While many firms would agree with these principles, the vast majority find it extremely hard to convert their “technology-wish” concepts into commercial products and processes. The most common barriers cited are:
• we are too busy chasing current business opportunities
• we don’t have the necessary funds
• we don’t have the necessary facilities and equipment
• we don’t have the business infrastructure to achieve strong market penetration.
The European Union has long recognized the need to support businesses to innovate, particularly small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) since over 95% of businesses are in this category. By innovating, companies will be more equipped to compete with the Far-East low-cost labor sector as well as high-tech competition from the US, Japan and elsewhere.
The European Parliament recently gave its backing to fund a EUR50 billion program for research and development for 2007-2013 (the Seventh Framework Programme) to assist business across Europe to innovate.
Over the last five years Pera, one of Europe’s leading innovation companies, has helped firms across Europe to gain access to EU grants in order for them to create new and improved products.
Pera is currently involved in EU-funded projects covering a number of LED applications including color recognition, novel displays, and analytical applications as well as enhancing LED output efficiency.
Pera's unique position has also helped them to provide firms with a level of global technology visibility that has delivered world-class and unique technology solutions to realize opportunities in global markets. Whilst the projects and partnerships may vary in size and content, they all share the same fundamental benefits derived from low risk, low-cost participation in high-return technology concepts.
For larger organizations, this represents the opportunity to maintain their level of R&D activity in a continuously reducing overhead environment. For smaller companies, it can often provide the only practical vehicle through which they can participate in major steps forward in technology development.
Pera’s support is designed to secure typically up to one million pounds of funding for the sub-contract development of new and better differentiated products and services for their clients.
For more information regarding how the EU Framework Programme can be used to help you beat your competitors through innovation please contact Tony Lesowiec at Pera.
