IRC Innovation Relay Centres in Europe
Services to get companies more internationally competitive
stellan.granstrom@acreo.se
The Innovation Relay Centre (IRC) is a European network activity to promote innovation in Europe. The activity is focused on small and medium-sized enterprises with the objective to help them in their business development and to facilitate their access to the European market.
Today there are 68 IRC:s in Europe. In addition to the EU member nations, this network includes Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Cyprus and Israel, and another 10 countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Each IRC is a consortium of several partners in one region, and the entire network today comprises 200 offices allocated all over Europe. IRC is thus the link to Europe for companies.
Each IRC office functions as an independent business- and technical consulting firm. Its staff has good knowledge of the local industry and personal experience from business life, research and technical development. The IRC offices have all been selected in open competition.
Through IRC your company will have access to an extensive European network which can help you to:
- find a company in Europe which will buy the know-how developed by your company
- find an interesting technique developed somewhere in Europe which your company needs
- have access to the latest research results and to new technology
- have access to the EU-RTD programmes
IRC in Sweden
IRC activity, carried out in Sweden since 1995, is financed by the EU Commission and the Swedish National Board for Technical and Industrial Development.
13 IRC offices are allocated to three regions:
- Northern Sweden
- Central Sweden (read more below)
- South & Western Sweden
The Swedish National Board for Technical and Industrial Development coordinates the different regions.
The IRC target group
Our network is made for small and medium-sized companies but also for research departments of universities and institutes.
Companies open to new technologies: Companies with little or no research resources of their own, whose strategy is to develop by adopting new technologies. IRC can make this new technology accessible to them.
Research-based companies: Companies with their own research departments who look for technical/research co-operation or licensing opportunities. IRC can help them identify a suitable partner.
Research department of universities and institutes: Researchers eager to exploit or transfer their research results into commercial products or processes. IRC provides a valuable assistance in finding interested parties for commercializing their research findings.
Services to be offered
Import of new European technology
- Assist local industry to specify its need for new technology through technical evaluations, business analyses, etc.
- Introduce innovative ideas from all over Europe to Swedish companies.
- Use the IRC network to find collaboration partners.
- Provide assistance in the negotiation agreements between the provider and the receiver of new technology.
- Assist in the implementation of new technology in receiver companies.
Export of new Swedish technology
- Assist local industry to identify technical innovations with export potential to other regions or branches.
- Promote innovative ideas all over Europe through the IRC network.
- Use the network to find collaboration partners.
- Provide assistance in the negotiation agreements between the provider and the receiver of new technology.
- Assist in the implementation of new technology in receiver companies.
Advisory services
- Advice in matters of innovation strategies, technology transfer and exploitation of research results.
- Provide information on relevant European Community and national financial support schemes for innovation.
The IRC Central Sweden
IRC Central Sweden is a consortium of 4 partners, and the local offices are to be found at:
- Industrial Liaison office, Uppsala University (co-ordinator)
- Kista Science Park, Kista
- ACREO, Kista and Norrköping
- CITU Företagskontakt, Borlänge
IRC representatives at ACREO are Stellan Granström in Kista and Lars Berg in Norrköping. In order to focus the activities Stellan and Lars mainly cover the microelectronic and optics related technology transfer operations. Stellan also takes care of the medical technology transfer operations and has a membership in the IRC medical technology thematic group.
Geographical area covered
IRC Central Sweden covers the central part of Sweden, that is:
Gävleborg, Kopparberg, Västmanland, Örebro, Uppsala, Stockholm, Gotland, Södermanland, Östergötland, the eastern half of Jönköping and the northern part of Kalmar.
Almost 50 % of the Swedish population lives in the region proposed and the region stands for more than half of the industrial output of the country and three quarters of the public and industrial R&D.
The number of SMEs in the proposed area is estimated to be around 300.000. Of course, only a fraction of them are potential IRC clients.
An IRC Success Story:
Cross Country Systems AB
40 employees
Uppsala, Alfta
Cross Country Systems, created in 1991, delivers complete system solutions and offers expert consultancy in electronics and software development. They develop embedded systems with extreme environmental demands. Typical applications are to be found in forest machinery, tunnelling and mining equipment.
The company created a new management program for bucking computers and forest harvester logistics. The system provides data communication from the forest harvester to a PC. All harvesters on the market are supported.
The new management program baptised “Sylvia” enables to manage price lists, bucking instructions modifications and communication to and from harvesters. The production analysis and reporting feature provides timber timber tracking
displayed in clear tables and diagrams.
Innovative aspects: The forest harvester logistics can be transferred through data cassettes or wireless communication from several forest harvesters to a PC. A clear status information provides a complete communication picture for the user. The Bucking system makes it easy to create and modify instructions. The different system types and templates make the process simple.
The IRC contribution: An IRC consultant contacted the company in 1998 for analysing its marketing and financial needs and the possibility to integrate electronics in their products. The IRC consultant helped the company with strategy and advises for developing its activity abroad. A BBS offer was entered in February 1998. Several contacts were established during the following month in United Kingdom and in Italy. In March 1999, the IRC consultant accompanied them on Hannover fair where meetings with several German companies were established.
Result: The results of the various contacts made by the company’s lead to the signature of marketing agreements with Dutch and a Scottish firm.
More info: http://www.cc-systems.com/