CELEX: 51989PC0105
Language: en
Date: 1989-02-24
Title: AMENDED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION AT COMMUNITY LEVEL OF THE MAIN PHASE OF THE STRATEGIC PROGRAMME FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ( SPRINT ) ( 1989-1993 )

No C 68/10                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  18. 3. 89
                                                               II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                  COMMISSION
               Amended proposal for a Council Decision concerning the implementation at Community level
                  of the main phase of the strategic programme for innovation and technology transfer (')
                                                     Sprint (1989 to 1993)
                                                      COM(89) 105 final
               (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 24 February
                                                              1989)
                                                         (89/C 68/12)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            has demonstrated the need for, and added value to be
                                                                    derived from, an ambitious Community policy for inno-
                                                                    vation and technology transfer, particularly with a view
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
                                                                    to achieving the internal market by the end of 1992;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  Whereas it is essential for the future of the Community
                                                                    to adopt appropriate measures to stimulate the innovative
                                                                    capacity of companies and to promote rapid application
Having regard        to  the  opinion    of   the  European
                                                                    of new technologies as soon as they become available;
Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee (2),                                               Whereas many recent technologies have yet to achieve
                                                                    their full potential diffusion in certain traditional
"Whereas, under Article 2 of the Treaty, one of the major           industrial sectors or in certain regions of lagging devel-
responsibilities of the Community is to ensure the                  opment or industrial decline; whereas their rapid
harmonious development of the economy, together with                adoption could permit these sectors and regions to make
continued and balanced growth throughout the                        up some of the leeway, thus strengthening not only the
Community; whereas, under Article 130A of the Treaty,               competitive position of the Community but also its
it is required to achieve such harmonious development of            economic and social cohesion;
the entire Community by developing and pursuing
actions leading to the strengthening of the Community's
economic and social cohesion;
                                                                    Whereas the Member States have developed specialized
                                                                    services for the support of innovation, technology
Whereas, under the terms of Article 130F of the Treaty,             transfer and consultancy in innovation management,
the Community has as an objective the reinforcement of              financing and industrial cooperation; whereas these
the scientific and technological bases of European                  infrastructures have a significant multiplier effect in
industry and the encouragement of the development of                promoting innovation and technological development in
its international competitivity; whereas the attainment of          companies, especially smaller ones, while the institution
this objective involves, in particular, a determined effort         of transnational liaison, cooperation, training and
to promote innovation and technology transfer;                      transfer mechanisms optimize these national schemes;
Whereas the strategic Community programme for inno-
vation and technology transfer (Sprint) 1983 to 1989 (3)
                                                                    Whereas the Community itself, in complement to the
(') OJ No C 268, 15. 10. 1988, p. 3.                                actions of the Member States, has also undertaken
(2) OJ No C 23, 30. 1. 1989, p. 6.                                  initiatives to support innovation and technology transfer,
(5) OJ No L 353, 15. 12. 1983, p. 12, and OJ No L 153, 13. 6.       as important elements in the implementation of other
     1987, p. 45.                                                   Community policies;
 ---pagebreak--- 18. 3. 89                              Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 68/11
Whereas it is appropriate to maximise these initiatives in            thening, in close liaison with other policies,
order to reinforce their effectiveness and coherence;                 instruments and bodies promoted by the Community,
                                                                      its economic and social cohesion in the field of inno-
                                                                      vation and technology transfer;
Whereas in this principal phase of the programme it is
necessary to give greater prominence to the role of
companies and their organizations, finance companies,             3. to enhance the effectiveness and coherence of existing
specialized consultants and the professional personnel                instruments and policies, whether regional, national
involved;                                                             or Community, in the field of innovation and tech-
                                                                      nology transfer.
