The Cluster manifesto – Making cluster voices heard!
Wednesday 8th October, 1100-1230
CEBR is delighted to Chair a session that brings all cluster support organisations together to propose, debate and agree the key issues that should be addressed by policy makers and funders across Europe.
The proposed manifesto is not a call for additional investment or radical changes in biotechnology support, rather a focus on those factors that were intended to support biotechnology but actually hinder the simple and effective support of companies and the biocommunities in which they grow.
All actions proposed can be acted upon rapidly by policy makers and funders across Europe, giving a pan-European boost to a biotechnology sector to the benefit of all.
Agenda for the workshop
- Short presentations on key activities in Europe that hinder rather than help biotechnology
- Champions present 7 proposals on how biotech support could be improved for inclusion in the final manifesto and each is debated by the audience
- The audience votes for the top 4 proposals and these create the cluster manifesto for signature by clusters across Europe
Proposed topics to champion
A full manifesto working document can be downloaded from the library here
and the initial proposals for presentation and debate are summarised below. You won’t like them all but that is part of the debate!
- Cutting out the middle man: We propose that the companies have direct access to regional support budget, enabling them to source the expert service that they need from where ever it is most suitable rather than a regionally sourced 'middle man' often a non-industry expert
- Correct interpretation of state aid rules: We call on regional and national authorities to stop using state aid rules as a tool to avoid more effective direct funding
- People – if we need them, let them come: We call for a skills passport to be created where employees or self employed people can move freely across or into Europe without the excessive employment law implications or cost for their host that currently prevents this movement
- If you love something, let it go: We call for the geographical strings attached to technology transfer, incubation, and finance to be cut. The resources should be portable, able to travel with the project as it finds its optimal location. In this way, the tender care that early start-ups need would still be available, but not only in a way that limits the growth of the companies they are designed to help.
- Integrate, don’t incubate – all that clusters is not gold: We call for rigorous commercial and market assessment from an international perspective of research intended for company creation where public money will be spent in its support.
- Publicly funded research and intellectual property should be accessible to those who intend to use it: We call for an ‘obligation to exploit’ for all intellectual property – starting with the inventor, before moving to the organisation that hosts the inventor and then the national government that hosts the research organisation
- Fund excellence well or don’t fund at all: We call for 'soft money' to be invested professionally and at levels where a business plan will succeed – giving the public investor the return that they would expect if they were investing privately
Getting involved
With CEBR, the members do the work and this is no exception!
We will be gathering suggestions and champions through the summer and will publish a shortlist and final set of speakers early in September.
Attendees at the workshop need to be registered to attend EuroBio and CEBR Members may do so with a 25% discount.
To take advantage of this, please contact info@cebr.net for your discount code.
This is a great opportunity to bring all cluster voices together to be heard on the international stage – if we speak with one voice, they will listen.