SME - small and medium–sized entreprise

Brochure Opportunities for the construction sector

to participate in EC research projects

EC Research funding is also at your disposal!

Recognizing that in many industrial sectors SMEs are the backbone of the European economy, the European Commission (EC) has for many years sought to support innovation in SMEs through devising specific instruments targeting SME participation in research projects. Indeed, since most industries consist overwhelmingly of SMEs – and construction is a typical example as over 80% of the employment in our sector is concentrated in SMEs – their involvement in research activities is of paramount importance in relation to their overall share of the whole economy. The ability of SMEs to apply, adapt and spread new technologies, as well as to create and develop them, is unique. Realizing the full potential of SMEs is thus an essential part of the European Union’s strategy for maintaining prosperity and high-quality employment. This has triggered the EC to implement a specific SME portal (available in 19 languages) which provides access to information on the whole spectrum of EU policies, legislation, programmes and initiatives relevant to Europe's small and medium-sized enterprises (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sme)

This brochure endeavors to set out in a concise manner the various instruments for research funding which are available at European level and can offer you an SME specific support in your endeavors to develop your innovations. The brochure aims to help you understand the specific objectives of the various programmes by way of the relevant weblinks and in this way guide you in your efforts to obtain research funding for the ideas you seek to develop. It should be clear that as a SME you can qualify to obtain EC funding, so go for it!

Are you an SME according to the latest EC definition?

The simple check below will be enough to determine the status of the majority of SMEs which are not related to other enterprises through their shareholding. - Are you an enterprise engaged in economic

activity? - Do you have fewer than 250 employees? - Is your annual turnover below €50 million,

or alternatively is your balance sheet limited to €43 million?

If the response is “YES” to all of these three questions and moreover, you are autonomous (i.e. you are not a partner in - or linked to - other enterprises), then you are definitely an SME! If on the other hand you are not autonomous because you are a partner or linked to other enterprises you can still qualify as SME but you will need to check your shareholding structure to calculate your data with respect to payroll, turnover and balance sheet. For more guidance please consult http://flt.uwe.be

Your profile, are you a research performing SME? Small and medium-sized enterprises come in different categories when it comes down to their involvement with innovation and research: Broadly speaking, over 90% of all SMEs are Basic and Technology Adopting SMEs while fewer than 10% and 3% respectively are Technology Leaders and Pioneers. As such the overwhelming majority of SMEs has no real R&D capability of their own. The latter is especially true for construction SMEs which usually can be described as “Research-acquiring SMEs”. On the EC level, a wide range of support for SMEs is offered either through FP7, EUREKA or CIP. The choice where to apply for support depends on the SME’s research capabilities as is explained in detail at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/sme-techweb Research performing SMEs are considered as those investing 10% or more of their full-time equivalent or annual turnover in research and development activities. They can address either the FP7 “Cooperation” or “Peoples” programmes or the EUREKA “Eurostars” programme. SMEs with little or no research capabilities in turn are targeted by the specific FP7 programme 'Capacities' through its dedicated activity "Research for the benefit of SMEs".

Within this framework, SMEs and SME associations will be supported for outsourcing research, with a bottom up approach in the entire field of science and technology. Another channel for support is available through the ERA-NET schemes which are promoting collaboration between different regions. Information for the FP7 calls is available at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7 whereas for the Eurostars programme you are directed to http://www.eurostars-eureka.eu. Information on the ERA-NETs relevant for the construction sector can be obtained from http://www.eccredi.org/eranet. In particular, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) plays a key role in providing support to networks of local intermediaries who are in direct contact with SMEs encouraging and facilitating the participation of SMEs in the 7th Framework Programme. For detailed information on this, please consult http://www.innovationrelay.net. This website, amongst others, gives access to a selection of the best IRC's Technology Offers which are being published in collaboration with the CORDIS Technology Market Place http://www.innovationrelay.net/showroom.

- Basic SMEs - Technology Adopting SMEs

Research-Acquiring SMs

- Technology Leaders - Technology Pioneers

Research-Performing SMEs

Why should you participate in an EC Project?

Faced with the challenges of increased globalisation of markets and of technological change, European SMEs need reinforced support through transnational research cooperation to enhance their innovation and research investment. Most Members States' actions relevant for SMEs do not encourage and support transnational research cooperation and technology transfer. Actions at EU level are therefore vital to fill this gap, unlock growth opportunities for SMEs through research, and help them to carry out or outsource research in order to develop new technology based products, processes and services, exploit research results, acquire technological know-how and train their employees to incorporate new developments.

