Cooperation in Europe to enhance technology transfer

Technology transfer or knowledge exchange is considered to be very important for increasing the innovation potential of the food industry in Europe. Reaching the large group of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe with state-of-the-art knowledge available in universities and research organisations is considered especially essential, but also very difficult. The primary aim of the European Network of Excellence ‘HighTech Europe’ is to facilitate the process of knowledge exchange by developing an easy to use toolbox and sharing best practices across Europe. In addition, a roadmap and an action based plan for a (virtual) European Institute of Food Processing will be developed. In this publication, the main goals of collaboration in a European Institute of Food Processing and several operational issues are described.

Twenty two partners from academia and industry have joined forces in the EC funded Network of Excellence ‘HighTech Europe’ that for the first time links the European competences and expertise in the food processing sector. The overall intention is to achieve an effective knowledge exchange in the field of high-tech food processing, bio, nano and ICT technologies to food markets in order to strengthen the competitiveness of the European food industry, especially of SMEs. To achieve this goal, HighTech Europe aims to provide building blocks for an establishment of a European Institute of Food Processing that would ensure a long-term collaboration between European centres of excellence and the food industry. The conditions under which such an institute should operate are being investigated in the project.

In order to share project results with other interested stakeholders and broaden the expertise, HighTech Europe recognises that input from other interested stakeholders is a must and has therefore established an Associated Membership Platform (AMP). AMP partners are the first to benefit from the project results, without being formal project partners with contractual commitments. AMP members are regularly informed about the project activities and events, and are actively involved in the discussion about (future) organisation of food processing related research. The Platform is continuously open to all organisations from Europe that are interested in research, development and innovation in food processing. The AMP membership is free of charge.

Need for technology transfer

Innovation in food processing is considered crucial for enhancing the European com – petiveness in this area, in view of the growing competition in the world market. More than 80 per cent of the food businesses are familydriven, micro to small companies, where cross-border and cross-sector collaboration is not usual, although it is necessary for their survival in an increasingly competitive environment. Technology transfer to SMEs is therefore crucial. As a consequence of societal changes, the market for processed, convenience and functional food products is growing rapidly. This requires continuous efforts in innovation, not only for the food processor but also for their technology suppliers. However, only five to 15 per cent of new product introductions are commercially successful, whereas real food innovations have a much higher success rate. For innovations, the current limited technology and knowledge transfer to the food industry (especially SMEs) have to be increased.

HighTech Europe recognises that long-term integration of the stakeholders in food processing is essential, especially considering:

• The importance of cross-sector approaches, allowing the use of R&D results outside the food processing domain
• The absence of R&D facilities or capabilities in many SMEs and the subsequent need for SMEs to use these facilities at e.g. research organisations
• The asynchrony between the time to dev – elop and market the innovations and availability of financial and human resources
• The unawareness of and unfamiliarity with legal and consumer issues
• The hurdles of bureaucracy in relation to e.g. legislation and how to overcome them

Sustainable cooperation in the food-tech area can allow efficient knowledge exchange with high-tech food industry Europe wide, at regional scale up to European scale. A suitable cooperation model that is recognised by all stakeholders can be the foundation of the European Institute of Food Processing (EU-IFP). Overall, the EU-IFP intends to provide the European industries and leading research organisations a sustainable platform, alleviating the above mentioned bottlenecks.

Stakeholders of the EU-IFP are all individuals, groups and organisations that are interested in its actions and objectives, including industry (both food processing and equipment suppliers), research organisations, universities, funding bodies, government, suppliers and regional networks. Here, technology transfer organisations may also play an important role in the EU-IFP because their missions are already focused on knowledge and technology transfer.

Models of cooperation in Europe

The beneficiaries of HighTech Europe evaluated which possible models for partnership can be interesting for the future EU-IFP and which operational issues are important underlying the EU-IFP. Three basic partnership models could be interesting, a mission-driven model, a subsidydriven model and an inclusion model. The main difference between the three models is based on the amount of effort the partners are willing to spend in terms of resources and risks in the start-up phase and in the future.

A mission-driven model could result in a physical institute on one or more locations across Europe where companies and R&D institutions work on food technological development, implementation and training. The institute has its own framework of operation, in the sense that it can pursue its missions with and for industrial clients, without having to compromise on these missions because of external rules (e.g. rules set by subsidising bodies). All current and future partners in the consortium (companies, R&D institutions, technology transfer agencies, trade federations, governmental agencies, etc.) have the possibility to join such a model. This model also allows other business models and the inclusion of venture capital or other foreign capital into the partnership or its activities. The drawback of this mission-driven model is that it requires a strong commitment and mutual trust of all partners, both in inputting resources (time, money) setting up such an ‘institute’ as well as making available resources to keep the partnership running and delivering results. Such commitments should be made for a period of at least 10 years.

