TECARE Project

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TECARE Project
Transregional Cooperative Platform for
Competitiveness in Meat Research and Smes

• Marco Gerevini Tecnoalimenti S.C.p.A.
• Bruxelles, 14 June 2007

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Methodology Observer activities

• to observe modalities used by TMs in recruiting
  SMEs
• to observe the evolution of the Working Groups
  partner involved, research theme faced,
  advancement in discussion, emerging problems
• to Identify potential conflicts emerging during
  the Working Groups and to help TMs to overcome
  hurdles and to address issues

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Methodology Observer expected results

• to identify a common methodology for the best
  involvement of SMEs
• to set up a guideline concerning a common
  methodology to be used by the TECARE network in
  the future

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How to involve meat industries SMEs

• SMEs recruitment
• Type of SMEs industrial producers, traders,
  breeders, technology and service providers
• TMs starting form their own database 100 600
  contacts
• Integration of the number of contacts using
  databases of meat associations and Regional
  Chambers of Commerce
• Contact persons chosen
• Owners (micro-sized SMEs)
• Production managers
• RD managers (when exist)

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How to involve meat industries SMEs

• SMEs recruitment
• First contact (indirect)
• by-e-mail informing about project
• (i) letter of introduction (ii) TECARE flyer
  (iii) response form
• Second contact (direct)
• collect feed-back from SMEs by-phone
• TMs periodically visited and called SMEs in
  order to capture their interest in the project
  
• Results obtained
• big effort (time and resources) but only few
  SMEs potential interested

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How to involve meat industries SMEs
Why it was difficult to get contact to the meat
SMEs and to convince them of the advantages of
TECARE

• 1) micro-size family owned enterprises (problem
  of succession)
• 2) struggle about daily working and production
  problems
• already spend enormous amount of time and money
  for bureaucracy and to follow law about health
  and food safety
• low resources to dedicate to research
• 5) product innovations are not encouraged by
  rigorous production protocols and regulations
  (DOP products)

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How to involve meat industries SMEs
Why it was difficult to get contact to the meat
SMEs and to convince them of the advantages of
TECARE

• They have a standard production (1-3 type of
  products) diffident toward innovation
• are worried about their survival
• went bankrupt due to accession to EU (Poland and
  Romania)

In general owners have a short term vision and
consider as a waste of time to be involved in
research and innovation initiatives
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How to involve meat industries SMEs

• how to get the interest of SMEs
• to identify tangible sector problems
• by technical articles and magazines, interviews
  with companies managers, selection of academic
  experts
• to organise Regional dissemination events
  (short term benefits) linked to national and
  international sector exhibitions and scientific
  workshops
• one/half day workshops open to SME
  representatives dedicated to
• scientific issues updating (ingredients,
  preservation tech, food safety and quality,.
  etc,..)
• presentation of the 7th Framework Programme and
  explanation on the involvement in future EU
  research initiatives

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How to involve meat industries SMEs

• Geographic Working Groups (GWGs )
• Participants
• recruited SMEs
• TMs
• academic experts
• TCA
• Meetings were led by TMs that drove the
  discussion toward the identification of SMEs
  needs and requirements

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How to involve meat industries SMEs

• Geographic Working Groups (problems)
• When SMEs were diffident to sit at table with
  their competitors GWGs were transformed by
  face-to-face interviews and technology audits
• Language most of the SME representatives spoke
  only their mother languages
• Many very specific needs and requirements emerged
  (most of them related to daily problematic
  issues)
• 1) each TM rationalized them in potential
  research project topics
• 2) TMs selected 8 joint research topics common
  to the involved countries for the next project
  activities

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8 joint research topics

• Pork, cattle, poultry farming dejection (Slurry)
  management, removal and reduction of costs /
  Waste recycling / Removal of by-products and
  carcasses
• New products and lunches (slicing up, trays,
  chilled ready meals, new low-fat products)
• Study of effects of x-ray exposition on food that
  entering in the airport catering facilities
• Rapid and low cost tools for the control of
  quality of animal species and quality of raw
  materials
• Tolls for control of products out of their
  production facilities (the products expire before
  the expire data) / Studies of product expiry and
  foreseeable time of use
• Technologies and methods to improve product shelf
  life / New additives and preservers for the meat
  products
• training of New EU entry countries entrepreneurs
  on production UE standards
• Detection of glass and plastic during process

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How to deal with different situations in EU

• TWG (Thematic Working Groups)
• 2nd round of consensus with SMEs, scientific
  experts asking their interest in the
  establishment of TWGs
• Activation of trans-national virtual discussion
  tables with the different partners mediated by
  the TMs (due to language problems, waste of time)
• TMs drove the discussion towards the
  identification of potential proposals to submit
  under next 7th FP

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How to deal with different situations in EU
how to liven up TWG and develop potential
research proposal for 7th FP

• to identify the core group responsible for the
  development of the future Consortia/proposals
• core group was in charge of
• identifying technical and scientific problems
  expressed in the TWG discussion (with help of
  academic experts)
• identifying possible research strategies and
  technological solutions
• contacting and involving other potential
  interested actors

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How to deal with different situations in EU
how to liven up TWG and develop potential
research proposal for 7th FP
TM working close to the proposal core group
elaborated a first project draft in which were
detailed 1) future Consortia research
strategies, 2) provisional technological
solutions, 3) provisional list of partners
drafting their role in the project 4) proposal
type of EU funding instrument (collaborative
projects, Research for SMEs, etc), first
project draft is used to involve in the Consortia
other potential interested actors
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How to make other sectors benefit from the
methodology
What we learn from TECARE experiences 1) to be
ready to a big effort in involving SMEs,
different steps to involve them 2) to be
flexible discussion tables, Regional
dissemination events, technical audits 3) to
give a short term benefit technical and
scientific updating on sector issues, 7th FP
description, preparation of potential
proposals 4) to remember problems of time and
language network of TMs have to work to overcome
these problems
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How to create a European Network?
Future TMs roles in the TECARE network

• Regional TM will contact periodically and will
  visit SMEs in order to collect their ideas
  related to research and innovation (RD
  requirements)
• Regional TM will verify if the previous EU
  framework programmes have already supported a
  similar research topic
• If yes, find the coordinator and link it with the
  SME (TMs give their support in the discussion)
• If no, the TMs will verify if the SME has the
  skills to become the coordinator of the new
  proposal
• If yes, the regional TMs will help the SME to
  prepare the proposal and to set up the project
  partnership involving the TECARE network
• If no, TMs network will help the SMEs to find a
  skilled coordinator

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Tank you for the attention ! Marco
Gerevini gere_at_tecnoalimenti.com Tecnoalimenti
S.C.p.A. Via G. Fara, 30- 20124 Milan
(Italy) www.tecnoalimenti.com