EUREKA - A Network for Innovative and Market-Oriented Research

1. Basic Objectives

Innovation is the prerequisite for international competitiveness, and investing in research and development is the only way to achieve long-term market success. Because this costs a great deal of money, existing resources have to be used more effectively. Increased European cooperation is one way to achieve this.
That is where EUREKA comes in. The initiative offers companies and science establishments a framework for international, market-oriented cooperation.
EUREKA contributes to

• Making use of the skilled staff, know-how, institutions and financial resources available in Europe
• Solving problems that affect more than one country
• Developing European infrastructures and standards
• Promoting the European internal market and enhancing Europe's competitiveness on the world markets
• Reaching the Lisbon targets

2. Structure and Topics

The European research initiative EUREKA is an open framework for collaborative European projects that are geared towards practical application. Its basic principle is the bottom-up approach - meaning that project participants have a great deal of freedom in designing their projects. The research initiative has no prescribed topics or calls for proposals. In this way, EUREKA successfully complements the research programmes of the European Union.

The governments of all Member States and the European Commission provide political support for EUREKA as well as administrative support for the projects in a decentralized network. The Chairmanship rotates on an annual basis (from July to June), giving each Member State a chance to coordinate the initiative's political and administrative work.

The Ministerial Conference and the High Level Group (HLG) are political bodies featuring representatives from all Member States. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research represents Germany in this group. The National Project Coordinators are responsible for project administration; they also provide advice for all those who want to start a EUREKA project. The EUREKA/COST Bureau of the BMBF is the National Project Coordinator in Germany.

3. Added Value for European and German Businesses and Research Institutions

EUREKA offers project participants an attractive framework for cooperation in innovative, application-oriented research and development projects in Europe. It offers SMEs in particular an excellent opportunity to get involved in the European internal market. Its special advantages are:

• Joint use of existing know-how, staff, and financial resources
• Spreading of research risk among several partners
• Access to new markets
• High degree of freedom: project participants can determine the topic, content, scope, nature and duration of cooperation (bottom-up principle)
• Short and simple application procedure
• Support from the National Project Coordinators in the preparation and implementation of projects
• Support with public relations work:
  • Publications at national and European level
  • Presentation of EUREKA projects at trade fairs
  • Information about the participants and their project involvement entered in the central EUREKA project database on the web, which also includes a partner search function
  • High profile of EUREKA label

4. Financing of EUREKA Projects

The financing of EUREKA projects varies from Member State to Member State. Project participation can be financed using own funding, public grants, loans or venture capital. EUREKA projects do not automatically receive national funding. Project participants who require funding must apply for it in their own countries.

In Germany, all national funding programmes can generally provide support for German contributions to EUREKA projects, but there are no funds specifically earmarked for EUREKA projects. Applications for funding should be submitted to the relevant programmes.

The EUREKA/COST Bureau can help applicants in Germany find suitable funding programmes and the right contacts.

5. Best Practice / Success Stories

EUREKA projects work on developing new products, processes and services in all areas of technology. In addition to large companies, universities and other research establishments, many of the project participants are small and medium-sized enterprises. Collaborations range from small bilateral projects to large, strategic, multilateral industry-led initiatives. Because the research and development activities are so close to the market, many EUREKA projects have generated products, processes or standards that have a major impact on our day-to-day lives. The project results also often give European businesses a clear edge over their international competitors.

For example, EUREKA produced the DAB standard, which is applied broadly in digital audio broadcasting . The EUROTRAC-2 project made an important contribution to solving cross-border environmental problems: it generated new technologies for measuring the spread of air pollutants and for developing strategies to improve air quality. The EUREKA project AMADEUS offers an exemplary instance of how resources can be pooled across different countries: four European airlines developed a joint computer-based booking system that can be used across the world. The EUREKA project PROMETHEUS contributed basic findings to the development of the satellite-based navigation systems used in cars today.

The thematic EUREKA clusters reflect joint European research interests. They are strategic, long-term industry initiatives that aim to strengthen the international competitiveness of European companies by developing new generic technologies, improving existing ones, applying them, improving their interoperability, and promoting international standards. Moreover, EUREKA clusters are excellent examples of successful interplay between private and public capital (Public-Private Partnerships).

One successful cluster is MEDEA/MEDEA+, whose industry partners play a leading role on the global microelectronics market and have been instrumental in developing the next generation of semiconductor chips and in improving smart card security. The follow-up cluster CATRENE focuses on research and development in nanoelectronics - specifically, pre-competition-phase innovations in semiconductor technology and applications.

The ITEA cluster, which specializes in the development of software systems, led to the development of an open software platform that allows car part suppliers to meet their customers' needs with few modifications. Its follow-up, ITEA 2, mainly focuses on software-intensive systems.

The EUREKA Innovation Award is presented every year for an innovative development that is the result of international cooperation or which was particularly successful in international markets. A new thematic and/or formal focus is defined every year. The prize includes a media package worth €10,000.