Working together with other companies and research centres across Europe provides unique opportunities to “think outside the box”, unlock your hidden capacities, open up new ideas and practices and obtain access to specific knowledge of which you may be unaware.

FP7: Cooperation, People, Capacities, …

The “Cooperation” Programme is the heart of FP7 and accounts for two thirds of the overall budget. It is intended to facilitate collaborative research across Europe through transnational consortia of industry. Research is carried out under ten themes, each of which has its own dedicated SME strategy. At least 15% of the funding available under the “Cooperation” Programme goes to SMEs. One of the Actions of the “Peoples” Programme, the "Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways" ("IAPP") scheme aims specifically at establishing long-term research cooperation between the public and the private sector, including SMEs. The financial support specifically targeting SMEs in the context of the “Capacities” programme of FP7 is implemented through 2 distinct schemes: - 'Research for SMEs' targets mainly low to

medium technology; SMEs with little or no research capability, but also research performing; SMEs who need to complement their core research capability. Projects aim at creating new knowledge or achieving results with a clear exploitation potential to improve or develop new products, processes or services which meet the needs of the participating SMEs.

- 'Research for SME Associations' targets SME Associations which act on behalf of their members to identify and address common technical problems and to promote the effective dissemination and take-up of the research results. Projects in this activity may address e.g. pre-normative research issues, technological problems related to the development and implementation of legislation, and technological problems of industrial sectors that cannot be addressed by 'Research for SMEs' and which meet the needs of the SME members of the SME Associations.

Access to al FP7 programme information is straithforward via http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7

• Research infrastructures • Research for the benefit of SMEs • Regions of knowledge • Research potential of Convergence Regions • Science in society • Support to the coherent development of

research policies • International cooperation

• Health • Food, Agriculture and Fisheries,

Biotechnology • Information & communication technologies • Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials &

new production technologies • Energy • Environment (including Climate Change) • Transport (including aeronautics) • Socio-economic Sciences and the Humanities • Space • Security • Coordination of Research Activities • Joint Technology Initiatives

• ERC – European Research Council

• Initial training • Life-long training • Industry academia • International dimension • Specific actions

• Indirect actions - Fusion - Fission

• Direct actions

v

EUREKA, ERA-NETS and the Structural Funds

EUREKA in turn provides opportunities for “bottom-up” research close to market applications. Each year, hundreds of individual projects are initiated by European companies, an increasing number of which are SMEs. These contribute to improved wellbeing, security, environment and employment in Europe and beyond. More information is available at http://www.eureka.be The objective of the ERA-NET scheme is to step up the cooperation and coordination of research activities carried out at national or regional level in the Member States and Associated States through: - the networking of research activities

conducted at national or regional level, and - the mutual opening of national and

regional research programmes. A number of on-going ERANET projects, which are relevant to the construction sector, are listed at the ECCREDI website: To be elaborated further….

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) resources are mainly used to co-finance: - productive investment leading to the

creation or maintenance of jobs; - infrastructure; - local development initiatives and the

business activities of small and medium-sized enterprises.

In practice, all development areas are covered: transport, communication technologies, energy, the environment, research and innovation, social infrastructure, training, urban redevelopment and the conversion of industrial sites, rural development, the fishing industry, tourism and culture. Funds available can be consulted at….

Or did you say the CIP programme?

The “Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme” (CIP) is not just another EU research programme. Rather it provides for loan guarantees and access to finance! The new programme will support actions to help enterprises and industry to innovate. It will also boost energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, environmental technologies and a better use of information and communication technology (ICT). Whilst eco-innovation will be a transversal theme of the whole programme, CIP is composed of three specific programmes:

- Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme

- ICT Policy Support Programme - Intelligent Energy-Europe Programme

In particular the ICT and Energy Programmes are expected to offer plenty of opportunities for the construction sector. More information on CIP in general can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/cip.

Under the “Research for SMEs” actions, the reimbursement of eligible costs can go up to 75% of total costs for participating companies, subject to the proviso that it is limited to a maximum value not exceeding 110% of the value of the RTD activities outsourced to the RTD performers. The brochure Research for SMEs at a glance which can be downloaded form the EC SME-Techwebsite, and is also available at the http://www.ECCREDI.org/ section Library (link: ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/fp7/docs/research_smes_en.pdf), provides a good insight into eligible fund distribution.

