Innovation Union Flagship Initiative
Innovation Union is one of seven flagship initiatives announced as
part of the Europe
2020 Strategy, the overarching policy statement agreed by
Member States at the June 2010 European Council as a replacement
for the Lisbon
Agenda. It aims to re-focus research and innovation policies on
the grand challenges facing society - which the European Commission
identifies as climate change, energy security, food security,
health and an ageing population - while at the same time improving
conditions and access to finance for research and innovation, and
ensuring that innovative ideas can be turned into products and
services that create growth and jobs.
Innovation
Innovation is a cornerstone of the Europe 2020 Strategy, and is
defined by the European Commission as "the successful production, assimilation and
exploitation of novelty in the economic and social spheres."
The European Commission's ultimate aim is to extend its strategic
approach to innovation across all of its policy areas.
Innovation and Research
The terms innovation and research are closely related and are often
used in tandem. This relationship is reflected in the European
Commission's organisational structures, where Innovation Policy has
recently been moved from the Commission's Directorate General (DG)
for Enterprise to its DG for Research & Innovation. The basic
distinction used by the Commission is that while research concerns
the generation of new knowledge, innovation is primarily about
rendering research results useful, relevant, and commercially
viable.
The increasing closeness of research and innovation policy has
led to concern in some quarters that the Commission's agenda is too
heavily focused on innovation and the market value of research, to
the detriment of basic research. However, the European Commissioner
for Research, Innovation and Science, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, is
adamant that there is no reason to be concerned, regularly stating
that excellence in frontier research is a must, and that European
Commission support for the continuation and growth of the European Research Council is evidence of the
commitment to both basic and applied research.
At the same time there is a strong focus, clearly visible in the
Commission's Communication on Innovation Union, towards
support for applied industry-driven research. The European
Commission's vision is to strengthen the links between the three
sides of the knowledge triangle - higher education, business and
research. Public-private partnerships are seen as one of the best
means of achieving this objective.
Implications of the Innovation Union for Higher Education
The promotion of excellence in education has been identified by the
European Commission as the "starting point" for the Innovation
Union. In particular, higher education reform has been identified
as an urgent objective. The Commission's Communication on
Innovation Union draws attention to the difficulty experienced by
European universities in attracting enough top global talent, and
the low number of universities in leading positions in
international rankings. It also states that universities should be
freed from over-regulation and micro-management in return for full
institutional accountability.
The Communication outlines that universities also need more
diversity in their missions and outlook, with smarter
specialisation across different fields.
The role of business in higher education is identified by the
Commission as a major priority. The Communication calls for
businesses to be more involved in curricula development and
doctoral training, in order that skills better match industry
needs.
The Commission has also committed to supporting
business-academia collaborations through the creation of 'Knowledge Alliances', active partnerships
between business and academia. The Commission proposes that these
Alliances could develop new curricula addressing skills gaps to
improve innovation capacity, thus helping universities to modernise
through more inter-disciplinary entrepreneurship.
European Innovative Partnerships
As part of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Commission set out plans
for a new approach to R&D that would address the urgency of
societal challenges while simultaneously putting in place the
conditions which allow breakthroughs to find their way to market
quickly. Known as the 'European Innovation Partnerships' (EIP)
initiative, this approach aims to overcome the current
fragmentation of research and innovation efforts by pooling
expertise on research and innovation.
The Commission views EIPs as a new approach to EU research and
innovation. EIPs will aim to:
- act across the whole research and innovation chain. The
Partnerships will bring together all relevant actors at EU,
national and regional levels in order to increase research and
development efforts; coordinate investments through demonstration
and pilots; anticipate and quickly bring about any necessary
regulation and standards; and mobilise demand, in particular
through better coordinated public procurement to ensure that
breakthroughs are quickly brought to market.
- be challenge-driven, focusing on societal benefits and a rapid
modernisation of the associated sectors and markets. This means
that they will go beyond the technology focus of existing
instruments, such as Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs).pilot
European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing
The pilot European Innovation Partnership on Active and
Healthy Ageing was launched in 2011.