SenterNovem

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Innovation vouchers help to bridge the gap
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(No Transcript)
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Innovation vouchers why?

• Important role of SMEs in the economy
• Important role of SMEs in innovation
• SMEs make little use of knowledge from knowledge
  institutes
• Get innovation projects started
• gtgtgt Vouchers were introduced in 2004 to boost
  innovation

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Innovation vouchers 2006

• Initiated and supplied by Ministry of Economic
  Affairs
• Budget 2007 22.5 million euro
• Total costs of implementation 1 million euro
• Any public knowledge institute is eligible, and
  private large labs
• Vouchers are not tradeable, issued in the
  companys name
• Very simple administration SMEs
• Administration as simple as possible for
  knowledge institutes

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Innovation vouchers 2007

• 3000 Small vouchers (2,500 euro)
• Voucher issued once-only
• Objective encourage companies to approach a
  knowledge institute
• 3000 Large vouchers (7,500 euro)
• Company pays 1/3 of project costs, SenterNovem
  pays 2/3 (max 5.000 euro)
• One voucher per company each year
• More extensive questions can be submitted
• Up to 10 individual vouchers may be bundled
• VAT has to be paid

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Companies in all sectors received a voucher
2006
other
business services
chemicals
construction
research
finance
trade
metal production
computer service,
engines and tools
IT
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Eligible knowledge institutes

• Public universities, higher vocational
  education, research institutes
• At the start fixed list of institutes in the
  Netherlands only in 2005 also in Flanders and
  part of Germany now free selection in Europe
• Private labs of 11 big companies (Philips,
  AKZO-Nobel, DSM, ASML, Corus etc)

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Execution of projects by knowledge institutes
Intermediate Vocational Education
1
Private KI
Foreign
1
2
Technical
universities
16
Colleges of Higher Education
35
Other
universities
17
Institutes
28
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Innovation vouchers how?

• Company applies for a voucher 5 minutes
• SenterNovem issues a voucher within 2 weeks
• Company contacts a knowledge institute
• They negotiate on research question
• Knowledge institute executes the project
• Knowledge institute sends the voucher to
  SenterNovem to claim the payment (within six
  months, now 1 year, after issuance to the
  company 80 of the vouchers are cashed in at
  SenterNovem)

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Administrative design of the system

• Company
• Applies
• Concludes deal with knowledge institute
• Pays with voucher
• Knowledge institute
• Concludes deal with company
• Delivers results to company
• Claims innovation voucher at SenterNovem
• Receives payment from SenterNovem
• Senter Novem
• Checks completeness of file gtgt payment
• Monitors for both control and evaluation
• Randomized verification of knowledge institutes

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Application in 5 minutes
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Online application also possible (20 )
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Innovation vouchers examples

• Elimination of dirty smell in toilettes
• (Single innovation voucher)
• InnovAir used its innovation voucher for the
  development of a
• machine that detects and eliminates nasty
  smells
• Development of a machine on the basis of same
  ideas of InnovAir
• The research yielded a prototype the
  selfthinking digital nose
• Greater knowledge of paint for the engraving
  industry
• (Three combined innovation vouchers)
• Research into the combination of engraving and
  paint
• Research on influence of time, temperature and
  light on adhesion of paint in engravings and on
  edges of engravings
• The research yielded amount of information of
  benefit to engravers

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Advantages and disadvantages

• Perspective of companies
• Advantages Demand driven system, simple
  administration
• Easy entry to knowledge institutes
• Disadvantages varying value for money (100-200
  euro per hour)
• Perspective of the knowledge institutes
• Advantages Insight into questions of innovation
  projects at SMEs
• Organize themselves to better accomodate SMEs
• Disadvantage Difficult to formulate the right
  research question
• Perspective of SenterNovem
• Advantages New customers (70 50 is new for
  us)
• Disadvantage unpredictable application waves

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Evaluators are cautious about long term effect

• Evaluation of differences between 150
  voucher-receivers and 320 non-recievers, based on
  telephone-survey, by external bureau
• More SMEs contact a knowledge institute
  additional contacts and contracts
• Voucher brings process improvement
• But . . only slight evidence for product
  improvements or new products
• Companies get to like knowledge institutes
• But . . no lasting increase in RD contracts yet

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Overall conclusion

• The innovation vouchers are well received by
• companies, knowledge institutes and politicians,
  and bridge the gap between SMEs and knowledge
  institutes
• gtgtgtgtgt An offer you cant refuse

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• Thank you for your attention
• Questions?