The European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, has published a new study on the effectiveness of public innovation support for SMEs in Europe. The final report, available online, is the result of a project involving CSIL experts and partners at CSES, PROGNOS, and KMUForschung over the last year.
The research aimed to gather evidence to determine whether the situation regarding the effectiveness of the delivery of public innovation support in Europe has improved since the consultation of 2009. To this end, the study investigated the main factors hampering innovation in SMEs, particularly in light of the recent technology and market developments in certain sectors and countries; the forms of innovation support received by SMEs; the level of satisfaction of SMEs regarding the support received; gaps in existing SME innovation support; and, the effectiveness and impact of the INNOSUP actions funded under H2020. The study considered the wide range of instruments (direct and indirect) supporting innovation in SMEs at European, national and regional levels.