Admissible costs and support from the EC

Achievements of completed projects Recycling and recovery of stainless steel slags (a 'Research for SMEs' project) The recycling firm TRC aimed - as SME prime proposer of the project - to process stainless steel slags which were formerly discarded in order to recover the valuable non ferrous metals, and to use them as a secondary material in construction. Mechanical recycling with crushing and sieving in combination with magnetic and density separations had to allow for a separation into 3 fractions, i.e.: - a metal containing slag, - a non-metal containing slag, and an intermediate slag fraction. The metal containing slag, consisting of up to 70% of NiCr and which therefore is a product with a high value, can be returned to stainless steel production. The non metal containing slag has to fulfill the technical and environmental requirements to allow its use as a secondary material in the construction industry. Recovery of the intermediate fraction of the slag called for a metallurgical process based upon direct plasma technology which was developed in this project. The applications of the processed stainless steel slag as a secondary material in construction was extensively investigated in both road construction (lean concrete, cement stabilized sand, asphalt) and concrete applications. Besides technical aspects, environmental characteristics, essential for use as a secondary material, were investigated. A huge problem for TRC was the high maintenance costs associated with the processing of the slag due to the presence of metallic particles (small particles up to big blocks of NiCr) that cause frequent break downs and consequently require major repairs to the crushing and sieving installation. Improved separation methods using magnetic and density based techniques effectively reduced the maintenance costs by 20 %. This successful CRAFT project resulted in various patents and a highly performing slag processing plant in operation since September 2002.. The projects involved 4 SME’s, 3 research performers and one large company. Project Reference: BRST985376

ChemXchange ( a 'Research for SME Associations' project) ChemXchnage is a project which will develop a cost effective management system for exchanging information and managing risks of chemicals in the construction industry, is an outstanding example of what can be done by SME associations under the European framework programme to assist construction firms in the practical implementation of EU legislation.

The construction sector is a major downstream user of chemicals and chemical containing articles and is one of the sectors exposed to the highest risks regarding dangerous substances. The industry is dependent on particularly high-risk substances including EU priority ones that have CMR (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic and toxic for Reproduction) and PBT (Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic in the environment) characteristics.

Research indicates that as many as 88% of European firms do not comply with risk prevention regulations regarding substances with known toxicological risks. Moreover, it has been estimated that chemical exposure costs the construction industry at least 98 million days and almost 2 million cases of illness every year. Associated direct costs are estimated to be nearly 75 billion € per annum. A recent coordinated inspection campaign by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) has confirmed this by exposing a high level of non-compliance with legislation.

ChemXchange aims at fulfilling the acute needs of the construction sector in complying with the new European chemical legislation (REACH) including challenges connected with chemical risk assessment, chemical communication and chemical management. ChemXchange will offer the construction industry a tailor-made, low cost, fully digitalised system that centralises the collection and quality assurance of the required chemical information.

The project consortium consist of 13 participants drawn from 5 European countries. It will last 36 months and is led by 4 SME associations, a Core Group of 5 SME: and 4 RTD performers direct the research.

Start date: April 2008. End date: March 2011

ECWINS. …..

Links referred to in the brochure

National Contact Points or in short NCPs are national structures established and financed by governments of the 27 EU member states and the states associated to the framework programme. NCPs give personalised support on the spot and in proposers' own languages. You can find the people to contact in your own region at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/get-support_en.html.

Reference to NCPs Useful links

On top of the many existing support given by the EC also a number of other channels exist where specific information can be obtained. Some of them are listed below. • Training SMEs to become successful co-

ordinators of Framework Programme Projects (http://www.smetolead.org)

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sme http://ec.europa.eu/research/sme-techweb http://ec.europa.eu/cip. http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7 http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/get-support_en.html http://www.eurostars-eureka.eu http://www.eureka.be http://www.innovationrelay.net http://www.innovationrelay.net/showroom http://www.eccredi.org/eranet http://www.ECCREDI.org/ section Library http://flt.uwe.be

Still confused which link to follow? Consult ECCREDI with respect to your Problem / Idea Clearly this brochure alone can never be enough to guide you to the forest of information on EU support to SME’s. So do you think you have a problem or Idea which could be resolved or developed through a European Research Project and you are looking for the most appropriate approach? Feel free to consult ECCREDI for their advice on the best way forward. Just complete the form below and send it to ECCREDI at the following e-mail address: info@eccredi.org or fax +32 2 653 07 29. We will come back to you in a fortnight suggesting the most appropriate next step of action:

Contact: Mr. / Mrs. …… Company: ……… E-mail:…….. Short problem or idea description in 20 lines: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ECCREDI – European Council for Construction Research, Development and Innovation c/o CSTC/WTCB Lozenberg 7 1932 Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, Belgium T +32 2 655 77 11 F +32 2 653 07 29 info@eccredi.org http://www.eccredi.org