The subsidy-driven model could result in a network of partners in various locations across Europe that have synchronised their way of working with clients to the highest professional level, in which clients have access to the latest technologies and developments and partners work together on food technological development, implementation and training. The institute is (partially) dependent on regional, national and/or European subsidies to fulfil its goals. A small back office is commonly funded; all of the activities are performed under the umbrella of the partnership, but in most cases not in a legal sense. This is relatively easy to realise with relatively low resources (and therefore low financial risk). The partners can work on developing and realising the core missions, certainly when they are close to the public domain. All current and future partners in the consortium (companies, R&D institutions, technology transfer agencies, trade federations, governmental agencies, etc.) have the possibility to join such a model. Drawbacks of this model are that decisions of others can potentially limit realising some of the goals most relevant to companies and subsidies are usually for a limited period of time which creates several problems with financial continuity and draining of management resources.

The inclusion model could result in the development of activities within the framework of existing organisations in Europe (such as universities, research organisations and regional networks). This is a very simple model that can be interesting when the potential stakeholders have very limited resources available in the short term to develop more demanding models such as the ones described above. It is very likely that several of the missions and activities cannot be delivered to the clients we focus on. The existing organisation would probably need to expand their portfolio of activities, but would also benefit from additional income, partners, content and PR.

For the EU-IFP, the operational issues were investigated, including financing mechanisms, human resource management, facility sharing, communication and legal issues in relation to the organisational structure. These operational issues were based on a survey among potential stakeholders resulting in recommendations how to organise the EU-IFP.

Key services of the EU-IFP

The EU-IFP will be a virtual institution that facilitates knowledge sharing and transfer for the food processing sector. The institute will contribute to a better utilisation of available research and development infrastructure, foster new and support existing public private partnerships, and consider the improvement of human resource management. Technology transfer or knowledge sharing is therefore considered as the core value of the EU-IFP, properly embedded in the existing infrastructure in Europe.

Access to state-of-the-art knowledge and facilities is currently a limiting factor to the innovation process in Europe’s large but fragmented food industry. Technology transfer in a classical sense is not enough (brokerage/networking). It should be recognised that industry has an unlocked potential of knowledge as well. Since innovation processes are usually long and challenging, the EU-IFP should be involved in a long stretch of the process of knowledge exchange and – eventually – earning money with new products and services:

1. Focus on knowledge exchange and assisting SMEs during the whole innovation process/project

2. Provide information products such as an Interactive Technology Portal, where information can be found on the state of the art innovations, funding opportunities across Europe, etc.

3. Provide access to pilot & testing facilities and to experts

4. Provide training for companies and staff exchange programmes

5. Organise activities, e.g. tailor-made work – shops, conferences, technology markets

Criteria for success and recommendations

HighTech Europe recognises that it is important to discuss the strategy of the EU-IFP with potential stakeholders. For this reason, HighTech Europe organised a workshop in which the participants discussed the potential of the EU-IFP. Three groups (academia, research organisations, industry and technology transfer centres) received the same question: to identify the success criteria for a future EU-IFP. The groups were tasked to look at the EU-IFP from a future perspective, rather than focusing on operational hurdles that are faced today.

The workshop participants identified the following five success criteria (in random order) as crucial for the EU-IFP:

• Visibility and strong brand
• Robust economic model
• Members from most EU countries
• Satisfied customers
• Successful and efficient knowledge exchange

In addition, the participants were asked for recommendations of actions that are important to guarantee the success of the EU-IFP. The participants made the following top five recommendations:

1. Build trust and confidentiality

2. Establish long-term commitment of partners and transparent collaboration

3. Use success stories to convince companies

4. Develop and disseminate a clear and realistic mission of the EU-IFP

5. Enhance collaboration between centres of excellence and industry, create a network of networks

Conclusions

HighTech Europe is the first Network of Excellence that links European competences in food processing and related areas. New sustainable collaboration models are being investigated within the project to allow a better knowledge exchange and to be able to face major trends in Europe. HighTech Europe partners jointly with Members of the Associated Membership Platform are privileged to support this initiative.

At the Anuga FoodTec exhibition on 29 March 2012, HighTech Europe will organise a stakeholder event to discuss the public-private collaboration in the food technology area as well as the opportunities for future collaboration.