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116 Cross-border
economic
development
Project factsheets
MinnovARC and InnovARC
In addition, financial aid for the set-up and support of projects can be
provided. InnovARC has a budget of €132,000 for this. Public funding
(territorial authorities, Interreg, Horizon 2020, EUREKA, EUROSTARS,
etc.) and private financing (investors) can provide additional support
for the set-up of these French-Swiss consortia.
InnovARC phase 2 (2015-2018):
InnovARC has already laid the foundations for its continuation (2015-
2018) via an Interreg V project.
In this new phase, InnovARC will continue to play the
role of incubator for French-Swiss project consortia
by making its services more professional thanks to the
experience acquired over the past few years.
This work on the ground will be carried out in new innovative areas in
close partnership with the different players that support innovation and
the regional technology transfer services. The latter will be even more
involved thanks to synergies set up with the Communauté du Savoir
(Community of Knowledge) that brings together the main universities
and other higher education institutions in the French-Swiss Jura Arc.
This network is also supported by Interreg France-Switzerland.
To what extent can this good practice be
adopted in other cross-border territories?
The particular context of French-Swiss cross-border cooperation
(cooperation with a country that is not an EU member) makes it a
laboratory for innovative tools aimed at facilitating the coordination
of different programmes and mechanisms that support economic
cooperation. The highly competitive nature of this border
underscores this experimental dimension.
The MinnovARC and InnovARC projects how it is possible to operate
a cross-border platform for the incubation of innovative projects
with several successive Interreg projects (broadening the focus in
the second project and increasing the involvement of partners that
support innovation in the third) and thereby reconcile the life cycles
of innovation and European projects, which are not very compatible.
Moreover, over the years, a work methodology has been honed
to optimise the development of innovation projects composed of
French and Swiss partners. Other cross-border territories could draw
on this approach to implement similar initiatives.
These initiatives are also interesting in that they combine Interreg
funding, intended primarily for public and semi-public structures
and the use of European programmes specifically dedicated to
supporting SMEs active in R&D.
For more information:
Contact
InnovARC Switzerland:
Jean-Luc JUVET and Alexandre GABUS
Project Manager and Policy Officer
arcjurassien.ch
+ 41 32 889 76 29
InnovARC France:
Nathalie RÉBERT
Project Manager
CCIR Franche-Comté
+33 3 81 47 80 41