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 An info sheet published by DG Enterprise highlights the significance of SMEs for Europe by announcing that the 23 million European SMEs represent 99.8% of all European enterprises and 67.1% of private-sector jobs.1 In absolute terms, the EU-27 spent EUR 226 million on R&D in 2007, with an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 4.1 % in relation to 2000. R&D expenditure was mostly financed by the business enterprise sector (BES), accounting for almost two thirds (1.17 %) of R&D intensity in 2007. In 2006, the business enterprise sector remained the primary source of R&D financing, accounting for 55% of total EU-27 R&D expenditure. However, more business investment will be required in order to reach the 'two-thirds' objective set by the relaunched Lisbon strategy2. SMEs are therefore "key to implementation of the renewed Lisbon strategy for economic growth and employment"3.

Nonetheless, despite the new policy initiatives, (such as the Small Business Act for Europe-SBA- that aims to put SMEs at the forefront of decision-making, to strengthen their job creation potential and promote their competitiveness within Europe and at a global level as well) further initiatives and actions are certainly required to boost the involvement. Participation of SMEs in Framework Programmes has so far remained below the targeted figures due to a variety of reasons, including high participation costs and lack of resources for RTD activities. However, the relative EC requested contribution by SMEs was higher than 15% for all Themes in Cooperation as seen in the table below, signalling the interest and potential for greater inclusion of SMEs.

FP6FP7
Number of SMEs in evaluated proposals
% of SME Participants		22,5%29%
Number of SMEs in main-listed proposals
% of SME Participants		19,5%23%
EC requested contribution by SMEs in main-listed proposals
% of SME Participants		15,2%19,5%
From eCORDA: FP6 and FP7 SME participation comparison4

The Commission continuously promotes the participation of SMEs through a variety of support structures and mechanisms. Below are highlights of several key methods utilized by the EC to incorporate SMEs active participation within FP7.

FP7 actionsComplementary actions
Optimized participation of SMEsBudget increase for the two SME specific measuresDedicated scheme with special emphasis on SMEsArticle 169 for research performing SMEs (Eurostars)
In particular "Cooperation"
  • R&D performing SMEs
  • Thematic areas not SME specific
"Capacities"
  • R&D acquiring SMEs
  • Bottom-up approach, Market oriented
"People"
  • Mainly R&D performing SMEs
  • Industry-acedemia pathways
"Capacities"
  • R&D performing SMEs
  • Bottom-up approach, Market oriented
SME support actions in FP75

The current share of the EC contribution dedicated to SMEs is higher than in FP7. Although the 15% target applies to the full framework programme, it is clear that the qualities and potentials of the different specific programmes and themes are diverse (see participation rates below in different themes). Besides the industry specific barriers, geographical and other factors should be taken into account as well which may further hinder SME collaboration.

1European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry, Small Business First, 2008
2Eurostat: Science, technology and innovation in Europe, 2009 edition
3European Commission, 2007, "Putting SMEs first"
4Henrik Dam, European Commission Presentation on SMEs in FP7: Background and overview of SME activities
5Henrik Dam, European Commission Presentation on SMEs in FP7: Background and overview of SME activities