Overview
The transport sector is faced with major challenges. Demand in transport will grow by 50% for passengers and 80% for freight (by 2030). At the same time the call for energy savings, renewable resources and less CO2 is putting pressure. Transport is a main factor for economic sustainability and growth, but this sector needs to be pro-active to get more innovative solutions quicker into the market. A lot of funding goes into transport RTD, but RTD results do not reach the market accordingly. What we need are good practices for the different transport modes, to see which exploitation channels are working, where to find financing and first users and how to access new markets.
The vision of the TIPS project is to produce better innovation in the transport sector by enhancing the capacity of EU-funded FP projects in the field of transport to be at the source of innovation and to help them transform research results into products and services.
The vision of the TIPS project is to produce better innovation in the transport sector by enhancing the capacity of EU-funded FP projects in the field of transport to be at the source of innovation and to help them transform research results into products and services. The main objectives are:
- Analysing the research framework of finished and ongoing national and EU-funded projects;
- Developing best practice guidelines and innovation methodologies;
- Promoting the exploitation of R&D results and market uptake of innovative products and services to transport project partners;
- Supporting completed and ongoing EU funded research projects to develop sound action plans for the use and dissemination of results;
- Creating a supporting project environment and tools that are sustainable.
In summary, TIPS will:
- Deliver evidence based innovation and exploitation role models for the transport research sector
- Identify obstacles and key issues for successful exploitation, specified for the different transport modes and related to the different exploitation roads and key players
- Implement information and basic training for up to 100 project partners
- Deliver a training academy and exploitation strategy coaching for up to 50 highly innovative EU RTD transport projects
- Recommend exploitation strategies for transport research projects
- Publish role models, good practices and case studies for exploitation
Funding
Results
Boosting market uptake of transportation projects
Europe's enormous funding for transportation projects does not guarantee commercialisation. An EU initiative improved the odds through best practice guidelines, training and one-to-one support.
Transportation is vital for Europe's economy and society, and Europe funds such programmes to a very high level. Yet the support does not guarantee that results will become marketable products and services.
To improve the situation, the EU-funded http://www.transport-tips.eu/ (TIPS) (Enhancing the capacity of EU transport projects to transform research results into innovative products and services) project set out to enhance the capacity of transportation projects to make results more marketable.
The research group identified 450 finished and ongoing transport research and development (R&D) European and national projects. About one third participated in a survey that led to best practice guidelines.
To promote the exploitation of R&D results and connect research and industrial transport stakeholders, a series of networking and awareness raising events were organised across Europe. Seven workshops, two info stands and three brokerage events were aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies, and public and research organisations participating in transport-related projects under different Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) themes.
Two training academies on topics such as intellectual property rights management, business plan development, technology transfer and standardisation were held to support 64 participants from 54 EU-funded transport projects.
Individual support on creating exploitation plans was provided to over 50 European organisations through a toolbox developed for this purpose.
Lastly, a best practice guide targeting policymakers, project partners and consortiums was delivered.
TIPS strengthened and enhanced the positive impact of R&D outcomes of EU and national transport projects. Project participants will ultimately be able to bridge the gap between research and innovation in the transport domain.