What EU valorisation policy is, why we need it, what the EU is doing
Why we need an EU valorisation policy
People expect science to be a driving force that will support the transition towards a greener and fairer society.
Research and innovation will play a crucial role in this transition if excellent research results and data are quickly made available and put to practical use across Europe.
The Council has asked the Commission to develop a strategy to accelerate the potential uptake of research and innovation results and data.
This is why we need a new EU valorisation policy that involves all players.
Valorisation – making results work for society
What does the policy aim to do?
Its goal is to increase the impact of research and innovation investment.
The policy involves all players and aims to ensure that data, research results and innovation are transformed into sustainable products, processes and services that bring economic value and benefit society.
Action focuses on six main channels
Academia-industry joint research and mobility
Exchange between industry and academia helps academic knowledge and results flow into industry. Likewise, it gives researchers the opportunity to increase their skills and gain a better knowledge of industry needs.
Although many policy instruments are in place to promote long-term science-industry collaborations in Europe – such as grants for collaborative research and public-private partnerships – stronger interaction is needed.
To remain attractive partners in a global context, EU universities and research institutes need to facilitate and improve interaction with industry.
What the EU is doing
- Contractual public-private partnerships (cPPPs) align public and private investments to speed up the process ‘from Lab to the Fab’
- Future and Emerging Technology – FET Flagships are large-scale research initiatives addressing grand scientific and technological challenges. They aim to turn scientific advances into concrete innovation opportunities, growth and jobs by bringing together academia, industry and SMEs
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Innovative Training Networks (ITN); Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE); Individual fellowships ‘Society & Enterprise’ Panel – actions supporting mobility and joint research programmes.
Research-driven spin-offs and startups
Spin-offs and startups are of key importance, as they offer students or academics an entrepreneurial route to commercialising the knowledge they have developed. Structured access to finance is crucial for these early stage companies.
What the EU is doing
- European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot: identifies next generation technologies from Europe’s strong research base and accelerates their scale-up and market deployment, also through a new form of blended finance combining grants and equity
- European Research Council – Proof of Concept (ERC-POC): funding to cover activities at the very early stage of turning research outputs into a commercial or socially valuable proposition
Intermediaries and knowledge transfer
Intermediary organisations – such as knowledge transfer offices, technology transfer offices, business incubators and science parks – help researchers and innovators commercialise their solutions, products and services.
They are the first contact point for researchers and industry looking for new opportunities. They also promote additional instruments and services to boost the innovation potential of research through networking, mentoring activities, coaching and exchange of best practices.
What the EU is doing
- EIT – Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) are partnerships that bring together businesses, research centres and universities, creating favourable environments for creative thought processes and innovations to flourish
- Horizon 2020 D&E booster is a service providing tailor-made support to disseminate research results and increase exploitation potential and access to market
- TTO circle brings together major public research organisations to share best practices, knowledge and expertise, and foster international standards for the professionalization of technology transfer
Citizens and public bodies
Engaging with citizens ensures that new knowledge leads to innovative solutions, and ones that matter to people. Citizen-led solutions have higher societal acceptance and are therefore more effective.
Citizens-led demand for science-based solutions have been a driving force for policymaking – the European Green Deal is a case in point: the Commission pledged “to involve local communities in working towards a more sustainable future, in initiatives that seek to combine societal pull and technology push”.
In Horizon Europe, citizen involvement is expected to intensify.
What the EU is doing
- European Capital of Innovation (iCapital) Award: annual prize awarded to the European city that is best able to demonstrate its ability to harness innovation to improve the lives of its citizens
- Horizon Impact Award: recognises and celebrates societal advancements through research and innovation
Intellectual property and standards
An Intellectual Property (IP) framework that is fit-for-purpose ensures the creators of research outputs have a competitive advantage. Good IP management fosters innovation, creativity and knowledge sharing, and improves the chances of knowledge reaching the market and benefiting society.
The valorisation of the IP generated by the European research framework programme enables fair and transparent access to well-being as well as ecological and digital solutions. Intellectual Property fosters innovation and societal impact.
Standards also play a role in exploiting the uptake of knowledge, by helping new products reach the market.
Good quality standards based on robust research results enhance the compatibility and interoperability of project outcomes. Standards also help promote innovative products because they are a guarantee of quality and build trust among consumers.
Standards are instrumental to avoid research duplication, as they codify state of the art and promote the use of recognised methodologies, processes or terminology.
What the EU is doing
- European IPR Helpdesk: Commission service supporting cross-border SME and research activities to manage, disseminate and valorise technologies and other IPRs
- IP Booster: specialised professional IP service for public research organisations to get value from their research results, supported by the Commission
- 2008 recommendation on the management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities: published by the Commission aiming to provide guidelines to public research institutions
Knowledge dissemination and policy uptake
Ensuring that advances in science and technology are as open as possible is vital in our knowledge driven world, where data are increasingly valuable and access to data considered as a competitive advantage.
Research results such as studies, data, models, experiments and theoretical analyses greatly benefit data-informed policy making. They can help decision makers better understand the nature of the challenges they face and the possible implications of the decisions they may take.
What the EU is doing
- Horizon Results Platform: platform presenting results of Horizon 2020 projects; it allows stakeholders to reach innovators and industry and potentially form fruitful partnerships
- JRC Policy Lab: space designed to foster creativity and engagement, and to develop interactions, processes and tools able to bring innovation into European policymaking
- Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM): mechanism that supports the Commission with high quality and independent scientific advice for its policy-making activities.
- Projects for Policy: an initiative aiming to use research and innovation project results to shape policymaking. Results are used for economic and social activities, as a basis for further research, or to develop new and better products and services