Financial Instrument for Innovation (Innova-FI) Kick-off Meeting
The Kick-off meeting of the Innova-FI – Financial Instruments for Innovation project, led by the National Innovation Agency, took place on the 2nd and 3rd of July 2018 in Porto, Portugal.
The European Council, in 2000, acknowledged the need of increasing the expenditure in innovation by implementing better policies and making a better use of public funds. To achieve this, the EC has put great emphasis on increasing the use of financial instruments (FI’s) as a delivery tool for the Cohesion Policy.
Financial Instruments for Innovation – Innova-FI partners are seeking to improve the design and implementation of Financial Instruments as a delivery mode of Structural Funds, so that they best meet and serve the financing needs of innovative and RTDI-driven businesses in all the stages of their start-up and growth. Innova-FI partners will do this by learning about the innovation landscape, and how it is being publicly financed, in partner regions. The consortium will examine together identified challenges, such as: designing FI’s that are well adapted to the different phases of the business; moving away from a grants culture, very much established in the RTDI and innovation field; achieving a better alignment of FI’s with other support measures; or creating cross-border instruments.
SERN is one of the seven partners of INNOVA-FI project and will take the role of Communications Manager. SERN possess a long-standing experience in organising events as well as in liaising with EU partners and EU institutions, two core activities under Innova-FI. More information here.
