Innovation and Technology Transfer Program

ARC Fund's specialization in the area of innovation and technology transfer first started in 1997, with the establishment of the Bulgaria Innovation Relay Center. Since then the organization has acquired a solid reputation of being among the leading actors in this field, vigorously supporting the business and research communities in the country, and participating in various governmental and industry-driven initiatives. At present ARC Fund is a member of the Innovation Relay Centers - Innovating Regions in Europe Network, supported by Directorate General Enterprise of the European Commission, and is a recognized actor in the field of technology foresight in Europe.

Since 2003 an Expert Council on Innovation operates as part of ARC Fund's Innovation Program. The role of the Council is to advise the relevant institutions in Bulgaria on problems related to innovation and research issues, help in carrying out the activities and services under the innovation - related projects of ARC Fund. It brings higher competence in the activities and services of IRC-Bulgaria. The council consists of specialists from the academies, universities, business incubators, innovative companies.

The main activities of the Innovation Program can be described at the following levels:

Technology Transfer (Micro-level)

ARC Fund provides an array of services that assist Bulgarian companies in identifying their technology needs, finding new partners for technology cooperation, and applying new technologies in different industrial sectors. Through its Innovation Relay Center unit (IRC - Bulgaria) ARC Fund attains its objective to foster the development of the Bulgarian industry through inward flow of technologies and know-how stemming from European industries and EU RTD programmes, and thus to enhance the competitiveness of the industrial companies and their ability to respond to market challenges.

The main role of IRC - Bulgaria is to promote and facilitate appropriate technological interactions between the European and Bulgarian industrial and technology communities, where each participant gains from the interchange.

Regional Innovation Policy (Meso-level)

ARC Fund plays active role in enhancing technology development and innovation through fostering the process of regional innovation policy making. Through initiating, coordinating and implementing a Regional Innovation Strategy project for the South-Central region of Bulgaria jointly with the Regional Commission for Economic and Social Cohesion of the South Central Region of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, tti Magdeburg GmbH, and the University of Thessaly, ARC Fund contributed to improving the innovative capacity of the regional firms, the workforce and the RTD institutions in the Region.

The proposed Regional innovation strategy for South Central region of Bulgaria and the corresponding Action plan will give concrete answers on how to meet the identified needs of businesses in the South Central region, match innovation supply to the innovation demand, and improve the operation of the regional innovation system by proposing feasible measures to secure economic growth and improve the competitiveness and employment in the region.

Foresight (Macro-level)

Foresight is recognised as a viable policy tool characterised by systematic, participatory, future-intelligence-gathering and medium-to-long-term vision-building processes with the aim to informing present-day decisions and mobilising joint actions. ARC Fund was the first organisation to introduce Foresight in Bulgaria and to contribute to building national capacity to apply foresight in the process of strategic visions development and anticipatory intelligence by governments and regional organisations. ARC Fund actively promotes the concept and practice of 'technology and innovation foresight' as a valuable instrument in designing science, technology and innovation policies, such that provide a better match between the national R&D potential and the existing economic opportunities. Through its pilot foresight initiative - the ForeTech Project - ARC Fund is building a community of foresight practitioners in Bulgaria and Romania, and providing a bridge from the candidate countries to the existing foresight expertise, knowledge and best practice accumulated in the EU member states and the New Member States.

•	Building Technology Partnerships for Sustainable Business At Eco-Tech Scandinavia, 7-8 October 2008, Göteborg, Sweden Eco-Tech Scandinavia - is an international meeting place for eco-tech business. It will be		•	9th International Venture Capital Forum, 19 - 20 June 2008, Athens The Hellenic Center for Investment
•	International Technology Brokerage Event during the Autumn International Technical Trade Fair – Plovdiv, 02 -03 October 2008 Enterprise Europe Network – Bulgaria (EEN) , the largest European network		•	A User Guide on the SME definition is now available Prepared by DG
•	Innovations: European, National and Regional Policies ARC Fund has just released its latest publication on Innovations: European, National and Regional Policies. The book is a continuation of Innovation:		•	Bulgaria – Italy Technological Transfer Event in the ICT sector IRC Bulgaria and IRC IRIDE, in