Whereas in view of the importance of technology
transfer and innovation for SMEs it is appropriate to
coordinate the actions in this area with the policy in                                       Article 3
favour of SMEs developed by the Commission within the
framework of its action programme (');                           With a view to achieving the aims set out in Article 2,
                                                                  the following actions will be undertaken, taking careful
                                                                  account of initiatives already underway, as provided for
Whereas it is essential to have access to instruments
                                                                  in Article 5:
providing a better understanding of the innovation and
technology transfer process, in order to identify more
clearly the obstacles to be encountered and to evaluate          — strengthening of the innovation services infrastructure
the impact of instruments and policies;                                in the Community by the consolidation of existing
                                                                       transnational networks, and by the formation of
Whereas reciprocal information flows, the exchange of                  further networks, paying particular attention to those
experience and concertation between the Member States                  areas of the Community where a suitable framework
and the Commission with regard to innovation policies                  does not yet exist or is inadequate, and building upon
are essential to enhance their own effectiveness and the               existing organizations in the regions;
cohesion of the entire Community;
                                                                  — supporting intra-Community pilot projects for infor-
Whereas there is a need to improve access to tech-                     mation transfer where these are of value to the
nologies, capital and markets in order to stimulate                    Community as a whole,
innovation;
                                                                  — improving the innovation environment by a better
Whereas Community action appears necessary in these                    understanding of the processes involved and
fields; whereas the Treaty makes no provision for                      increased concertation between the Member States
corresponding powers of action,                                        and the Commission.
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:                                           These actions are described in detail in Annex I.
                          Article 1                                                          Article 4
The main phase of the strategic programme for the                 The Community's contribution to the activities set out in
promotion of innovation and technology transfer, here-            Article 3 is estimated at ECU 130 million over the
inafter referred to as the 'Sprint programme' (strategic          lifespan of the programme.
programme for innovation and technology transfer), is
 hereby adopted for a period of five years from 1 January
 1989.                                                            A significant part of this amount will be employed, as a
                                                                  priority, to the benefit of regions of lagging development
                                                                  or industrial decline.
                          Article 2
The aims of the proposed programme are as follows:
                                                                  Annex II provides an indicative breakdown of expen-
 1. to strengthen the innovative capacity of European             diture for the various actions set out in Article 3.
     producers of goods and services, in view of the 1992
     single market;
                                                                                             Article 5
 2. to promote rapid penetration of new technologies               1.     The Commission is responsible for implementing
     throughout the economic fabric of the Community,
     particularly in those regions and industrial sectors          the Sprint programme.
     where they are as yet not fully integrated, thus streng-
                                                                   2.     The Commission is assisted by a committee, known
 (') COM(86) 445 final.                                            as the 'Innovation Committee', comprising represen-
 ---pagebreak--- No C 68/12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               18. 3. 89
tatives of the Member States and chaired by the                 3.     In implementing the programme, the Commission
Commission's representative.                                    will also make use of the instruments and bodies
                                                                promoted within the framework of other Community
The Commission's representative submits to the                  policies, in particular regional policy, in order to
committee a proposal on measures to be taken. The               reinforce the efficiency of the programme and overall
deadline by which the committee must give its opinion           coherence.
on this proposal is set by the chairman in the light of the
urgency of the issue. The opinion is adopted by the             4.    The Commission's contractors will, as a general
majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty             rule, bear the major share of financing, and at least
concerning the adoption of Decisions by the Council on          50 % of total costs. In exceptional cases, and after an
a proposal from the Commission. For the purposes of             opinion by the Innovation Committee, a contribution in
voting within the committee, the votes of the national          excess of this percentage shall not be excluded, in
representatives will be weighted in accordance with the         particular for the purposes of taking account of the
above Article. The chairman has no vote.                        specific difficulties encountered by regions of lagging
                                                                development or industrial decline in participating in
The Commission adopts measures with immediate effect.           transnational activities.
Nevertheless, if these are not in accordance with the
committee's opinion, these measures are immediately                                       Article 7
communicated to the Council by the Commission. In this
case, the Commission may defer application of the               In accordance with a procedure to be drawn up by the
measure it has promulgated for a maximum of one                 Commission, and after an opinion by the Innovation
month from the date of this communication.                      Committee, the Member States and the Commission
                                                                shall conduct regular exchanges of all useful information
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may reach          with a bearing on the aims of the programme referred to
an alternative decision within the period set out in the        in this Decision.
above paragraph.
