NWO-I and ILO network take part in EU project INPROCAP
Stimulating innovation procurement by Big Science organisations
A new European project started in June, INPROCAP: INnovation PROcurement CAPabilities. It is funded by the European Commission. NWO-I and the network of industrial liaison officers in Big Science organisations (ILO network BigScience.NL) are part of the consortium. What does INPROCAP stand for and why is it important for NWO-I as well? Robbelien Kooistra, strategic advisor Innovation & Valorisation at the NWO-I office, and Jan Visser, ILO at Nikhef and coordinator of BigScience.NL, explain.
Nikhef, ASTRON, SRON and DIFFER
Big Science is about “groundbreaking fundamental research realised in large international partnerships”. The NWO Institutes Nikhef, ASTRON, SRON and DIFFER carry out Big Science (also read the article on the ILO network in Inside NWO-I of May 2024): their research connects them with European Big Science organisations such as CERN, SKA, ESA and ITER. The aim of INPROCAP is to stimulate Big Science organisations to procure innovations from industry more often or to work together with industry instead of doing a lot of the development work themselves. This means that industry can benefit more from a relationship with Big Science organisations. Alongside BigScience.NL, partners from Denmark (DTI), Poland (NCBJ), Spain (CDTI), Slovakia (Pedal), Germany (EuXfel) and EISCAT (several countries) work together within INPROCAP. They represent Big Science organisations as well as networks of ILOs, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mapping the differences
Jan explains that the Big Science organisations have different relationships with industry. CERN, with which Nikhef works, develops equipment itself and asks industrial partners to produce it. ESA generally outsources the development of innovations and ITER does a lot of work in close collaboration with industry. INPROCAP will map these approaches, with the aim of providing guidelines to assist organisations that currently do a lot of development work themselves with the implementation of more innovations with or from industry. The same applies to the ILOs who are unfamiliar with working with industry; they will receive instruction through webinars and workshops on how to establish cooperation.
Merits earned
Robbelien says that NWO-I will lead the subproject that will carry out this inventory: “Which organisations are already successful and how do they tackle this? What role do ILOs play? What kind of contacts are there from Big Science organisations with large industrial clusters and start-ups? We will then use the results of the inventory to develop training courses.” Jan adds that the Dutch ILOs have demonstrated their merits in Europe and were therefore asked to become a partner in this consortium. “It is the harvest of years of effort by Gerard Cornet (former ILO at SRON) and Toon Verhoeven (former ILO at DIFFER). As an ILO, you get involved in all kinds of discussions, you have influence and you learn more quickly than by just following a webinar.”
Visibility of NWO Institutes
“It’s difficult to express in figures what the European contacts are worth”, says Jan. However, both are convinced that the efforts will have a positive effect for Dutch businesses and the visibility of the NWO Institutes in Europe. Jan: “It’s partly due to our reputation that we were asked to join the ELI-ERIC ILO network. Moreover, two people from this network will be attending the Precision Fair, the best-known Dutch trade fair for high and ultra-precision technology. And it’s there where they get to know our companies.”
Text: Anita van Stel
Newsletter Inside NWO-I, September 2024
You can find the archive of the newsletter Inside NWO-I on the NWO-I website.