Registration is now open for the 4th European Conference on Corporate R&D and Innovation (CONCORDi-2013) which will focus on “Financing R&D and innovation for corporate growth in the EU: Strategies, drivers and barriers”. It will take place on 26 and 27 September 2013 at the premises of the JRC’s Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) in Seville, Spain. The two-day programme will address the financial challenges affecting the link between innovation and growth of European companies and will include keynote addresses from - Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Advisor to European Commission’s President, Mr Barroso, -Mariana Mazzucato,RM Phillips Professor in Science and Technology Policy at University of Sussex (United Kingdom) andAlexander Popov,Economist at European Central Bank.
In a context where investments on innovation are at the core of firm’s competitiveness strategies and of countries and regions’ growth and jobs policy agendas, a better understanding of the current and emerging drivers and barriers for innovation financing is crucial. In a world fast-changing technological and economic environment, firms are confronted with new complex strategic choices. At the same time, governments need to well tailor their instruments to the needs of specific firms, very often in a context of difficult fiscal adjustments and important regulatory changes of the financial system at the wake of the 2008-2009 crisis.
The theoretical and empirical studies that will be presented during the course of the Conference, CONCORDi-2013 will focus on the companies’ access to external financial sources and the strategic use of internal ones. The programme – featuring two plenary and two series of parallel sessions – will address two main topics: Financial sources, constraints and firms’ growth strategies, and public policies, policy means and financing facilitators.
CONCORDi-2013 shares the unique approach of the previous Conference editions in linking science and policy around relevant questions, which need scientific debate and empirical support. It is thus addressed especially to researchers, but also opened to practitioners, industry, and policy makers alike. It aims in particular, to support the EU initiative to enhance access to finance for innovation companies, stemming from the EU2020 strategy and included in the Innovation Union flagship initiative.
Given the high interest that CONCORDi-2013 has already raised in one hand, and in the other the limited capacity of the facilities, an early registration is highly recommended.