                                                                                          Article 8
3.    With respect to the implementation of the plan of
action outlined in Article 3, the Commission will consult       During the third year of the programme's operation, the
the committee in particular with regard to:                     Commission will draw up a report assessing the results
                                                                achieved and, after an opinion by the Innovation
— priorities of the above plan of action,                       Committee, submit it to the Council, the European
                                                                Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.
— evaluation of projects,                                       This report may be accompanied by proposals for
                                                                modifying the programme, should these appear necessary
— evaluation of the programme for the purposes of               in the light of the results.
    preparing the report called for under Article 8.
                                                                The European Parliament will be asked to give its
4.    The Commission will ensure close liaison between          opinion on this report and any accompanying proposals
the    Sprint programme         and   other    related   or     for modifications.
complementary Community initiatives, in course or in
preparation.                                                    On completion of the programme, and after an opinion
                                                                by the Innovation Committee, the Commission will
                                                                submit to the Council, the European Parliament and the
                         Article 6                              Economic and Social Committee a report on the
                                                                programme's implementation and results.
1.    The financial contribution of the Community will
be adapted to the characteristics of the specific case. It
may take the form of a direct or indirect subsidy, an                                     Article 9
advance on own capital, a contribution to a guarantee           The Commission shall use the most appropriate means to
arrangement or any other appropriate form. This contri-         disseminate information throughout the Community on
bution, as a percentage of total costs, shall be the lower      activities conducted in implementation of this Decision
the greater the proximity of the action or project to the       and the results of such activities.
market.
                                                                                          Article 10
2.    The Commission will, in general, implement the
Sprint programme by way of calls for proposals.                 This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- 18. 3. 89                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 68/13
                                                             ANNEX      I
             STRATEGIC PROGRAMME FOR INNOVATION AND T E C H N O L O G Y TRANSFER (Sprint)
                                                            1989 to 1993
                                            AIMS AND DEFINITION OF ACTIONS
          Aims
          The aims of the programme are as follows:
          1. to strengthen the innovative capacity of European producers of goods and services with a view to the
              1992 single market;
          2. to promote rapid penetration of new technologies throughout the economic fabric of the Community,
             particularly in those regions and industrial sectors where they are as yet not fully integrated, thus
             strengthening, in close liaison with other policies, instruments and bodies promoted by the Community,
             its economic and social cohesion in the field of innovation and technology transfer;
          3. to enhance the effectiveness and coherence of existing instruments and policies, whether regional,
             national or Community, in the field of innovation.
          The proposed actions, comprising three priority lines of action, will make the most of the Community
          dimension and optimize national efforts in the field of innovation and technology transfer, thus
          accelerating the technological development of European industry.
          Lines of action
          A. STRENGTHENING T H E EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR I N N O V A T I O N SERVICES
              BY T H E ESTABLISHMENT OF INTRA-COMMUNITY NETWORKS
              In particular, this involves:
              1. The strengthening of intra-Community networks for innovation:
                  (a) consolidation and development of existing networks, particularly involving:
                      — technology and innovation management consultants,
                      — sectoral collective research centres,
                      — innovation financing institutions;
                  (b) formation of new networks, particularly between:
                      — contract-research organizations,
                      — engineering consultants,
                      — quality and value-analysis specialists, etc.;
                  (c) strengthening intra-Community communication between:
                      — research /industry and university/industry interface,
                      — technopoles and science parks;
                  (d) implementation of linkage mechanisms between the various innovation and technology transfer
                      networks.
