Application to EEA and Norway Grants Fund
On 30.06.2018, SPCleantech sent together with 5 other partners an application to EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation for funds for the project “Cleantech Innovation Hubs transnational framework for fostering Green and Knowledge Economy by bringing innovations closer to market”.
Partners in the application are:
- DBH Investment Plc. (Hungary) – leading partner
- South Poland Cleantech Cluster (Poland)
- Cluster Sofia Knowledge City (Bulgaria)
- InteligentnaEnergija d.o.o.ntna (Croatia)
- Techno-broker BV (the Netherlands)
- NIBIO Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (Norway)
Project aims to develop Cleantech Innovation Hubs (CIH) transnational framework in order to improve linkages among Cleantech innovation actors in 4 Central Eastern European countries and strengthen regional innovation capacity. Cleantech Innovation Hubs transnational framework will be operationalized at regional level by designing and deploying an organizational structure in each participating region. Project aims to deploy 4 Cleantech Innovation Hub in CEE project regions with a transferable operational and knowledge model to other regions. Vertical and horizontal cooperation between the Cleantech innovation ecosystem stakeholders will be assured in order to boost innovation generation and market uptake based on research knowledge heritage. Also CIHs will connect these capabilities, specializations and integrate them in an organized structure & framework that will improve innovation and SMEs growth in Cleantech sector.
Project contributes to Priority Sector 1, and 3 because is increasing potential of early stage Cleantech innovations by strengthening research, technological development and innovation with improved linkages, sector and region specific knowledge management and business support service models, therefore creating improved conditions for solutions mitigating the environmental challenges of Europe and also increasing competitiveness of SMEs. Besides, regional gaps of Innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurial environment is expected to reduce.
The project will develop, test, pilot and validate a unique approach for strengthening innovation capacity in 4 CEE countries by creating Cleantech Innovation Hubs transnational cooperation framework. At project level will be deployed 4 CIHs in 4 countries of CEE. CIHs will be networked under CIH transnational cooperation framework that will permit knowledge exchange, knowledge transfer, transnational learning, market testing, scale up and replication. Cleantech Innovation tools, services and mechanisms will be developed together with expertise partners and featured based on open innovation & value co-creation procedures/processes.
For improving linkages between business and research sector the project will develop a knowledge management model as a pilot process for generating, selecting and transforming research knowledge into innovative products/services. Market uptake and commercialization of research knowledge will be facilitated by incubation and acceleration program of the innovative products/services derived from research knowledge transformation process. CIHs will run incubation and acceleration program and will be equipped with open innovation and co-creation service tools, with the support of leading countries from expertise partners. For eliminating financial barriers that are blocking market introduction of innovative products and services, project action will design and make applicable a Cleantech Funding Mechanism, available for VC funds and other investors in the CEE region, which will enable them to cover the special needs of businesses and transform research knowledge.
Our solution is innovative because it links together all innovation actors as well as innovation cycle stages in a single transnational cooperation framework. CIH tools, services and mechanism are built upon the expertise, core competencies and networks of project partners and use jointly each specific national asset to improve innovation capacity and boost market uptake.