New service to boost R&D opportunities

The members of the European Confederation of Nautical Industries (ECNI) launched a new service to member companies. The newly founded European Nautical Innovation Centre (ENIC) will provide information and assistance to companies willing to apply for EU R&D support programmes.

Conquering administrative burdens
Today only very few companies in the recreational marine industry participate in international research, development and innovation projects. Several obstacles were identified and one could name a few such as the lack of knowledge about the programmes themselves and how to participate, the lack of human resources in the company to run such projects, and the anticipated administrative burden.

Boosting R&D opportunities
The European Confederation of Nautical Industries (ECNI) decided to offer a new service to its members, with the objective of boosting R&D opportunities for our sector. With the creation of the European Nautical Innovation Centre (ENIC), founders wish to offer a “one-stop-shop” which will provide information and assistance to companies about the existing programmes, how to participate and find partners (incl. a project manager who would take care of all the administrative aspects of the project), and a free-of-charge assessment of the R&D project before application. The objective is clearly to simplify the access to information and stimulate the participation of companies, and especially small and medium-sized ones, in collaborative research projects.

Support of innovative products
The creation of the European Nautical Innovation Centre (ENIC) will also fight a number of misconceptions about collaborative research. It is not about sharing research results with competitors but about pooling the knowledge and ideas of various actors in the development chain to create innovative products and technologies. Clearly, protecting and developing the intellectual property of involved companies is another objective of collaborative research. With 370 million EUR for the maritime sector, the EU 7th Framework R&D Programme (also referred to as FP7) supports innovative product and technology development for the period 2007-2013. The second call for project proposals under FP7 is expected by the end of the year 2007.

For more information about ENIC, please contact:
Mirna Cieniewicz (cieniewicz@ecni.org)

Source: www.ecni.org