              2. Network support measures:
                  (a) actions of information, awareness, promotion        and the transfer of know-how     in innovation
                      management and related measures:
                      — transnational and Inter-regional exchanges of experience across national boundaries, in
                          particular through support for studies, specialist seminars and the formation of networks of
                          experts in relevant management disciplines (quality, value analysis, marketing, etc.),
                      — diffusion of these management techniques by appropriate promotional activities (conferences,
                          exhibitions, European prizes, 'success stories', etc.),
 ---pagebreak--- No C 68/14                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                       18. 3. 89
                       — actions of information, awareness and the transfer of know-how, of a transnational character
                           or purpose, for actors involved in the diffusion and transfer of technology and in innovation
                           management — these actions to be developed in close liaison with the Comett programme;
                 (b) specific instruments to enhance the effectiveness of networks, involving particularly:
                       — bringing together future network participants (for example by means of visits and
                           professional exchanges, introductory seminars, etc.),
                       — exchanges of technology opportunities, especially through measures aimed at:
                           — enhancing the transnational impact of technology exhibitions and fairs (cooperation
                               between organizers in different regions, visits by manufacturers from other regions, etc.),
                           — developing means of communicating these technology opportunities and appropriate use
                               thereof (catalogues, exhibitions, exchanges, data banks, conferences and seminars, video
                               conferences, etc.),
                       — identifying 'best practice' with respect to technology transfer,
                       — specific measures to ensure that those regions of the Community with a less well-developed
                           service infrastructure for innovation can participate more fully in the various intra-
                           Community networks;
                  (c) the launching of innovations emerging from networks by improving the dialogue between sources
                       of funding technical experts and innovators identified by the networks (for example, through a
                       data bank of projects, intra-Community 'investment forums' and 'brokerage meetings').
           B. SUPPORTING PILOT PROJECTS FOR INTRA-COMMUNITY I N N O V A T I O N TRANSFER,
              PARTICULARLY BY MEANS OF:
              — support for pilot projects of transnational character, emphasizing industrial cooperation and, in
                   particular, involving the application of generic technologies to target industrial sectors in regions of
                   lagging development or industrial decline of the Community,
              — accompanying measures to heighten awareness of these technologies and to train companies
                   adopting them, emphasizing the transnational dimension,
              — the provision of technical support for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises,
                   potentially able to use these technologies, in particular by employing specialized technology transfer
                   networks and advanced-technology centres,
              — support for the effective execution of projects, particularly by mobilizing available funding from the
                   public and private sectors.
              Twin approaches can be followed:
              — one of these identifies available technologies with a cost-benefit ratio suiting them for widespread
                   adoption by companies in regions of lagging development or industrial decline, and is therefore
                   designed to promote the use of these technologies in the sectors concerned,
              — the other is based on identifying a problem, for which a solution can be found, common to a group
                   of companies in a given industrial sector or region. It encourages the identification and possible
                   adaptation of available technologies to deal with the problem.
              The planned projects must be on a large enough scale to act as a catalyst in the development of the
              industrial sectors and the use of the technologies concerned. They must also meet, wholly or in part, the
              following criteria:
              — be model projects in as much as they employ a 'systemic' overall approach to the introduction of
                   technological change, not only in purely technical terms but also with regard to such aspects as
                   company organization, the training and motivation of personnel and the use of such management
                   methods as value analysis, industrial design and the assessment of market potential,
              — provide an optimum combination of skills through transnational (between several Member States of
                   the Community) and, wherever possible, transfunctional (between partners of differing specialist
                   skills) and inter-regional cooperation,
 ---pagebreak--- 18. 3. 89                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 68/15
             — involve industrial sectors or technologies chosen to guarantee a significant economic impact,
             — make an active contribution to reducing regional disparities in the availability of — and access to —
                technologies,
             — be based as far as possible on existing infrastructures and enhance the use made of these,
             — include follow-up and evaluation provisions, based in particular on stated and readily verifiable
                quantitative aims,
             — ensure feedback of the experience gained, preferably directly by the companies benefiting from the
                scheme, in order to maximize the multiplier effect.
          C. IMPROVING T H E INNOVATION E N V I R O N M E N T T H R O U G H A BETTER UNDER-
             STANDING OF T H E PROCESSES INVOLVED AND INCREASED CONCERTATION
             BETWEEN T H E MEMBER STATES AND T H E COMMISSION
             1. Monitoring of innovation in Europe (European innovation monitoring system) and evaluation of
                support measures.
             2. Strengthening concertation and the exchange of experience between the Member States and the
                Commission in the field of innovation policy and technology transfer, in particular with the aim of
                establishing a regulatory, legal, economic and fiscal environment favourable to innovation and tech-
                nology transfer.