europrogs

VALOR Annual Conference 2008 - "The Role of European Valorisation for National and Regional Policy-Making"

The objective of the VALOR project is to coordinate and to facilitate networking between key actors in innovation policy and to develop a common agenda as well as a joint action plan for the valorisation process across Europe. This will enable innovations with a high potential to be identified and supported at an earlier stage, hence enabling the appropriate supporting measures to be put in place and maximising the effectiveness and scope of the programmes that are currently undertaken at national or regional levels.
The purpose of the Annual Conference 2008 is to offer a scene where the policy debate on a concerted action for a pan-European valorisation strategy can take place. Cf. announcement on the VALOR homepage. 

Central theme

The central theme will be: The value of a pan-European common valorisation approach for the innovative and competitive muscle of the EU and the member states

Programme day one

13:00 Registration and lunch

14:00 Welcome (Dr. Paul Zeeuwts, Chairman of the Board of IWT (B))

14:30 State of play of the PRO INNO Europe Initiative (Dr. Reinhard Büscher, Head of the Innovation Policy Unit of the EC DG Enterprise and Industry) (+ Q&As)

15:30 Presentation the VALOR project (Dr. Martin Wassell, Director for International Business at Pera Innovation (UK))

16:00 Coffee Break

16:30 Keynote presentation (Dr. Franco Cozzani, Head of the Strategy & Evaluation Department Advisor to the Director of EUREKA (B))

17:00 VALOR common methodology and the VALOR approach (Dr. Kjell-Håkan Närfelt, Commercialisation of R&D at VINNOVA (Sweden))

17:30 Discussion

19:00 VIZIT guided "Walking" Dinner (tour around the city center of Brussels, with resto stops) – see info pack for details (duration of the tour: 3 hours approx.)

Programme day two

09:00 Check-in (mini-breakfast)

09:45 Summary of day one (IWT Flanders (B))

10:00 Announcement of the Pilot Call on trans-European technology transfer and valorisation schemes

·  From common methodology towards a joint action (Dr. Kjell-Håkan Närfelt, Commercialisation of R&D at VINNOVA (Sweden))

·  The VALOR Pilot Call: "Participating in trans-national technology transfer and valorisation schemes" (Mrs. Ilaria Bonetti, Project Advisor INNOV-Hub, Azienda Speciale per l'Innovazione at CCIAA Milano (IT))

10:45 Coffee break

11:00 A look ahead – the creation of a VALOR funding scheme (Dr. Pol van den Bergen, Netherlands Genomics Initiative, NL)

11:30 Discussion

12:00 Wrap-up and farewells (Dr. Martin Wassell, Director for International Business at Pera Innovation (UK))

12:30 Lunch and the European stakeholders and investors meet and greet

13:30 End of the conference