EU innovation survey IDs gaps as GE Challenge debuts

As GE’s $200 million open innovation challenge kicked-off in Europe today, GE also presented preliminary results from the “GE Innovation Barometer,” an independent survey of 240 Brussels opinion leaders on innovation policies in the European Union. With the EU placing innovation at the core of its 2020 strategy, and in advance of the publication later this year of the European Commission’s Innovation Strategy, the research was commissioned by GE to see how opinion leaders view the current state of innovation policies within the union. The survey found that 90 percent believe innovation is the main lever to create a more competitive and greener European economy. But while 86 percent of respondents believe investing in innovation is one of the best ways to create jobs in the EU, only 53 percent think that the EU is currently successful in directing its policies, resources and budget to support research and innovation.

Energizing innovation: When asked which sectors would most benefit from a more efficient EU innovation policy in terms of jobs creation and economic growth, 78 percent of respondents said the energy sector. Respondents represent an array of thought leaders from Brussels-based institutions, NGOs and businesses. The full report will be published in September. The research was conducted in April-July 2010 and combines both quantitative and qualitative data gathered through email and phone interviews.

While the “GE Innovation Barometer” highlights some positive consensus — for example, that innovation is viewed as a key driver to recovery and growth in Europe — the research also indicates some concerns among respondents that there is an inefficient culture of risk in the EU and an insufficient appetite for venture capital in funds management. At the same time, respondents flagged bureaucratic procedures as preventing players from allocating and applying resources efficiently to support innovation.

In the video below, Antoine Harary, Director of Strategy One, the research company that conducted the survey, describes the drive for innovation in Europe — and the resulting pressure in the region to effectively put it to use.

Just as GE is working with Wired magazine in the U.S., for the innovation Challenge in Europe GE is working in partnership with Science/Business, a London- and Brussels-based media company, to drive entries. European entrants will also be eligible for participation in the ACES Academic Enterprise Awards, an annual contest for European university spin-out companies judged by the Science|Business Innovation Board.

As Science/Business CEO Rich Hudson writes on their website today, GE’s new $200 million innovation challenge is “also a challenge to the whole system of R&D in Europe — a challenge that, on current trends, risks going unmet.” In the video below, shot at GE’s launch event in Munich, he adds that “Europe does a great job in creating small, little tech start-ups. It does a terrible job in helping those start-ups grow to size and global scale.”

Echoing that thought was Gina Domanig, Managing Partner for Emerald Technology Ventures, one of the four venture capital firms in the innovation Challenge.“We believe there’s not a problem necessarily with technology or invention [in Europe],” she told the Munich audience. “The problem that we find in Europe compared to North America is really… getting these businesses off the ground.” In the video below, GE’s Tore Land, gives an overview of the challenge while at the launch event in Munich.

Idea engine: “GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid” is looking for the best ideas from researchers, entrepreneurs and start-ups that will help create smarter, cleaner, more efficient electric grids, and accelerate the adoption of smart grid technologies. The 10-week challenge is the largest ever of its kind and is open now for submissions at www.ecomagination.com/challenge.

* Watch a video recapping the European launch of the Challenge
* Read the European Challenge announcement
* Read the GE Innovation Barometer announcement
* Read “Merging scale & innovation in GE’s $200M challenge” on GE Reports
* Read “Unveiled: $200M challenge, EV charger, smart monitor” on GE Reports
* Watch a replay of the webcast
* Watch CNBC’s interview with Jeff Immelt following the announcement
* Learn more about GE WattStation, our new electric vehicle charger
* Visit the challenge website
* Visit ecomagination.com
* Read more ecomagination stories on GE Reports
* Read the just-released ecomagination Annual Report