Russian Business Innovation Networks - new possibilities and tools to facilitate EU and RF innovative SMEs and research organisations international cooperation

The Enterprise Europe Network is a new European initiative, aimed at providing innovation and business support to entrepreneurs and companies across the European Union. Launched in February 2008, the Network comprises close to 600 partners in over 40 countries who offer a wide range of services to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The project "Gate2RuBIN" was initiated in 2007 by a consortium of three network organizations:

                   Russian Technology Transfer Network (RTTN)

                   Russian Union of Innovation and Technology Centres (RUITC)

                   Russian Agency for Support of Small and Medium Business (RA)

RTTN and RUITC associate over 75 Russian innovation infrastructure organisations (Innovation Centres, Technology Transfer Centres, Technoparks) from 30 regions of Russia, covering all the most innovation-active regions of the Russian Federation.
RA's partner network "SIORA" unites over 50 local business support agencies in more than 50 Russian regions.

Gate2RuBIN - Gate to Russian Business Innovation Networks - is a new wide-scale long-term project of Russian business infrastructure participation in the greatest Enterprise Europe Network. This project is the first case of full-scale Russian participation in the EU business and innovation networks.

The general goal of Gate2RuBIN is assistance to the development of technological business co-operation between SMEs and R&D organisations of Russia and the European Union, contributing to their competitiveness capacities.

Presently, the Gate2RuBIN Consortium is the Coordination Centre for the Enterprise European Network in Russia.

The main specific feature of the Project is connecting Russian and European SME support networks - the Russian Consortium is formed by structures that coordinate their own networks of national level, and enter the EEN as an integrated all-Russian network, acting as a "gate" between EU and RF business and innovation networks. This "gate", via networking with RUITC and RTTN members, as well as through the business centers network set by RA, provides services to support business and innovation cooperation for EU and RF companies and research organizations. It includes the services for:

                   - B2B support, information on RF and EU markets etc (Module A) - coordinated by the RA

                   - Innovation, technology and knowledge transfer (Module B) - coordinated by the RTTN

                   - Encouraging SME participation in the Community Framework Programme for RTD (Module C) - coordinated by the RUITC

Project activities and services cover more than 4000 Russian export-oriented and/or innovative SMEs and 450 R&D organizations.