD) to facilitate the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Community's programmes in the domains of research and dissemination of technology. On the basis of the experience gained from the Brite Euram programme (for the promotion of research in the domains of industrial technology and new materials) for example, measures designed to promote new technology in the SME sector have been integrated in twelve of these programmes. These measures make it possible to grant 'exploratory' premiums to SMEs to cover a part of the cost of preparing and submitting their proposals for research to be included in one of the programmes of the Fourth Framework Programme and to support the preparation, by a group of SMEs without any research resources of their own, of a CRAFT-model-based cooperative research procedure which will enable them to subcontract the search for a solution to a specific technological problem to an outside organisation. The initial results of these measures, for the year 1995, point to a substantial increase, compared with the Third Framework Programme, in the number of SMEs profiting from the action taken to promote research.

The aim of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme is to foster the development of professional training and innovation capacity in this domain. It includes the four main types of transnational cooperation measures introduced in the various earlier programmes (Petra, Force, Comett and Eurotechnet), namely pilot projects in the domain of cooperation, exchange programmes for different groups, surveys and analyses. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of the qualifications and skills required for adaptation to industrial or technological change in the SME sector and on management training for heads and managers of SMEs. Every aspect of professional training is covered, including initial training, transition to active employment, lifelong training, cooperation between universities and and the business world (including SMEs), etc. All the projects mounted in the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci programme must be carried out by trans-national partnerships. Priority is given to proposals which include SMEs.

Because the Leonardo Da Vinci programme placed more emphasis on improving the methodologies and content of training than on providing support for training projects as such, the Commission is trying to establish a certain degree of complementarity between this programme and the financial support granted from the Structural Funds, in particular in the framework of the Community's Adapt initiative, in which SMEs are largely involved, with the aim of accelerating the adaptation of the labour force to industrial change, improving the competitiveness of industry, services and training activities, controlling unemployment and anticipating the development of new employment opportunities and new activities.

In addition, in the framework of the reflections engendered by the White Paper on Innovation and the future Integrated Programme for SMEs, the Commission intends to make further improvements in the effectiveness of its action designed to provided assistance for SMEs in the domains of research and training.